"I'm with You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

from her debut studio album '' Let Go'' (2002). It was released to radio as the third single from the album on November 18, 2002, by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

. The song was written by Lavigne and the production team

the Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

, which consists of

Lauren Christy Lauren Christy is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Originally a solo artist, she found success as part of the writing production trio The Matrix. The Matrix received numerous Grammy nominations including best producer. Biogr ...

Scott Spock David Scott Alspach, known professionally as Scott Spock, is an American songwriter, record producer and composer. He is known for being a member of the pop writing and production team The Matrix, who have written and produced many hit single ...

, and Graham Edwards. Production on the song was helmed solely by the Matrix. According to Lavigne, the song was inspired by feelings of loneliness she experienced over being

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. The song reached number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top 10 in nine other countries, including Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand, peaking within the top five in these regions. In the US, the song topped two ''Billboard'' listings: the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

and the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

. "I'm with You" received radio and television airplay in Australia, but it was not officially released there. The track was nominated for several awards following its release, winning two

ASCAP Awards The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit Performance rights organisation, performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' ...

, a BMI Pop Music Award, and a

SOCAN Award The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

. It was the second Lavigne song to be nominated for a Grammy in the categories Song of the Year and

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

at the

46th Annual Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized acc ...

Background and composition

"I'm with You" was written by Lavigne and the production team

. According to Lavigne, the song was written when she was having a "depressing day" due to feelings of loneliness over being single. "I'm with You" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

Alfred Publishing Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, the song is written in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

and is set in

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 56

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Lavigne's vocal range spans two octaves, from A₃ to E₅.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' senior editor Chuck Taylor referred to the song as a "beautifully performed, musically sophisticated outing that showcases a surprisingly emotional vocal from avigne" He further praised the song's universal appeal, believing that its theme relates well to both teenagers and adults. Sal Cinquemani of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' described the song as "sweet." Jamieson Cox of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' described the song as a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

and compared it to

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s released by American rock band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

in the late Nineties. The arrangement of singles from ''Let Go'', with "I'm with You" as the third, was regarded as "controversial choices", given that "I'm with You" was "thought by some to be the biggest potential smash on the album", and could have established Lavigne as a more mature artist if it was released first. According to Reid, "Some people just really didn't get that. And with the first video, there was some concern that maybe because it's so young and so playful, it might alienate more serious music lovers." ''

KidsWorld ''KidsWorld'' is an English-language Canadian magazine aimed towards children aged twelve and under, published by MIR Communications Inc. The magazine features sections and articles such as movies, sports, hobbies, and role models. The magazine i ...

'' called it "the perfect song to drown your sorrows to when that guy from your class breaks your heart."

Chart performance

"I'm with You" became Lavigne's third top 10 song when it peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2003 during its ninth week on the chart. The song spent 10 consecutive weeks on the top 10 and 27 weeks on the Hot 100 making it Lavigne's second-longest staying song on this chart, surpassed by her debut single " Complicated" which stayed on the chart for 31 weeks. "I'm with You" ranked at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2003 and number 13 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

. The song was certified gold by

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 2006 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. As of July 2013, "I'm with You" had sold 556,000 digital copies in the US. As a double A-side

DVD single A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, the "I'm with You"/"

Sk8er Boi "Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, '' Let Go'' (2002). It was written by Lavigne and the Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham ...

" video single was certified gold and platinum in 2003. In United Kingdom, "I'm with You" was released on March 31, 2003. The song debuted and peaked at number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 2003, becoming her third top 10 single on the chart; the song re-entered in

in the week of December 17, 2011, in number 58. It debuted at number six and peaked at number five in Ireland, staying in the top 10 for six weeks. "I'm with You" reached top five in New Zealand; top 10 in Belgium and the Netherlands; top 20 in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Norway and Denmark as well as reaching the top 40 in France. The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart on December 10, 2011, at number 58, almost 10 years after the song first charted.

Music video

Background

The music video was directed by

David LaChapelle David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American photographer, music video director and film director. He is best known for his work in fashion, photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His pho ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Filmed in November 2002, most of the video is shown in slow motion but Lavigne's mouth movements are in sync with the song's vocals. This was achieved by recording the footage while the song was played twice as fast. It was at least partly filmed in

. The street shots were filmed on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and the Orpheum Theatre is seen.

