She broke out of Napanee, Ontario when she was 16. She had been writing her own songs ever since she got her first guitar and has been skateboarding ever since she was 14. A startlingly up-front and outrageous 17-year-old with everything it takes to reach stardom-completely on her own terms. "I'm just coming out and I'm going to clearly be myself-I write what I feel, I never worry what others think, " Avril avows. "I'm gonna dress what's me, I'm gonna act what's me and I'm gonna sing what's me".Avril does exactly that on her debut CD, Let Go, flaunting sassy vocals, a crystal clear voice with real-girl lyrical style. "Anything But Ordinary" is a rockin' ode to individuality, while guitar-driven first single, "Complicated," is a simple song that kicks pretenders to the curb. The string-inflected "I'm With You" reaches out for connection to reflect Avril's more mellower side, but tracks like "Losing Grip" and "Unwanted" courageously confront rejection and betrayal with all the heaviness such subjects demand. Then there's "My World" and the metaphoric "Mobile," which perfectly articulate the Avril experience. "I have this awesome opportunity to fulfill my dream. I am all over the place, flying here and there, going through different stuff every day," she explains. "This is my lifestyle, but I wouldn't want a normal life or I'd get bored".
While she was in New York, she got signed to Arista Records by L.A Reid. "I don't like it when people say that Antonio "L.A" Reid discovered me. I discovered myself." Avril says. It pisses her off if anyone says something about L.A discovering her. This seventeen year old is very unique. She wrote every single one of her songs. "Everytime I got home, I went to my guitar and wrote a song about what happened to me that day. I don't care if nobody cares because it's the way I'm feeling and that's what I'm going to write about." Avril says, about the inspiration for her songs. That's what makes Avril so unique. She writes her own songs and she refuses to do something that she doesn't want to do. For instance, take a photo shoot. "At one photo shoot, they tried to glam me all up and I didn't like it. They just wouldn't listen to me." she says.
Although Avril virtually lived in the studio during that New York stint, her efforts didn't pay off at first. "I started working with these really talented people, but I just wasn't feeling it; the songs weren't representative of me," she admits. "Then they started talking about having people write for me, but I had to write myself. I had to do my music. It was a really stressful time, but I never considered giving up." Instead, she flipped coasts. Los Angeles gave Avril the fresh start she needed.
It was there that she hooked up with producer/songwriter Clif Magness, and "I was like, "Yeah! I've found my guy!'" she enthuses. "We totally clicked, because he just let me guide; he really understood me and let me do my thing." The songs for Let Go began pouring out, with Magness at the helm as well as up-and-coming production team the Matrix. Soon after Avril hooked up with Nettwerk Management who've steered the careers of Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Coldplay, Barenaked Ladies and Sum 41.
Avril couldn't be happier with the way the album turned out. "In this past year I've really grown as a writer. 'Complicated' wasn't written about anyone in particular. It is basically about life, people being fake and relationships." As to one of her favorite tracks, "Losing Grip," she says, "That is definitely one of my ex-boys-he didn't give me what I needed emotionally." Avril laughs, "It doesn't matter now, and plus I got a good song out of it."
Her album "Under My Skin" opens with the dramatic tracks "Take Me Away" and "Together," which set the scene for the kick-ass guitars and radio-ready chorus of "Don't Tell Me," a song of willful female empowerment that picks up where "Complicated" left off. From there it's a one-two punch of three-chord guitar licks ("He Wasn't") and head-bopping optimism ("Who Knows") alongside swirling, brooding melodies ("Freak Out") and moody tracks ("Forgotten," "Nobody's Home") that reveal a darker side of Avril Lavigne."I grew up so much in the past two years," admits the Napanee, Ontario, native. "I've been through a lot, I've learned a lot, and experienced a lot both good and bad. These songs are about all of that, and each is very personal to me." Working with producers, Butch Walker (of the Marvelous 3), Raine Maida (of Our Lady Peace), Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Pearl Jam), Avril co-wrote the dozen introspective songs on Under My Skin in near secrecy. "I'd just come off my world tour and got back to Toronto and was writing right away," the 19-year-old says. "I had no idea what I was going to do. No one did. People wondered if I'd run out of things to write about, but it was the opposite."
After a lunch date with fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk turned into a major chick-bonding session, Avril and Chantal sat down to write. The chemistry was ineffable. "We got together one night and all of a sudden we had a song," she says. "No one knew what I was up to, not my management, not my label." The duo got together the next night and wrote another song. "We did that for two weeks and wrote 12 songs." Momentum took over and by summer Avril was moving into Chantal and her husband Raine Maida's Malibu house to record. "I was only off my tour for a couple of weeks, and I was ready to record," Avril recalls.
