Don't Tell Me (Avril Lavigne song)
"Don't Tell Me" | ||||
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Single by Avril Lavigne | ||||
from the album Under My Skin | ||||
B-side | "Take Me Away" | |||
Released | March 2, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2003 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Butch Walker | |||
Avril Lavigne singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Don't Tell Me" on YouTube |
"Don't Tell Me" is a song by Canadian singer and songwriter Avril Lavigne from her second studio album Under My Skin (2004). "Don't Tell Me" was written by Lavigne and Evan Taubenfeld, while it was produced by Butch Walker. The song has been noted as having a "grungy sound".[3] "Don't Tell Me" was released on March 2, 2004, by Arista Records as the lead single from Under My Skin and peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 that same year.
In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Don't Tell Me" was voted Lavigne's ninth best song.[4]
Background and composition[]
"Don't Tell Me" has been noted as having a "grungy sound",[3] which builds from a folk-rock verse to a hard rock chorus like a Morissette song[2] When asked what "Don't Tell Me" was about, Lavigne said:
It's about being strong. There are a lot of guys out there who just want to take you out to dinner and then, like basically go home and 'unhh' you. That's what a lot of guys are like and I just think girls need to be strong and not let any guy pressure them into doing anything.
— Avril Lavigne, MTV.com[5]
She also said in a 2007 interview:
When I was writing "Don't Tell Me", I was just, kind of, thinking about what it was like being a girl, and I was seventeen when I wrote that song, so that was all, like, fresh on my mind. I was just coming out of high school, and there's a lot of pressure for girls these days, and I'm happy to have that song, to be able to sing it up on stage every night, and to introduce it with, you know, by telling the audience that this song is all about being strong, and this goes out to all the girls, and it feels good to be able to do that.
— MTV.com
Critical reception[]
In a review of the album Under My Skin, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said "Lavigne herself sounds more burdened; ... the ska8erboi of the first album has turned out to be a selfish, nasty creep who leaves when she won't go to bed with him" in reference to Don't Tell Me.[6] Blender Music wrote that unlike Sk8er Boi the up-with-abstinence single "Don’t Tell Me" finds her kicking him out of bed.[7] The Guardian was mixed: "Current single Don't Tell Me at least has some relevant advice to impart to her pubescent female fans: it depicts a confused and angry Lavigne fending off an over-eager boyfriend."[8]
PopMatters was favorable: "The first single, "Don't Tell Me", is probably the best song on the album, with the kind of wonderfully effusive movement that makes the best pop so damn irresistible. It starts slow and quiet, building to the first chorus, ebbs back, builds to another chorus, drops down into a bridge before coming back with a skull-crunching third chorus that leaves the riff firmly implanted in your skull. One or two reprises and we're out like a light, end of song. At that point you're either convinced or not."[9] Rolling Stone was positive: "The lead single, "Don't Tell Me," might be her most Avril-ish song yet, a petulant kiss-off to a horny boy. As the guitars get revved up behind her, she asks, "Did I not tell you that I'm not like that girl/The one who gives it all away, yeah/Did you think that I was going to give it up to you?" The syntax may be tortured, but the singer sounds just fine: a righteous prude, confidently fending off the creeps."[10] Yahoo Music! liked the song but was angry because there are spelling mistakes in booklet: "we now have a stronger, more confident Avril - forthright in her determination not to lose her cherry on "Don’t Tell Me", which coyly spells ‘ass’ with an ‘a’ and two asterixes on the CD booklet, bitterly writing songs about doomed relationships."[11]
Accolades[]
Award/Publisher | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
MTV Video Music Awards | 2004 | Best Pop Video | Nominated | [12] |
MTV Video Music Brazil | 2004 | Best International Video | Nominated | [13] |
MuchMusic Video Awards | 2004 | Best International Video By A Canadian | Won | [14] |
People's Choice Favourite Canadian Artist | Won | |||
Radio Disney Music Awards | 2004 | Best Song | Nominated | [15] |
RTHK International Pop Poll Award | 2005 | Super Gold Song | Won | [16] [17] |
Top Ten International Gold Songs | Won |
Music video[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/50/Don%27t_Tell_Me_video.jpg/250px-Don%27t_Tell_Me_video.jpg)
The accompanying music video for "Don't Tell Me" was directed by Liz Friedlander, and filmed in Los Angeles in March 2004.
