"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).

The song, which combines power pop and pop-punk elements, lyrically tells a story told from the singer's viewpoint about her rocker boyfriend and a girl he knew in high school who rejected him because he was a skateboarder and she did ballet.

[1] The music video for the song, directed by Francis Lawrence, features a concert on a city street with Lavigne singing on the hood of a car with a crowd rocking out around her.

[2] While being on the verge of getting dropped off Arista, after an unsuccessful year of writing, Lavigne came to the attention of the three-piece production team the Matrix,[3] who later discovered that she wanted songs with punk rock inclinations.

"[6] [7] In May 2003, it was announced that Paramount Pictures had acquired the option to make Sk8er Boi into a full-length feature film, with David Zabel to write a script based on the song's lyrics.

[9] "Sk8er Boi" was written by Lavigne, while the production team the Matrix (consisting of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock) co-wrote, arranged and produced the track.

[12] Later on, he becomes a superstar musician (even playing guitar on MTV) and has moved on with another woman (who narrates the song) while she ultimately ends up as a young single mother.

In a review for the album Let Go, Christina Saraceno of AllMusic called "Sk8er Boi" a "terrific power pop bounce", highlighting the song as a "track pick".

[10] Brendan Schroer of Sputnikmusic praised the track, writing that Lavigne "brings another injection of infectious vocal work, peppy but not overbearing.

"[13] Pat Blashill of Rolling Stone agreed, calling it "seventeen-year-old Lavigne's signature moment," further adding: "Over a rush of nouveau-punk guitar chords, she narrates a funny story line, but none of it would matter if Lavigne didn't have a voice, equal parts baby girl and husky siren, that seems capable of setting off car alarms several city blocks away.

Despite the rebellious spelling of the title it turned out to be another solid effort, telling the tale of a girl who rejects a baggy-clothed boy who eventually goes on to be world-famous.

At the 45th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Lavigne received five nominations, including Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Sk8er Boi", but lost it to Sheryl Crow's "Steve McQueen".

[105] A cover version of the song by Angela Michael appears in the video game Elite Beat Agents for the Nintendo DS.

[110] Filipino rock singer Kean Cipriano covered the song for his performance in the second season of Your Face Sounds Familiar, in which he impersonates Lavigne.

[citation needed] On 19 February 2022, Tomorrow X Together member HueningKai released a cover of the song on YouTube, which Avril herself reacted by retweeting the video with rock on emojis.