“Daydream” (Demo) – Avril Lavigne
| Registration: | ASCAP, Copyright |
| Leaked: | January 23, 2004 |
| Recorded: | 2003: For Under My Skin album |
| Writers: | Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk |
| Publishers: | Almo Music Corporation; Avril Lavigne Publishing LLC; Sony/ATV Tunes LLC |
| Official Release: | Miranda Cosgrove – studio version released on Sparks Fly in 2010 |
“Daydream” was written and recorded for Avril’s second album, Under My Skin. It leaked in January 2004, and was thought to be the new album’s lead single. In the end, “Daydream” was not a single and was not on the album – or any other Avril Lavigne release. It has been a fan favorite for more than a decade now, and to this day remains the only leak from the Under My Skin leftovers.
“Daydream” vs. “Don’t Tell Me”: Lead Single Battle
On January 23, 2004, two new Avril Lavigne songs appeared online: Clips of “Daydream” and “Don’t Tell Me” popped up on promosquad.com, and were the first two songs fans heard of Avril’s Under My Skin recordings. A few days later on January 28th, different clips of both songs could be heard through a promosquad phone survey. This clip of “Daydream” was different from the first: Instead of the first verse and chorus, this phone clip featured the second verse and slightly different chorus, described by fans as sounding like the end of the song. Many fans who phoned in were able to record the “Daydream” audio. They put their phones on speaker phone in order to record the clip. Their recordings were, understandably, low quality, but it did allow fans across the internet the chance to hear the second verse of “Daydream.”
“Daydream” and “Don’t Tell Me” were evidently in a battle to see which would become the first single from Avril’s anticipated second album. While fans seemed to enjoy both, “Don’t Tell Me” must have won the competition, as it was released as the lead single in March of that year. “Daydream” was not the first single, but even worse, it was not on the Under My Skin album at all. It never saw any official release from Avril Lavigne, not even as a b-side or bonus track. Instead, it was completely discarded, leaving fans nothing but some brief clips of differing sound quality.
The main version of “Daydream” that fans have is the 1.5 minute clip featured above. It contains the first verse and chorus, and is fairly good quality. However, some fans put the effort into reconstructing the full song. They were able to combine the good quality first verse and chorus with the low quality second verse (as recorded from the phone survey), along with the repeated chorus. You can hear the reconstruction below. It is not official, but it is the best fans have been able to put together given the circumstances.
Lyrics From a Diary: Themes of Young Love
“Daydream” has lyrics that could have been ripped from Avril’s diary. Some of her songs did start off in that way, so it would be no surprise if “Daydream” had a similar origin. The song describes young love. A girl has a crush on a guy, but isn’t sure how to act around him or how to deal with her feelings. All she knows is that he’s been on her mind and that she wants something to happen between them.
Love is a common theme among Avril’s songs. A self-professed romantic, Avril has a way of capturing those early fluttery feelings and crafting them into a catchy, relatable pop song. “Daydream” isn’t quite as innocent as her earlier songs (“it would have been really stupid / if I would have went home with you / to give you everything you wanted / it would have been way too soon”), but Avril maintains her own morals. Just like in “Don’t Tell Me,” in which she has no qualms about kicking the ass of a guy who just wants to get in her pants, “Daydream” shows Avril as a strong-willed girl who is in control of herself. But aside from this small similarity between the two songs, they have very different moods: One of a sweet crush, the other of love gone wrong.
This is probably at least partially why “Daydream” did not appear on Under My Skin. The album was full of angst, anger, and pain. Songs like “Forgotten,” “Nobody’s Home,” and “My Happy Ending” talk about bad breakups, abandonment, and finding yourself. It’s a dark album, and “Daydream” may have been too light for it. An innocent crush would be out of place on Under My Skin, so it makes sense to leave it off the record so as not to kill its vibe.
Demi Lovato Sings “Daydream” Live
In 2008, Demi Lovato performed a cover of “Daydream” in concerts as part of her Demi Live! Warm Up Tour. Between June and December, Demi included “Daydream” as the fourth song in her setlist. Demi was promoting her first album, Don’t Forget, but although she was performing “Daydream” in each concert, the song was not featured on her record. Her live versions are the only recordings we have of her cover of “Daydream.” You can see this live performance of “Daydream” from December 8, 2008:
Miranda Cosgrove Records “Daydream” for Debut Album
Six years after it first leaked, “Daydream” found its way to teen actress Miranda Cosgrove. The young star was getting ready to release her debut pop album, and she recorded a cover of Avril’s Under My Skin leftover. Her version of “Daydream” made the cut for her record, Sparks Fly, and was released in March 2010.
Miranda’s version of “Daydream” is longer than Avril’s partial demo. It features the second verse as well as a bridge, things that went missing in Avril’s higher quality leaked track. Other than those additions, however, Miranda’s version of “Daydream” is very similar to Avril’s, with comparable vocal styles and pop rock instrumentation.
“Daydream” was only the first Avril Lavigne leftover that Miranda recorded. She also released another Avril-penned song that was composed more recently: “Dancing Crazy” was written for Avril’s fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby, but ultimately was left off the record. It instead went to Miranda, and hers is the only version we have heard thus far. Find out more about it in an upcoming Behind The Music post!
“Daydream”
“Daydream” is a cute song describing a young girl’s crush on a guy, typical of Avril’s songs. In the end, it didn’t really fit with the mood or style of Under My Skin, so it is understandable why it was discarded. The song is fitting for Miranda Cosgrove’s debut pop album. Her youth and innocence go well with the themes in “Daydream.” Still, many Avril fans wish we could hear a high quality, full version of Avril’s leftover demo. Perhaps someday it will finally leak in full. Until then, fans will have to be content with the partial Avril demo and Miranda’s full studio cover.
Check out the lyrics below:
Lalala-a (lalala-a)
Yeah
Lalala-aI could have been the one you noticed
I could have been all over you
I could have been like all the others
Is that what I’m supposed to do?It would have been really stupid
If I would have went home with you
To give you everything you wanted
It would have been way too soonI try to be sensitive, I try to be tough
I try to walk away
I try to be innocent, I try to be rough
But I just wanna playYou’re my daydream
You know that I’ve been thinking about you lately
And every time I look at you
I can’t explain, I feel insane
I can’t get away
You’re my daydreamAnd you know, and you know, and you know, and you know
You’re making me insane
And you know, and you know, and you know, and you know
You’re doing it again
And you know, and you know, and you know, and you know
You’re making me insane
And you know, and you know, and you know,
You’re doing it again
Check out the rest of Avril Lavigne’s unreleased songs for more Behind The Music stories. If there isn’t a page for the song you like, feel free to request it and we will try to share the story within a couple of weeks.
- Green Day Announces ‘BBC Sessions’ & Shares “2000 Light Years Away” - October 22, 2021
- The Weeknd & Swedish House Mafia Team Up for “Moth To A Flame” - October 22, 2021
- See Lana Del Rey’s Music Video for “Blue Banisters” - October 20, 2021
Please more Avril unreleased songs ?