Avril Lavigne has sunk low in the past (see: being married to Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley and being married to Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger), but her recent single and accompanying video, “Hello Kitty,” demarcates a new and distinct class of poor taste. Although Lavigne rose to the top with relative ease with her debut album, Let Go, and leading single “Complicated,” it’s been a slow decline ever since. Doing the “Gwen thing” to the extreme
Sporting a dated Skrillex haircut and musical beat, Lavigne prances around in a Harajuku-coated world that’s on steroids. Her pronunciation of the word “hello” borders on the racist side as she says the Ls with slight Rs (“lip my stocking” realness). Bouncing around with a gaggle of Asian women in a candy store adds to the general banality. Vacant
At least with the video for “Complicated,” Lavigne was paying homage to a combination of the 90s mallrat type in terms of plot and a punk rock Annie Hall in terms of sartorial aesthetic. Her gradual devolution both musically and visually has culminated catastrophically in “Hello Kitty.” And no amount of bright colors or uncomfortable dance moves can salvage it. Expressing excitement over Japanese cuisine
While Americans have been reluctant to jump on board with Lavigne’s latest attempt at a project, it’s ironically been Japanese audiences who have thoroughly relished the Canadian shouting “kawaii” in her best imitation of an Asian girl of the same persuasion.
