Alice (Avril Lavigne song)

In January 2010, Lavigne was in a board meeting at the Disney offices going over clothing designs inspired by Alice in Wonderland for her Abbey Dawn line, when she mentioned to the executives that she was writing music for her upcoming album and would love to write a song for the film's soundtrack. Discussions between Lavigne's manager and film executives took place, and director Tim Burton agreed to let Lavigne write the song. Lavigne stated, "I got off the phone, sat down at my piano at home, wrote the song immediately; I was so inspired because I'd been designing for the movie [...] so I had all the images in my head." She played the song for Burton, who later called Lavigne to give his approval and confirm the song would be used for the film.

On his radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Seacrest called the story a "great lesson," telling his listeners "you ask for what you want. You gotta go for it, because if you didn't ask for it, then you wouldn't have gotten [the opportunity]."[1] "Alice" was premiered on Seacrest's radio show on 27 January, when Lavigne made a surprise visit to the studio.[2] Lavigne described the song as different from her previous work, calling it "a little darker."[1]

The song was played over the film's end credits,[3][4] and went on to sell 45,000 copies within the first four weeks of its release.[5]

"Alice" is a moderately fast rock ballad at 120 beats per minute performed in the key of G major.[6][7] Lavigne's vocal range spans from G3 to F5. Guitar and piano accompany Lavigne's vocals.[6]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Calgary Herald	(positive)[8]
Digital Spy	(favorable)[7]
411mania.com	[9]
Idolator	(mixed)[10]
Los Angeles Times	(mixed)[11]

In his review for the soundtrack Almost Alice, William Ruhlmann of Allmusic described "Alice" as "a typical piece of self-assertive adolescent pop/rock", noting that it was "ideally suited for heavy rotation on Radio Disney".[12] Todd Martens, writing for the Los Angeles Times, approved of the song's "darker, more angsty vision", adding that it was a return to Lavigne's sound in Under My Skin. He described the beginning of the song as, "promising, with wavy synths caught somewhere between a nightmare and a dream".[11]

The Calgary Herald wrapped its opinion of "Alice" in succinct praise, calling it "one of the best songs of Avril's career", adding that Avril's repertoire does not otherwise live up to its hype.[8] Digital Spy's Nick Levine called the song "a big angsty rock ballad", finding the track "cinematic" and at times "ghostly", before mentioning that the song took several listens to appreciate.[7]

Several critics focused on the lyrics of the song, with mixed reaction. Becky Bain of Idolator began her review commending Lavigne's lyrics for "carry[ing] genuine sentiment," believing that her "words of encouragement" would "resonate" with her teenage fans.[10] Mark Ingoldsby, of 411mania.com, had little to praise in Lavigne's lyrics, stating that Lavigne is "[a]pparently incapable of crafting witty lyrics that paint an interesting picture through creative metaphors."[9] Martens had similar feelings, writing, "[The] listener never really gets a picture of [the] trippy world Lavigne has found herself in."[11]

There was general consensus among critics regarding the chorus of the song, in which Lavigne repeatedly holds a high note for an extended period. Ingoldsby sub-titled his review "Wail of a Fail", but although he could appreciate the beginning of the song, calling it "eerie and captivating" and describing Lavigne's voice as "unremarkable, yet pleasant", he found the rest of the song – from "the second part of the first verse" onwards – to be a "recreation of an Alanis Morissette-style spaz-out session".[9] Bain was also unimpressed with the chorus. "[The] biggest problem with the song is that Lavigne, trying to come off like Amy Lee, is constantly screeching while attempting to hit those high notes. It's difficult to enjoy a song while you're wincing during the chorus."[10] Story Gilmore of Neonlimelight.com reviewed Lavigne's live performance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He described the performance as "toned down" and stated that Lavigne showed vocal growth during the performance, "easily shifting from full voice to high notes".

As of October 2011, Alice had sold 373,000 digital copies in the US.[13]

In Canada, "Alice" debuted at number 51 on the Canadian Hot 100, where it spent three weeks on the chart[13] In the United States, "Alice" debuted at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and it spent three weeks on the chart.[14] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 59 on the UK Official Singles Chart, and spent three weeks on the chart.[19] In Australia, "Alice" managed to debut on the top forty on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 39, and left the chart the next week.[20] In Japan, "Alice" had commercial success where it debuted on the top five on the Japan Hot 100 where it peaked at number four.[21] As of October 2011, "Alice" had sold 373,000 digital copies in the US[22] Overall "Alice" debuted on the top forty in six countries.

Lavigne first performed "Alice" on 3 March 2010 during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[29]

• Digital download[30]

1. "Alice"  – 3:34

• CD single[31]

1. "Alice"  – 3:34
2. "Welcome to Mystery" (performed by Plain White T's) – 4:27

Credits and personnel are adapted from the Goodbye Lullaby album liner notes.[32]

• Avril Lavigne – vocals, writer, piano
• Butch Walker – producer, all instruments
• Jake Sinclair – engineering
• Deryck Whibley – mixing
• Ted Jensen – mastering

• Official music video on YouTube
• Video without movie footage Archived 26 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• Official site for Alice in Wonderland