The California air provided a needed escape from Avril's frantic life. "It was a great time for me, living out there, being out of the public eye, and having my independence. And my friendship with Chantal evolved into one of the best I've ever had." Chantal and Avril would spend all night in the studio perfecting the songs. During the day, Avril learned the city by driving to and from the studio and wherever she needed to be. No photos, no interviews, no pressure. Eventually they recorded most of the songs in Raine's studio, and those songs appear unaltered on Under My Skin. The rest of the tracks, co-written with her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld (and one track with former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody), were cut just up the road. "I was involved in every aspect of making this record. I'm very hands-on," she says. "I knew how I wanted the drums, the guitar tones, and the structures to be. I understand the whole process so much better this time because I've been through it. I'm really picky with my sound."
Picking favorites out of her 12 hand-made babies is another matter. "They all mean so much to me, but I love 'Together,' which is all about being in a relationship and knowing it's not right. It's a song that basically says, it's not working out honey." A couple of other tracks mine dysfunctional relationships and have hooks as catchy as those on "Complicated" and real-life narratives (like "Sk8er Boi"), but what truly underscores Avril's growth are the more positive tracks, such as "Who Knows" and "Take Me Away." "I guess that's just the way that I am now," admits the former supposed attitude junkie. Deep, piano-driven tracks like "Together" and "Forgotten" reflect Avril's growth, maturity, and change since the release of Let Go. "I'm happy with what I'm doing and have faith that everything is going to work out for the best." She's also found a feminine side to offset her well-publicized tomboyishness. "I'm such a chick. I'm a hopeless romantic, and surprisingly old-fashioned," Avril laughs. "That's why I wrote a song about not giving it up to just any guy ["Don't Tell Me"]." Girly quirks aside, Avril's anxious to get the show on the road. "It feels so good to be singing new songs," she says. "I feel refreshed and I'm looking forward to the next thing."
Optimistic or melancholic, Avril's two-year wild-ride on the rock-star express has shaped her world view and taught her a whole lot about balance. "The songs on Under My Skin are definitely deeper than those on Let Go," she says, "But I still love a good pop song. I'm basically just a girl who likes to write, who likes to rock out, and who wants music to be a part of my life forever."
But Avril's music is capable of reaching the girls and the guys, and more than a few adventurous adults too-and she's chomping at the bit to bring it to 'em. "I can't wait to be out there; I want to rock the world! I want people to know that my music is real and honest - it came from my heart. I was just being true to myself."
Not a girlie-girl
Avril Ramona Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984, in Belleville, a small city in the eastern part of the province of Ontario, Canada. The second of three children, her father, John, was a technician for Bell Canada; mother Judy was a stay-at-home mom. When Lavigne was five, the family moved to Napanee, a farming town even smaller than Belleville with a total population of only five thousand. From the time she was a toddler Lavigne idolized her older brother, Matt, and insisted on trying to do anything he could do. As she explained to Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly, "Ifhe played hockey, I had to play hockey. He played baseball, I wanted to." In fact, when Lavigne was ten she played in the Napanee boy's hockey league; she also became known as quite a baseball pitcher.
As she grew older Lavigne gained a reputation as a tomboy who preferred family outings like dirt biking or camping over dating. And in the tenth grade she discovered skateboarding, which became a particular passion. "I'm just not a girlie-girl," Lavigne laughingly told Willman. When not playing sports, however, she did pursue another interest—singing. The Lavignes were devout Christians and attended Evangel Temple in Napanee, where young Avril sang in the choir beginning at age ten. Soon she branched out and began singing at all types of venues, including county fairs, hockey games, and company parties. She primarily sang covers of songs made popular by
"Why should I care what other people think of me? I am who I am. And who I wanna be."
country singers Martina McBride (1966–) and Faith Hill (1967–). Lavigne's parents bought her a sound machine to sing along with, and she practiced in front of a mirror at home for hours.
In 1998, when she was fourteen years old, Lavigne's first manager, Cliff Fabri, discovered her singing at a small performance in a local bookstore. When talking to Willman, Fabri described the young girl as a "frizzy-haired waif." But he liked Lavigne's voice, and he was especially impressed by her confident attitude. That same year, such confidence helped her win a contest to sing a duet with fellow Canadian Shania Twain (1965–) at the jam-packed Corel Centre in Ottawa. Even though it was her first time performing in front of twenty thousand people, Lavigne was fearless. As she told Willman, "I thought, 'This is what I'm going to do with my life."'
