Nobody's Home (Avril Lavigne song)

"Nobody's Home" is third single released from Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne's second studio album, Under My Skin (2004). The track was written by Lavigne and former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody, who also plays guitar on the song. "Nobody's Home", produced by Don Gilmore, is generally slower-paced than Lavigne's previous singles from Under My Skin.

"Nobody's Home"
European CD single artwork
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Under My Skin
B-side	"I Always Get What I Want" "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Released	25 October 2004 (2004-10-25)
Studio	NRG Recording (Hollywood, California)
Length	3:32
Label	Arista BMG RCA
Composer(s)	Avril Lavigne Ben Moody
Lyricist(s)	Avril Lavigne
Producer(s)	Don Gilmore
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"My Happy Ending" (2004) "Nobody's Home" (2004) "He Wasn't" (2005)
Music video
"Nobody's Home" on YouTube

The song was well-received critically and commercially, reaching number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and charting within the top 40 on the charts of Australia and nine European countries, including Austria, Greece, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. One of the song's B-sides, "I Always Get What I Want", was released as a single on iTunes on 31 October 2004.^[1]

Critic and fan response

Riff magazine described the song as having influences of post-grunge.^[2] In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Nobody's Home" was voted Lavigne's seventh best song.^[3] PopMatters implied that because of song's title "should tell you that the dominate mood is one of anger and defensiveness."^[4]

Chart performance

"Nobody's Home" peaked lower in most countries than some of Lavigne's previous singles but managed to gain some respectable chart positions. The song was very close to reaching the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, but it only managed to peak at number 41. It charted better in the UK and Australia, reaching number 24 in both countries; it was her lowest-charting UK single before "Hot" charted in 2007 and peaked only at number 30.

Music video

 

Lavigne plays a troubled and homeless girl who runs away from home after problems with her parents.

The music video was filmed on 29 and 30 July 2004 in Los Angeles, California, directed by Diane Martel.^[5] The video of "Nobody's Home" premiered on 20 October on MTV's Total Request Live.^[6]

In the music video for "Nobody's Home", Lavigne plays a homeless teenager who appears to live street-to-street with a friend. Lavigne, who said it was a fun video to make, wore a black wig and acid-wash jeans when playing the homeless teenager. The video shifts to a more glamorous Lavigne who wears a dress with long, curled hair, singing the song with an orchestra behind her.

"Nobody's Home" showed the outcast, homeless Lavigne trying to get off the streets. She also tries to call her mother, but hangs up. As the video progresses, a store manager kicks her out of his store, but the outcast girl ends up going back into the store and is shown washing herself in a convenience store bathroom. She also tries playing the guitar on the street to try to earn money. Towards the end of the video, the runaway is seen trying to get inside parked cars, eventually finding an unlocked one, during heavy rain. At the end of the video, the girl, with dirty clothes and messy hair, is shown with a tear rolling down her cheek. She then turns around and walks away as the camera fades out.

During the video Avril was wearing the T-shirt with logo of Moscow. Russian word "Москва" was printed on Avril's T-shirt.

References in the video

At the beginning of the video, one can see "A+D", for Lavigne's then-boyfriend, now ex-husband, Deryck Whibley. Next, in the bathroom scene where Lavigne is using the hand dryer, "A+D" can be seen inside a heart that is written on the bathroom wall. The other outcast runaway is real-life friend Monique, who also appeared as one of the young women in the "My Happy Ending" video.

Track listings

Australian CD single^[7]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Home"	3:33
2.	"Nobody's Home" (live acoustic)	3:42
3.	"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"	2:51
4.	"I Always Get What I Want"	2:31

German and Taiwanese CD single^[8][9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Home"	3:33
2.	"Nobody's Home" (live acoustic)	3:42
3.	"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"	2:51
4.	"I Always Get What I Want"	2:31
5.	"Nobody's Home" (video)	3:33

Japanese maxi-CD single^[10]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Home"	3:33
2.	"My Happy Ending" (live acoustic version)	3:56
3.	"Take Me Away" (live acoustic version)	2:55
4.	"Nobody's Home" (video)	3:33

