EvanT

Good enough to hype the fanbase, but still flopped hard. Without playlists or radio deals, there's no hype that can sustain a song on its own. Her team/label needs to understand that (small) pop-punk playlists are only used occasionally - they're not meant to add songs that are expected to be played daily or to sustain their popularity these days. People only turn to them when they're specifically in the mood for that genre, not when they're driving, working out, or doing everyday stuff. She needs more mainstream playlisting, not just niche ones.

Any chance she's performing the song today, or is she holding out for Simple Plan to join her for the live debut?

Such an arena anthem. Clearly made for the stage - a full-on sing-along, with background vocals that echo like a live crowd. Simple lyrics, short structure (no bridge), made to be easily remembered and sung together. Honestly, I'm relieved it's not AL8 material, but rather a proper tour single in every sense: from production to lyrics to the feature.

Here are some of my insights: 1. This song will benefit from Canadian Content law, so it at least has a chance to become a mild (radio) hit in Canada. Latin American and Asian fans who lean more towards nostalgia will eat it up - far from the possibility of becoming a hit, but at least some slight buzz will be made out of it. 2. Sad she's being even more tied to a niche of pop-punk, not only because of the guest artist. It makes total sense to collab with Simple Plan, as they're touring all summer, and a song can benefit from being performed in front of at least +15K people each weekend night... low-key here for it. But also, considering the new label she's now in. 3. The pop-punk resurgence in her career was cute. She's still in her LS/LG20/GH era, and all of these moves made sense to solidify her legacy in the genre, though some fans hated some parts of it (including me to some extent)... but sooner or even SOONER, she will need to move on from it. After this GHT is finished, she'll be treated like yesterday's news, and nostalgia won't be enough to fill her pockets or keep the acclaim train she's been riding. Her public image nowadays is better than ever, she can't risk ruining it.

Everyone was dragged! Don't pretend like they weren't. But if you don't understand the difference between being willing to work with a r*p*st, then that's on you. Katy and Kesha debuted around the same time; they grew and faced challenges in this industry together. They were seen as friendly, often pictured together hanging out off set. Katy was even judicially involved in Kesha's case. Yet after all of this, Katy collaborated with him on a song about female empowerment, which feels like a complete affront to what Kesha has been through. All those who worked with Luke faced backlash, but Katy is the only one with this particular background. It's easy to understand. It also brings up complex moral dilemmas.

It is actually performing better than deserved.

The hate towards her is actually pretty fair.

I see some reasons. Even though the songs are not remastered, they are available in Dolby Atmos for the first time. She has never had a greatest hits album before, so the physical release for collectors is notable, especially now that the physical industry is in a better place. It can also introduce her music to new audiences who might not be familiar with her work. Most importantly, she is focusing 100% on reinforcing her legacy status. She knows her fans used to be dedicated, but maybe they think it's time to wave to some casual listeners. Promoting and having press about a new release may be an attempt to reach a new audience and keep her name in the spotlight. Also, I can see this is a strategy to boost streams for these songs and help them achieve higher certification as part of her legacy management strategy. I'm not saying I support it, tho. Lol! I think it's SO stupid! And I don't think she will achieve half of these goals. But I assume these are the strategies behind it, even though she will probably fail.

It's so weird how she has songs on her current setlist (like Hot) that are not on the Greatest Hits album. She could've replaced Hot on the tour with Rock'n'Roll. I love Hot but it would be more appropriate. She also performed TBDT at one concert - she gave up, but it was also not listed on the compilation, lol.

I'm almost sure we'll be seeing some box scores soon. This is officially the release week of the Greatest Hits album. Maybe this edition of Pollstar will feature not only the cover but also some interview, and/or at least more information about how successful the tour has been, as part of Sony promo for the album.

Sorry, but I'm afraid this isn't as true as we thought it would be a couple of years ago. Take JLo, for example. She had to cancel her entire arena tour a couple of weeks ago - not just a concert or two, but the whole tour. JLo's peak was around the same time as Avril's, yet she has managed to stay more relevant celebrity-wise in the US recently, thanks to her Super Bowl performance, MTV Vanguard Award, movies, etc. Not to mention that she's a much better performer compared to Avril. These would be good reasons to buy her tickets and she failed. So, I think it's still a great accomplishment for Avril, who isn't known for being a strong performer and hasn't had good image management in North America in a while. Christina Aguilera also had some problems with her residency, but I think things are better for her now. Of course if we compare them to Olivia or Billie this would be unfair, but let's look at other legacy acts. Avril's in such a better place.

Was the Phoenix concert sold out? I believe it's the only concert from this first leg that hasn't been confirmed to be sold out yet.

Of course, I'd like to have as many songs as possible, but it's completely normal for artists to feel somehow disconnected from part of their older material. From younger artists like Ariana Grande, fighting to ditch Bang Bang from her concert setlists, to older artists like Radiohead, who don't even sing Creep anymore. Even Nirvana, during their short career, stopped playing Smells Like Teen Spirit. Avril has never mentioned that she doesn't like Nobody's Home, but it feels that way. BTW, this song is not even among her major hits. I assume it's far from her top 10 biggest hits. There are more important things about her career to focus on, and she's not even addressing those. So, I doubt she'll worry about this song when more important things in her career remain ignored and oblivious to her. There's nothing to do other than accept it or keep bitching and moaning for another decade. Also, the setlist will become shorter cause of her "Festivals leg", but I hope she can serve a longer setlist for the second North-American leg starting in August.

The short setlist is indeed a problem. This is not in question. Some people think she doesn't perform Nobody's Home because of that stupid theory. She clearly doesn't like to be involved in it. But it's a full cycle: she adds a new song (like she did with Losing Grip and added Hot as the outro for Here's To Never Growing Up), and then people find another thing to complain about. For example, they complained that Losing Grip was shortened and started to complain about Smile being added in full (Idk why some people hate this song). Then, she shortened Smile and performed Losing Grip in full. Then, she added some parts of The Best Damn Thing, but they started to complain about something else. Even if she adjusts a few details, they'll still find something else, including the most random, subjective topics (whether it's about her energy, the way she interacts with the crowd, etc.). I think she is doing amazing on this tour. It's probably one of her best, and definitely her best since the Black Star tour. I'd just change the setlist - it needs to be longer! Apart from that, everything is fine: vocals, energy, looks, stage setup, interaction, etc. She could also shorten that long HAW intro video to add a +1 song, btw. The rest is OK or even higher than her usual standards.

Her own fans started this fanfic about her show being 75 minutes long, but her first show was 1 hour and 24 minutes. Now, after "Hot + Freak Out (outro)" and TBDT, it's around 1 hour and 30 minutes. It's a normal length, but the problem is that she sings longer versions of some songs (like for He Wasn't and Sk8er Boi), and the setlist is indeed short. She could've shortened these songs and added short versions of others to include more. However, given how toxic this fanbase is, I doubt she'll change anything else. If she sings extended versions of her songs: it's bad. If she adds shortened versions: it's also a bad decision. If she doesn't change anything: it's also bad (and I'd agree). If she adds any song other than Nobody's Home: it's even worse.