Wikipedia

Keep Holding On

For other uses, see Keep Holding On (disambiguation).

"Keep Holding On" is a power ballad by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released as the first single for the soundtrack to 2006 film Eragon and later appearing as the last track on Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing (2007),[2][3] which was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne has described the rest of the album as being upbeat and heavy in comparison to "Keep Holding On". Originally, an alternate version was to be included, but the original version made it instead.[citation needed]

"Keep Holding On"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album Eragon: Music from the Motion Picture
ReleasedNovember 27, 2006 (2006-11-27)
Recorded2006
Genre
Length3:59
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Fall to Pieces"
(2005) 		"Keep Holding On"
(2006) 		"Girlfriend"
(2007)
Audio
"Keep Holding On" on YouTube

Written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald and produced by the latter, the song premiered on radio stations across North America in November 2006, receiving positive reviews from critics.[4] "Keep Holding On" was one of the songs short-listed for the "Best Original Song" category at the 79th Academy Awards, but it was not among the final nominees. The song was also ranked on the iTunes Australia top 500 at 403.[5]

Background and composition

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"Keep Holding On"
A 24-second sample of Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On" song where the chorus is played.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Keep Holding On" was written by Lavigne and produced by co-writer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. The strings were arranged and conducted by Leon Pendarvis, long time SNL associate with Dr. Luke. The song was recorded at Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles) in 2006.[6] According to the sheet music published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is composed in the key of G major and is set in a time signature of 6/8 time with a tempo of 56 beats per minute. Lavigne vocal range spans from F#3 to D5.[7]

Reception

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Commercial

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"Keep Holding On" reached number two for four weeks on the Canadian BDS Airplay Chart, number one being Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right".[citation needed] It became her highest-peaking airplay single since "Complicated" which peaked at number one for one week in 2002. It peaked at number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100, where it spent 20 weeks on the chart.[8] In the United States, "Keep Holding On" spent 21 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking within the top twenty at 17, charting below Lavigne's "Girlfriend" which was number one that week.[8][9] It peaked in the top ten on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks format chart. This feat is particularly impressive considering no official promotional music video was made.

It was not released in most of Europe, although it got to 9 in Slovakia, and 27 in the Czech Republic. The single was one of the first to be issued as a digital-only release in Australia, where it charted at number five on the Top 40 Digital Tracks chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA on February 22, 2007, and Platinum on January 31, 2008.[10] By September 2015, "Keep Holding On" had sold 1.6 million digital copies in the USA.[11] In 2023, it hit 100 million streams on Spotify, her first non-single to reach this milestone.[12]

Critical

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Billboard described it as a "gorgeous song" in which Lavigne seems to be "set to remain for the long term".[13] Darryl Sterdan of JAM! described the song as "A strummed guitar, lush strings and a soaring vocal about love and loyalty". He went on to compare it to "a sweeping Alanis-like ballad". Despite this, Sterdan advises the reader to skip the track.[14] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the song as "sullen".[15] Entertainment Weekly was also not impressed: "And: I will only have like 3 slow songs on the record. Yay!! Yay, indeed, given how little heart she's invested in that trio of limpid ballads, including "Keep Holding On," a.k.a. the love theme from Eragon."[16] Stylus said that the song "ends the album for the same reason graduation ends high school: because after all that, Hallmark means something."[17]

In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Keep Holding On" was voted Lavigne's fifth best song.[18]

Accolades

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Year Award Ceremony Award Result Ref.
2008 SOCAN Awards Pop/Rock Music Award Won [19][18]

Notable cover versions

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For BBC Children in Need in 2011, over 2,500 children sang the song in unison from 15 towns across the UK.[20] The 15 choirs, each representing a different BBC Local News Region made of local school children, sang live with a performance starting in the studio and then cutting between them before ending in the studio. However 5 of the choirs were missed off the performance. The children sang from: London at BBC Television Centre the studio where the main telethon was held, Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay,[21][22] Kent at the Bluewater Shopping Centre,[21] Weston-super-Mare at The Grand Pier,[23] Salford at MediaCityUK,[24] Cornwall at The Eden Project,[25][26] Cardiff at The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama,[27] Pudsey at Pudsey Market Square,[28] Birmingham at Aston Hall[29][30] and Belfast at W5.[31] The choirs not included in the main link up were: Hull at Hull Truck Theatre,[32] Hampshire at The National Motor Museum,[33] Colchester at Charter Hall,[34][35] County Durham at Beamish Museum[36][37] and Loughborough at Loughborough University[38][39]

In April 2015, The Voice Kids Philippines Season 1 runner-up Darren Espanto sung his rendition of the song on ABS-CBN noontime show, It's Showtime.[40]

Track listings and formats

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  • Digital download[41]
  1. "Keep Holding On"  – 3:59

