"I Fell in Love with the Devil" 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 ...

and is the third track from her sixth studio album, ''

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''. It was written by Lavigne and produced by Lavigne and Chris Baseford. The song is about a toxic relationship she maintained while suffering from Lyme disease. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on June 28, 2019. The single was certified Gold in Brazil with 20,000 units sold.

Background and release

On February 7, Avril wrote about the song: "Sometimes your heart conflicts with your head and leads you into situations that you know aren’t right and then once you're there, it's very difficult to get out. I also produced this song with Chris Baseford." "I Fell in Love with the Devil" is about being in a toxic relationship and was announced as the fourth single and officially the second single from the album on June 7, 2019.

Critical reception

In a review of ''

'', Arielle Gordon of '' Pitchfork'' said "Unfortunately, many of the statements she makes are, by contrast, stale and uninspired. Even in its strongest moments, there is nothing revelatory in the lyrics, which have a tendency to run out of steam. The worst offender might be 'I Fell in Love with the Devil', which recounts the story of a wayward lover with metaphors that seem plucked from a LiveJournal entry". ''

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''s Zoe Camp was also unfavorable in her review, stating that Lavigne took a "technically slack (read: bored-sounding) stab at soul on 'I Fell in Love with the Devil'" and offered a "not-hot take on an abusive relationship". Alexandra Pollard of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' was more positive in her review of the song, claiming "Lavigne's voice reaches new heights too–particularly on 'I Fell in Love with the Devil', an ominous, tightly crafted rumination on toxic relationships". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s Emily Zemler labelled it an "emotive anthem" and a "heartbreak-tinged number", and went on to claim that " I Fell in Love with the Devil'is a much more emotionally-driven track than her previous singles, '

' and ' Dumb Blonde'".

Music video

A music video for the song was directed by

Elliott Lester Elliott Lester is a British film and television director best known for directing the film ''Blitz''. He began his career directing music videos, before making his film debut in 2006 with ''Love Is the Drug.'' Career Lester made his feature f ...

, who previously directed "

", and it premiered on July 15, 2019. Lavigne has been sharing teaser photos of the video shoot to promote the song which later caused the accusations of her being anti-religious by using religious images to promote the song. Some scenes were shot at the Golden Oak Ranch in Newhall, California. The video version of the song features elements from both the album version and radio edit while a portion of the bridge was inserted at the beginning. It features Lavigne driving a hearse transporting her own coffin. Later, she is seen in a dark forest wearing

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-inspired ensemble, clutching a silver cross and interspersed with scenes of her playing a piano adorned with branches. Zane Carney, who played the baritone guitar in the song in addition to doing guitar work on "Birdy as well co-writing and playing guitar on "Crush", makes an appearance as Lavigne's love interest Lucifer.

Live performances

Lavigne performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

'' on April 30, 2019. Avril Lavigne performed the song on her

Head Above Water Tour The Head Above Water Tour was the sixth concert tour by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. Launched in support of her sixth studio album, ''Head Above Water (album), Head Above Water'' (2019), the tour began on September 14, 2019 in Seattl ...

Track listing

*Digital download # "I Fell in Love with the Devil" (radio edit) – 3:38

Credits and personnel

– lead vocals, writer, producer * Chris Baseford – producer *

Stephan Moccio Stephan Moccio is a Canadian composer, producer, pianist, arranger, conductor and recording artist. He co-wrote and co-produced the two end credit songs for ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' and its soundtrack: "Earned It" (The Weeknd) and " I Know You ...

– piano * Zane Carney – baritone guitar

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Avril Lavigne songs Music videos directed by Elliott Lester Songs written by Avril Lavigne Soul songs