Avril Lavigne Raises “What The Hell” On New Year’s Eve

Idolator Staff | January 1, 2011 2:06 pm

What the hell is Avril Lavigne’s New Year’s resolution? Apparently, to “mess around” more, as evidenced by her new single “What The Hell,” in which the self-proclaimed good girl bids boring old monogamy goodbye and decides to go on “a million dates” instead. Avril appeared on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for her debut performance of the song, which is being offered for free today via Facebook. Watch the performance and listen to the single after the jump – ‘cause why the hell not?

“What The Hell” sounds right at home with Avril’s other pop-punk anthems (especially “Girlfriend” and “Sk8erboi”) in every way, from the clappy beat to the snotty attitude to the uber-catchy chorus we don’t blame other people for finding obnoxious, but secretly love in private moments to ourselves. (It’s the kind of track we only select after double-checking no one’s eyeing our iPod.) Only a few hours into 2011, and already we’ve found the new year’s first guilty pleasure!

The track sounded just as good live for its New Year’s Eve debut, though Avril looked a bit listless during most of the song, as befits the single’s lifeless sleeve. (Not quite as “rockin’” as Dick Clark would have us believe.) Luckily, the lovely and ever-evolving singer kicked it up a notch toward the end, and we dig the way Avril was able to glam up in a dress while still being true to her punkish roots.

Speaking of her punkish roots, she also tossed in a performance of “Girlfriend”:

The recent divorcée’s Goodbye Lullaby drops March 8, though it’s clear that many of the other songs on the album will be somber and introspective than “What The Hell.” Avril told Entertainment Weekly that “more stripped and raw and a little deeper. So this album is less pop-rock than the previous stuff, but the first single is a more like that.” For the time being, we’ll happily take the upbeat, bitchy Avril while we still can.

What the hell do you think of Avril’s latest offering?