Complicated

This song describes a situation many teenage girls are familiar with: Their boyfriend is great when they're alone, but around his friends he acts like an idiot. Many of Avril Lavigne's songs of this era are about real people and real situations, but this one is not. "Complicated" was not written about anyone in particular, according to Lavigne. She said, "It's basically about life, people being fake, and relationships."

Lavigne was 17 years old when this song was released as her debut single in 2002. It came at a cultural nexus, as the internet was becoming a popular medium for discussion, but you still had to watch videos on MTV, hear singers on the radio, and read about them in magazines. Avril was not your typical teenage pop star: She came off as a regular girl who was goofy and fun. Her press played up this image while stressing that she was an authentic talent, writing her own songs that dealt with matters of the heart. She also had a unique fashion sense and set a trend with her look, which incorporated canvas shoes, gaudy accessories, ties and heavy eyeshadow. This song is very anodyne, even appealing to adults (it went to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart), but Avril herself became the subject of lively debate on the internet.

Avril's record company, Arista, had her work with several producers before finding a combination that worked. That combination was the songwriting trio of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, and Scott Spock, collectively known as The Matrix. They wrote and produced this and four other songs on the album with Lavigne.