"Losing Grip" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter
Avril Lavigne, released as the fourth single and the first track from her debut album, Let Go (except in New Zealand, where "
Mobile" was released), in March 2003. The song was written by Lavigne and
Clif Magness, and produced by Magness. The song, which is lyrically about Lavigne "losing grip" with her boyfriend as they are just not meant to be, is much heavier with
grunge[1] oriented sounds than most of the songs on Let Go that had a more poppy feel. She performed "Losing Grip" at the
Juno Awards of 2003. The song's video single was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 22, 2003.[3]
Background
Arista Records intended for "Anything but Ordinary" to serve as the fourth single from Let Go, although Lavigne successfully pressed the label to release "Losing Grip" instead.[4]
Music video
The music video was directed by
Liz Friedlander and was filmed on February 25 and 26, 2003 at the
Angel Orensanz Foundation in
New York City. It shows scenes of Lavigne and her band performing in front of a large crowd. There are also shots of her
moshing and surfing through the crowd while pushing, punching and shoving people from time to time. The "crowd surfing" routine was practiced by other people on the audience during the shoot before Lavigne was allowed to do so.
Reception
Christina Saraceno of
AllMusic noted that "Losing Grip" allowed Lavigne to "show off" her vocal ability during the song's "explosive rock chorus".[5] Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine also praised Lavigne's vocals and compared them to Canadian singer-songwriter
Alanis Morissette.[6]
^
abKot, Greg (November 13, 2004).
"Avril Lavigne blossoming". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2011. Her music touched familiar bases, ranging from coffeehouse folk (a solo acoustic version of "Tomorrow") to grunge ("Losing Grip")
^Cox, Jamieson.
"Avril Lavigne: Let Go Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 17, 2018. They also came up with roaring album opener 'Losing Grip,' which beat Evanescence to the nu-metal-pop punch by a solid year.
^Losing Grip (UK CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records. 2003. 82876534552.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Losing Grip (AUS CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records. 2003. 82876524322.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Losing Grip (UK Maxi Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records. 2003. 82876 53454 2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Losing Grip (UK Cassette liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records. 2003. 82876 53454 4.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^"Avril Lavigne: Single". click2music.dk (in Danish). Archived from
the original on June 18, 2003. Retrieved November 5, 2023. To view release date, select Lavigne Avril from Vælg kunster (A - Å), then click on Losing Grip.