UK CD1^[11]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Home"	3:33
2.	"Nobody's Home" (live acoustic)	3:42

UK CD2^[12]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nobody's Home"	3:33
2.	"Nobody's Home" (live acoustic)	3:42
3.	"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"	2:51
4.	"Nobody's Home" (video)	3:33

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the US promo CD liner notes and inlay.^[13]

Avril Lavigne – words, music, vocals Ben Moody – music, guitar Jon O'Brien – keyboards, programming David Campbell – string arrangement Brooks Wackerman – drums Don Gilmore – production, recording Tom Lord-Alge – mixing

Leon Zervos – mastering Joshua Sarubin – A&R Shauna Gold – management Terry McBride – management Kim Kinakin – artwork design James Minchin III – photography

Charts

Chart performance for "Nobody's Home"

Chart (2004–2005)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[14]	24
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[15]	20
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)^[16]	1
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)^[17]	7
Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)^[18]	2
Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)^[19]	1
European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)^[20]	76
France (SNEP)^[21]	24
Germany (Official German Charts)^[22]	29
Greece (IFPI)^[23]	11
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)^[24]	30
Ireland (IRMA)^[25]	19
Japan (Oricon)^[26]	128
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[27]	37
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[28]	66
Scotland (OCC)^[29]	18
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[30]	35
UK Singles (OCC)^[31]	24
US Billboard Hot 100^[32]	41
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[33]	38
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[34]	16
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[35]	13

Certifications

Certifications for "Nobody's Home"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[36]	Platinum	60,000^*
United States (RIAA)^[37]	Gold	500,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Nobody's Home"

Region	Date	Format	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	25 October 2004	Contemporary hit radio	Arista	^[38]
Japan	4 November 2004	CD	Arista BMG RCA	^[39]
United Kingdom	15 November 2004			^[40]
Germany	29 November 2004			^[41]

References

1. [1]^{[dead link]}
2. DeWald, Mike (17 September 2019). "INTERVIEW: Avril Lavigne finds strength in her inner warrior for 'Head Above Water'". Riff Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2021. The post-grunge-influenced Under My Skin (2004) featured empowering songs like 'Don't Tell Me' and 'Nobody's Home.'
3. Cheung, Nadine. "Top 10 Avril Lavigne Songs". AOL Radio. from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
4. O'Neil, Tim (24 August 2004). . PopMatters. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008.
5. "Avril Tries Her Hand at Acting In 'Nobody's Home' Video". MTV. MTV Networks. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
6. "TRL Archives – October 2004". ATRL.net. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
7. Nobody's Home (Australian CD single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records, RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 2004. 82876665912.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Nobody's Home (German CD single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records, RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 2004. 82876 653182.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Nobody's Home (Taiwanese CD single disc notes). Avril Lavigne. BMG Taiwan. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Nobody's Home (Japanese maxi-CD single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records, RCA Records, Bertelsmann Music Group. 2004. 82876-65243-2, BVCP-29047.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Nobody's Home (UK CD1 liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records. 2004. 82876 66364 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Nobody's Home (UK CD2 liner notes). Avril Lavigne. Arista Records, RCA Records. 2004. 82876 66365-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. Nobody's Home (US promo CD liner notes). Avril Lavigne. RCA Records. 2004. 82876 65631-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. "Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
15. "Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
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18. "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1589. 14 January 2005. p. 28. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
19. "R&R Canada Hot AC Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1588. 7 January 2005. p. 47. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
20. "Avril Lavigne – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Avril Lavigne. Retrieved 29 January 2011.^{[dead link]}
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23. (in Greek). IFPI. Archived from the original on 15 January 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2020. See Best Position column.
24. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Nobody's Home". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
26. [Avril Lavigne's Singles Sales Ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
27. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
28. "Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
30. "Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
31. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
32. "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
33. "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
34. "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
35. "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
36. "Brazilian single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
37. "American single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Nobody's Home". Recording Industry Association of America.
38. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1578. 22 October 2004. p. 19.
39. "Nobody's Home EP Avril Lavigne CD Album". CDJapan.
40. "Reviews: Singles". Music Week. 6 November 2004. p. 23.
41. "Nobody's Home". Amazon Germany.