"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]

"Losing Grip"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Let Go
ReleasedMarch 24, 2003 (2003-03-24)
Genre
Length3:53
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Clif Magness
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"I'm with You"
(2002)
"Losing Grip"
(2003)
"Mobile"
(2003)
Music video
"Losing Grip" on YouTube

Background edit

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 edit

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 edit

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]

Awards and nominations edit

"Losing Grip" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, but lost to "Trouble" by Pink.[7]

Accolades for "Losing Grip"
Award/Publisher Year Category Result Ref.
Canadian Radio Music Awards 2003 Best New Rock/Alternative Solo Won [8]
Grammy Awards 2004 Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Nominated [9]

Track listings edit

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Cetifications and sales for "Losing Grip"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[32]
Video single
Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Release dates and formats for "Losing Grip"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States March 24, 2003 Contemporary hit radio Arista [33]
Australia May 5, 2003 CD [34]
Denmark June 30, 2003 [35]
Germany [36]
United Kingdom July 7, 2003 [37]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Kot, 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")
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  4. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (March 20, 2003). "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  5. ^ Saraceno, Christina. "Let Go: Avril Lavigne". Allmusic. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  6. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  7. ^ Cheung, Nadine. "Top 10 Avril Lavigne Songs". AOL Radio. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  8. ^ "Canadian Radio Music Awards - 2003 Winners". Canadian Radio. 2003. Archived from the original on December 7, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  9. ^ "MTV News: 2004 GRAMMY Winners". MTV.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  10. ^ 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)
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ 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)
  14. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  15. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  16. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  17. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  18. ^ "Canadian Top 20 in 2003" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  19. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2003). The Essential 2002 Chart Yearbook. Music Data Canada. p. 67. ISBN 1-896594-15-8.
  20. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 22, no. 31. July 26, 2003. p. 9. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Losing Grip". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  23. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  24. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  26. ^ "Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  28. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  29. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  30. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  31. ^ "The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 11, no. 51. December 19, 2003. p. 14.
  32. ^ "American video certifications – Avril Lavigne – Losing My Grip". Recording Industry Association of America.
  33. ^ "RR-2003-03-21.pdf" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 21, 2003. p. 24.
  34. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 5th May 2003" (PDF). ARIA. May 5, 2003. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2003. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  35. ^ "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.
  36. ^ "Losing Grip". Amazon Germany.
  37. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 7 July 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 5, 2003. p. 21. Retrieved September 8, 2021.