Avril Lavigne released the music video for her song “Head Above Water” this past Thursday. This marks the artist’s first new recording to be released in five years, after a lengthy battle with Lyme Disease. (She released "Fly" in 2015, but that song was actually recorded in 2012.)
Detailing her struggle with Lyme Disease and the process of creating the new music, Lavigne wrote in a letter on her website, “One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water.’ In that moment, the song writing of this album began.”
Although she has been out of the spotlight for years, few who lived through it will forget when the singer-songwriter flew up the pop charts with "Complicated," “Sk8r Boi,” and "I'm With You" from her debut album in 2002. This new power ballad addresses her illness and the battle that came along with it, demonstrating the power of music, as she sings, “My voice becomes the driving force / I won't let this pull me overboard.”
The dramatic music video was directed by Elliot Lester. In a series of Twitter posts, Lavigne shared a public message to him, saying, "You not only completely captured my vision, but took this video to an entirely new level." Filmed in Iceland, it features Lavigne serenading in a white gown as she runs across beautiful, black beaches and jutting cliffs. It ends with a link to The Avril Lavigne Foundation which was founded to fight Lyme Disease.
“Head Above Water” is the first single off Lavigne’s upcoming sixth studio album of the same name. Pick it up on Amazon
To learn more about Avril Lavigne head Avril's Zumc artist page.