Synopsis[]
The video tells the story of the song. It opens with Lavigne's boyfriend leaving her apartment. After taking her anger out on her bedroom and mirror, she follows him around the city. During the bridge of the song, her boyfriend sees her in many places at once, so he is feeling guilty and her feelings are weighing heavily on his mind. At the end of the video, she decides that he is better off without her and lets him walk away, and in the final shot she begins to float above the surface.[18]
Reception[]
The video was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to No Doubt's video for "It's My Life".[19]
Track listing and formats[]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Tell Me" (single version) | 3:26 |
2. | "Don't Tell Me" (acoustic version) | 3:38 |
3. | "Take Me Away" | 2:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Tell Me" (single version) | 3:26 |
2. | "Don't Tell Me" (acoustic version) | 3:38 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Tell Me" (single version) | 3:26 |
2. | "Take Me Away" | 2:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Tell Me" (single version) | 3:26 |
2. | "Don't Tell Me" (acoustic version) | 3:38 |
3. | "Take Me Away" (album version) | 2:57 |
4. | "Don't Tell Me" (music video) | 3:23 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Tell Me" (album version) | 3:22 |
Charts and certifications[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
Certifications[]
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Release history[]
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Russia | March 2, 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | Sony BMG | [59] |
United States | March 15, 2004 | Arista | [60] | |
Australia | April 19, 2004 | CD single | Sony BMG | [61] |
Germany | April 26, 2004 | [62] | ||
Japan | April 28, 2004 | [63] | ||
United Kingdom | May 10, 2004 | [64][65] |
References[]
- ^ "Avril Lavigne (Apple Music)". Apple Music. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
(2004's post-grunge earworm "Don’t Tell Me")
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Pareles, Jon (2004). "MUSIC; The Solipsisters Sing Out Once Again". NY Times. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
In Don't Tell Me, which builds from a folk-rock verse to a hard rock chorus like a Morissette song, she kicks out a guy who pressures her for sex: Don't try to tell me what to do/Don't try to tell me what to say, she sings.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "the guitars come in and there's a suitably grungy sound to work with"[]
- ^ Cheung, Nadine. "Top 10 Avril Lavigne Songs". AOL Radio. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne To Show Fans What Lies Beneath On New Album". MTV. February 27, 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ Browne, David (May 24, 2004). "Under My Skin (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "WebCite query result". Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Cite uses generic title (help)
- ^ "WebCite query result". Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Cite uses generic title (help)
- ^ "WebCite query result". Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Cite uses generic title (help)
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Under My Skin Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
- ^ "WebCite query result". Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Cite uses generic title (help)
- ^ "MTV Video Music Awards 2004" (To see the nominations, click on the "winners" parameter). MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ LOIOLA, THOMPSON (October 5, 2004). "MTV anuncia indicados ao VMB 2004; D2 e Rappa lideram". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ "MMVA 2004 Winners". Soul Shine. June 22, 2004. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "The winners of the 2004 Radio Disney Music Awards". hilaryfan.com. August 23, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ^ "第十六屆國際流行音樂大獎". June 14, 2005. Archived from the original on June 14, 2005.
- ^ "avrilfans.de Award 2003". Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Just Lets Go In 'Don't Tell Me' Video". MTV. March 5, 2004. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "VMA's 2004". MTV.com.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1552. April 23, 2004. p. 29. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ Avril Lavigne — Don't Tell Me. Tophit. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ "HR Top 20 Lista". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on June 26, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ "Danishcharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Tracklisten. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 116 no. 22. May 29, 2004. p. 57. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Top 50 Singles Εβδομάδα 6–12/6" (in Greek). IFPI. Archived from the original on June 11, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2020. See Best Position column.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Tell Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Top Digital Download. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "アヴリル・ラヴィーンのシングル売り上げランキング" [Avril Lavigne's Singles Sales Rankings] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 20, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Topp 20 Single uke 19, 2004 – VG-lista. Offisielle hitlister fra og med 1958" (in Norwegian). VG-lista. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 26, saptamina 28.06 – 4.07, 2004" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on May 14, 2005. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ^ "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "Mix e singoli" (PDF) (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "Japan Hot 100 Annual 2004". Oricon. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2004". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "2004 UK Official Singles Chart" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2004". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ^ "American single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Don't Tell Me". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ https://tophit.ru/en/tracks/682/
- ^ https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/00s/04/RR-2004-03-12-OCR-Page-0026.pdf#search=%22going%20for%20adds%22
- ^ https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222436/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20040607-0000/ISSUE738.pdf
- ^ https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Avril-Lavigne/dp/B0001U0ISS
- ^ "Don't Tell Me – Single by Avril Lavigne – CD Single on Amazon.co.jp". Amazon.co.jp. April 28, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ "Don't Tell Me – Single by Avril Lavigne – CD Single on Amazon.co.uk". Amazon.co.uk. May 10, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Tell-Me-Avril-Lavigne/dp/B0001U0ISS
External links[]
- 2004 singles
- 2004 songs
- Arista Records singles
- Avril Lavigne songs
- Music videos directed by Liz Friedlander
- Post-grunge songs
- RCA Records singles
- Rock ballads
- Song recordings produced by Butch Walker
- Songs about sexuality
- Songs written by Avril Lavigne
- Songs written by Evan Taubenfeld
- Sony BMG singles