Perhaps inspired by her recent divorce from Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley, “What the Hell” describes kissing various people and blowing off societal expectations. Now, the song’s not without its problems. There’s the “crazy” issue, and the lyrics are addressed to an unhappy main squeeze, which begs the question of how consensual their non-monogamy really is. Still, as with the Lou Christie classic “Lightnin’ Strikes,” I hear it as an exploration of dating around rather than a glorification of infidelity. “What the Hell” gave me the same flutter as Cher’s 1998 smash “Believe,” which burst onto the radio between songs about miserable devotion with the revelation “Maybe I’m too good for you.” Yes, Avril’s latest got my stamp of approval.
But then I saw the video.
Official music video and commentary after the jump!