Synopsis and reception

The video depicts Lavigne, who is seen alone, trying to find someone, whilst her band members play the song alone in the streets. Showing her originally at a party, the video also sees Lavigne pushing a guy when he tries to get with her straight after making out with another woman. The video also sees Lavigne walking on the streets and wearing a black jacket. Through the video, she is seen standing behind a snowy bank. At the end of the video, Lavigne walks out of the club with her coat on, kicks out the door and walks away.

Much Music Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

named the video one of the "Top 100 Best Videos of All Time". The music video was originally meant to end with Lavigne walking out of the club to her bandmates, who then greet her and walk off together into the distance, but this ending was removed during post-production, ending the video with her leaving alone. An alternative version of the video leaked online to the internet, comprising alternate shots, slightly longer sequences and featuring the originally filmed ending.

Accolades

"I'm with You" was nominated for the 2004

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...

, and for

but lost to

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

's " Dance with My Father" and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

's "

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

" respectively.

In media, covers and samples

"I'm with You" was later featured in the

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...

'' episode "

My Tormented Mentor The third season of the American comedy television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' premiered on NBC on October 2, 2003, and concluded on May 4, 2004, and consists of 22 episodes. This season features many fantasies, as well as features many ...

", in the ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...

'' episode "

Accelerate In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...

" and in the movie ''

Bruce Almighty ''Bruce Almighty'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. The film stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to God ...

''. The song was also used in the 2003 Brazilian soap opera ''

Mulheres Apaixonadas ''Mulheres Apaixonadas'' (English: ''Women In Love'') is a Brazilian telenovela which originally aired on Rede Globo from 17 February 2003 to 10 October 2003 with a total of 203 episodes. It was created by Manoel Carlos and written by him with Ma ...

''. Furthermore, it was featured in the video game ''

Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 ''Karaoke Revolution'' and its sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept f ...

'' and in '' Singstar'' Rock Ballads. The song is also used as the background music for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85/G80 commercial, with

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

sampled the song on her track "

Cheers (Drink to That) "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her fifth studio album, '' Loud'' (2010). The song impacted American mainstream and rhythmic radio on August 2, 2011, as the seventh and final single released ...

", which was released as a single. Lavigne made an appearance in the music video. Polish-Czech singer

Ewa Farna Ewa Farna (born 12 August 1993) is a Polish-Czech pop-rock singer. She released five Polish-language and four Czech-language studio albums, and received platinum and gold certifications for them, both in Poland and the Czech Republic. Farna i ...

covered the song and it was featured as a track on her album ''

Měls mě vůbec rád ''Měls mě vůbec rád'' ( en, Did You Like Me at All) is the first album by the pop singer Ewa Farna, released on 6 November 2006. It was very successful in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked c ...

''. Sophie Evans covered the song in Week 3 of '' Over the Rainbow''. A year later,

Amelia Lily Amelia Lily Oliver (born 16 October 1994) is an English singer and television personality. In 2011, she became a finalist on the eighth series of ''The X Factor'', where she finished in third place. In 2017, she finished as runner-up on the t ...

covered the song in Week 9 of

series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. British singer

Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

covered the song as part of his segment for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's annual Live lounge month. He mashed-up the song with

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's " Cardigan" (2020), accompanying himself on an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, joined by a

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

and two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ists, resulting in a cheerful,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

-laden performance. Both artists responded to the medley affirmatively.

Track listings and formats

* CD single # "I'm with You" (album version) – 3:44 # "I'm with You" (live version) – 3:57 * Cassette and maxi single # "I'm with You" (album version) – 3:44 # "I'm with You" (live) – 3:57 # "Unwanted" (live) – 4:01 * DVD single # "I'm with You" # "

" # "Behind-the-Scenes Footage" # "''Let Go'' TV Spots"

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Let Go'' album liner notes. *

– writer, lead vocals *

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

– writer, producer, arrangement, recording, additional vocals *

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

– mixing * Femio Hernandez – mixing assistant *

Corky James Corky James (born February 10, 1954) is a Los Angeles-based session guitarist and bassist who has appeared on a considerable number of music albums and motion picture soundtracks. His genres encompass rock, pop, country, singer-songwriter, and fi ...

– guitars * Suzi Katayama – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

"I'm with You" music video
on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Avril Lavigne's official site
{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2002 songs 2002 singles Avril Lavigne songs Record Report Pop Rock General number-one singles Music videos directed by David LaChapelle Rock ballads Song recordings produced by the Matrix (production team) Songs written by Avril Lavigne Songs written by Lauren Christy Songs written by Graham Edwards (musician) Songs written by Scott Spock Arista Records singles Pop ballads Songs about suicide