"What the Hell" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne from her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby (2011).

Upon its release, "What the Hell" received positive reviews from music critics with many complimenting its catchiness and comparing it to her 2007 single "Girlfriend".

"What the Hell" was performed by Lavigne on several television programs such as Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, T4, The View, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Britain's Got Talent and the Much Music Video Awards.

[1] The song was premiered on 31 December 2010 on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve[2] during a pre-taped segment along with a performance of "Girlfriend".

[3] Lavigne described "What the Hell" as "a really fun, upbeat party song, so it worked out really well to play it for the first time on New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Although Lavigne simply described the song as "a broad message about personal freedom",[1] critics have interpreted it in various ways.

Gil Kaufman of MTV.com suggested that it is a "declaration of independence from a former teen star who is storming back onto the scene".

Kaufman proposed Lavigne's public divorce from Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley, along with friction between her and her record company, as possible themes.

[9] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an anthem about a good girl... staying out late, swapping boys and exacting psychological revenge.

[9][13] Gil Kaufman of MTV.com stated "What the Hell" has "rousing cheerleader energy" and an "infectious groove and peppy vibe".

[10] Idolator described the song as a "guilty pleasure" and called it "the kind of track we only select after double-checking no one's eyeing our iPod.

[6] Heather McDaid of Stereoboard.com notes that it "isn't a revolutionary piece musically but it encompasses the pop-rock sound Avril has been creating over the years".

[16] Andy Greenwald from Entertainment Weekly was almost neutral in his review, but admitted that the "Farfisa-fueled What the Hell [will] restore Avril to her rightful place ahead of Katy Perry and Ke$ha in the Sisterhood of the Negligible Pants".

[17] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic picked the track as one of the best of the album: "'What the Hell' approximates Avril's irrepressible brattiness only without seeming much fun at all".

[2] She performed it on Daybreak (UK) on 15 February 2011; on T4, BBC Radio 1, The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, at Walmart Soundcheck, and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 14 March 2011; and on Sunrise on 31 March 2011, and on the Canadian premiation Much Music Video Awards on 19 June.

The video begins with Lavigne in her bra and panties lying in bed with her love interest, played by Spencer Hill.

She gets out of the bed, applies her two fragrances, Black Star and Forbidden Rose, locks her love interest in a walk-in closet, and leaves the house.

Mawuse Ziegbe of MTV said, "Avril Lavigne is officially back, and if her latest video 'What The Hell' is anything to go by, she's still brimming with the pop-punk spunk that made her a superstar nearly a decade ago.