Credits and personnel

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Credits and personnel are adapted from the "Keep Holding On" CD single liner notes.[42]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[61] Platinum 40,000*
United States (RIAA)[62] Platinum 1,600,000[11]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Keep Holding On"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Canada November 27, 2006 Digital download RCA [41]
United States November 28, 2006
[63][64]

References

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  1. ^ "Review: Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing - Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  2. ^ Luciana Maria Sanches (January 31, 2007). "Disco novo de Avril Lavigne já tem data; cantora comenta". Omelete. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  3. ^ Starpulse Entertainment News Blog (January 30, 2007). "Avril Lavigne Announces Release of Third Album". Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Keep Holding On iTunes Competition". Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  6. ^ The Best Damn Thing liner notes. Arista Records (2007)
  7. ^ "Avril Lavigne Keep Holding On – Digital Sheet Music". Music Notes. Universal Music Publishing Group. December 15, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Avril Lavigne". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Recording Industry Association of America (February 22, 2007). "Keep Holding On - Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 18, 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ a b Trust, Gary (September 6, 2015). "Ask Billboard: Avril Lavigne's Best-Selling Songs & Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "Avril Universe on Instagram".
  13. ^ Billboard Magazine (February 22, 2007). "Keep Holding On - Billboard Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  14. ^ Darryl Sterdan (April 14, 2007). "Jam! Review". Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ Sal Cinquemani (April 15, 2007). "Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  16. ^ "The Best Damn Thing". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  17. ^ "Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  18. ^ a b Cheung, Nadine. "Top 10 Avril Lavigne Songs". AOL Radio. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  19. ^ "Socan Awards". SOCAN. June 18, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, The Choir perform "Keep Holding On"". BBC. November 18, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  21. ^ a b BBC Scotland, Reporting Scotland, 18 November 2011
  22. ^ "Children in Need raises record £2.2m in Scotland". BBC News. November 19, 2011.
  23. ^ BBC West, Points West, 18 November 2011
  24. ^ BBC North West, North West Tonight, 18 November 2011
  25. ^ BBC South West, Spotlight, 18 November 2011
  26. ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, The Choir sings for Pudsey in South West England". BBC. November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  27. ^ BBC Cymru Wales, Wales Today, 18 November 2011
  28. ^ BBC Yorkshire, Look North, 18 November 2011
  29. ^ BBC West Midlands, Midlands Today, 18 November 2011
  30. ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, The Choir sings for Pudsey in West Midlands". BBC. November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  31. ^ Signage for location seen in background of BBC Northern Ireland programme Children in Need in Northern Ireland 2011, broadcast 19 November 2011
  32. ^ BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Look North, 18 November 2011
  33. ^ BBC South, South Today, 18 November 2011
  34. ^ BBC East, Look East, 18 November 2011
  35. ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, The Choir sings for Pudsey in East England". BBC. November 22, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  36. ^ BBC North East & Cumbria, Look North, 18 November 2011
  37. ^ "Matt Baker leads Children in Need charge". November 19, 2011.
  38. ^ BBC East Midlands, East Midlands Today, 18 November 2011
  39. ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, The Choir sings for Pudsey in the East Midlands". BBC. November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  40. ^ "Darren inspires with 'Keep Holding On' | ABS-CBN News". mobile.abs-cbnnews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  41. ^ a b "Keep Holding On (From "Eragon") - Single by Avril Lavigne". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  42. ^ Keep Holding On (US CD Single liner notes). Avril Lavigne. RCA Records. 2007. 88697 04596-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  43. ^ "Title = The Aria Report" (PDF). February 14, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  44. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  45. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  46. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  47. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard.
  48. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  49. ^ Czech Republic Airplay (May 2006). "Keep Holding On Runs on Czech IFPI Chart". ifpicr.cz. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  50. ^ Romanian Top 100 (September 2007). "Keep Holding On Runs on Romanian Top 100". Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  51. ^ "SNS IFPI". IFPI. Archived from the original (Hitparáda - RADIO - TOP 100 Týždeň - 200709) on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  52. ^ "Chart Log UK (1994–2010): DJ Steve L. – LZ Love". zobbel.de. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  53. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  54. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  55. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  56. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  57. ^ "Chart Log UK - Weekly Updates Sales 2011". zobbel.de. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  58. ^ "Brazilian Top 100 Year-End 2007". Crowley Broadcast Analysis. April 3, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  59. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  60. ^ "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  61. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On". Music Canada.
  62. ^ "American single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On". Recording Industry Association of America.
  63. ^ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: CHR/Top 40". Radio & Records. Archived from the original (Week Of: November 28, 2006) on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  64. ^ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Hot AC". Radio & Records. Archived from the original (Week Of: November 28, 2006) on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
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