There’s always something special about a cover: why did the artist choose this song, does their new perspective pay homage to the original, how did they put their own spin on a classic,? Covers have always been a way for artists to draw the intrigue of new fans hoping to connect with a song they know and love. With our new series Cover for a Cause, you can enjoy your old favorites, learn about a new artist, all the while doing some good in the world. To kick us off is Charlotte Rose Benjamin. 

APOTC: what do you like about Don’t Tell Me? What do you relate to lyrically or thematically? 

CRB: I don't think I fully understood "Don't Tell Me" when I was a kid, but on a more recent listen it occurred to me that it's about losing her virginity, or rather, choosing not to lose her virginity to someone who is pressuring her to. There's no one I wanted to be more than Avril Lavigne. As a role model to so many young girls, I think it's really cool of her to sing about having control of her body and her choices, but mostly I love the earnesty in these lyrics. The simplicity of "I'm gonna ask you to stop/I thought I liked you a lot/but I'm really upset" is heartbreaking! Avril, in general, was really good at being a teen writing about how hard it is to be a teen. Another incredible example is when she sort of bluntly shouts "WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CONFUSING?" in the bridge of "I'm With You." It's not poetic or ambiguous at all, but it's honest and it worked so well for a generation of pre- tumblr, post-reality TV tweens because we were ultimately very confused. Her peers were perfectly polished Disney pop stars, who released singles about wanting to dance all night etc.

But Avril was just left of center enough - with her cropped baggy jeans and awkward men's tie over wife beater-outfits and weird interviews where she rambles about the meaning of "punk"- to deliver these comforting truths to insecure kids so convincingly. She didn't seem like the popular girl at school, but she had accessibility because of her matter-of-factness and because she made songs like "Sk8er Boi", which structurally has the storytelling capabilities of, like, some crusty old pro Nashville guy. 

APOTC: What differences between Don’t Tell Me and your songs did you love? Despite these differences, what similarities do you notice between you, your songs, Avril Lavigne and Don’t Tell Me? 

CRB: I heard Dave Chapelle in an interview say something like, the version of himself on stage telling jokes is a lot closer to who he really is than the version where he's hanging out at the after party. He's not putting on a persona in his writing, he's just not holding back. I loved that. I use songwriting as a way to say things I don't know how to say in conversations with friends. I think that's what it is right? Making a record of some buried thought that scared or saved you? Finding a creative way to deliver truth so it doesn't hurt so bad? The cool thing about it is there's no right way to get there, and that's what my recent delve into Avril's old music reminded me. When I first started writing songs it was all flowery language and imagery. I was in highschool and Avril Lavigne wasn't cool anymore. I was obsessed with Joni Mitchell and Andrew Bird. I wrote a lot of pretty sounding metaphors that didn't mean anything, probably because I was too embarrassed to write something that felt real to me. I thought writing in the voice of a wise old folksy mountain woman was how people would finally take me seriously because my dumb teen shit probably sounded super lame.

At 19, I went through a really sad breakup and it changed my writing a lot. I was miserable all the time and everyone I knew was tired of hearing about it. I was a college dropout with a lot of free time so I just started writing. The new songs definitely weren't good, but my focus changed from trying to mimic something that sounded cool to trying to document exactly what happened and how it felt. And not only how it felt, but how I would say it. I think since then I've just been moving closer and closer to finding my voice. Now I want to write, like Avril did, about stuff that's true to me: feeling bummed about leaving a voicemail on somebody's phone and not getting a response - how dated it is to even leave a voicemail in general, pleading with someone to take pictures of me and post them on the internet, TV addiction and wanting to run away forever and live at the Mall of America. 

Charlotte Rose Benjamin chose The LoveLand Foundation as the cause she’d like to promote. The LoveLand Foundation defines themselves as an organization that: “is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls. Our resources and initiatives are collaborative and they prioritize opportunity, access, validation, and healing. We are becoming the ones we’ve been waiting for.” You can donate to this invaluable cause at TheLovelandFoundation.org/.