Lavigne lets go
Two years later, when she was sixteen, Fabri arranged for Lavigne to audition for L.A. Reid, head of Arista Records in New York City. After a fifteen-minute tryout Reid signed Lavigne to an amazing two-record, $1.25 million contract. The sixteen year old immediately dropped out of high school to devote herselfto working on her first album. At first producers offered Lavigne new country tunes to sing, but after six months the team was unable to write any actual songs, and it became apparent that things were not clicking. Reid then sent the singer to Los Angeles to work with a team of producers and writers known as The Matrix. When Lavigne arrived in L.A. Matrix producer Lauren Christy asked Lavigne what style she had in mind. As Christy relayed to Chris Willman, Lavigne had responded, "I'm 16. I want to rock out." That same day Lavigne and Matrix writers penned the first song for her album, "Complicated."
Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released on June 4, 2002, and within six weeks it had gone platinum, meaning over a million copies were sold. The single "Complicated," which received a great deal of radio airplay, reached number one on the adult Billboard charts; "I'm With You" also reached number one on the adult charts; and the catchy pop tune "Sk8er Boi" was To promote the album Lavigne set out on a whirlwind publicity tour, making appearances on talk shows such as Late Night with David Letterman, and giving a series of concerts in Europe with her newly formed band, which was put together by her new management firm, Nettwerk. Most inexperienced singers are backed by seasoned musicians, but Nettwerk chose to go with young performers who were up and coming in the Canadian punk-rock scene. As Nettwerk manager Shauna Gold told Shanda Deziel of Maclean's, "[Lavigne] is young, her music's young, we needed a band that would fit well with who she is as a person."
And, after being away from her small-town home in Canada, Lavignewas beginning to form her own personal style. Initially publicists tried to market her like other teen pop stars, but Lavigne rebelled. "IfI was made up by the record label," she remarked to Lorraine Ali of Newsweek, "I'd have bleached-blonde hair and I'd probably be wearing a bra for a shirt." Instead, the singer-songwriter opted for a skater-punk look, which consisted of cut-off plaid pants, steel-toed Doc Martens, and tank tops worn with neckties. According to Ali, the five-foot-one tomboy "spawned a prepubescent army of Lavignettes" who snatched up her records and faithfully copied her outfits.
Finds independence with Under My Skin
By the end of 2002 Let Go had sold 4.9 million copies and was the second best-seller of the year just behind The Eminem Show. (By 2005 worldwide sales topped over fourteen million.) As 2003 progressed Lavigne continued to gather more fame and more accolades. She performed to sold-out crowds at her first North American concert tour; nabbed five Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year for "I'm With You"; and was named Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards. In Canada Lavigne received six Juno nominations, winning four, including Best New Artist and Best Pop Album.
In the press Lavigne was deemed the leader of the pack of a new group of edgy, female singer-songwriters, which included Pink (1979–) and Michelle Branch (1983–). She also endured being called the "anti-Britney," referring to Britney Spears. In interviews Lavigne expressed her distaste for the label. "I don't like that term," she told Chris Willman. "It's stupid. She's a human being. God, leave her alone." But, in the same interview radio programmer Tom Poleman explained to Willman that Lavigne's popularity was partly thanks to her "anti-Britney" style. "Avril is much more the regular kid," Poleman commented. "For boys, she seems more attainable; girls can see themselves living more like her, dressing the same, being attracted to the same boys."
Despite her hectic schedule Lavigne returned to the studio in 2003 to record her second album, which she was determined to make her own way. Although Lavigne did write several of the songs on Let Go, she did so with the help of a slew of producers. This time she flew to Los Angeles to work privately with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk (1973–); she also cowrote one song with guitarist Ben Moody (1980–) of the band Evanescence. Lavigne's record label, Arista, did not hear a single track until the newly independent singer was finished. "There was no way I was gonna write songs and send
Canadian Punk Rockers: Sum 41
In June 2005 Avril Lavigne became engaged to her boyfriend sex appeal of a year, Deryck Whibley (1980–), the lead singer of Canadian punk-pop group called Sum 41, whose members are known for their quick, catchy rock tunes and their highly energized live performances.
Sum 41 is composed of four musicians: drummer Steve "Stevo" Jocz, lead vocalist Deryck "Bizzy D" Whibley, lead guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh, and bass player Jason "Cone" McCaslin. All four attended the same high school in Ajax, Ontario, and all played in various high school bands that performed in and around Toronto. In 1996, during the summer of their junior year, Jocz and Whibley decided to join forces and form their own band; they called it Sum 41 since the group was founded on the forty-first day of summer vacation. Jocz and Whibley tried out a number of bass players and guitarists before asking Baksh and McClasin to join the band. By 1999 the group was cemented and they began to create a unique sound that borrowed from all kinds of music, including hiphop, heavy metal, and alternative rock.
By late 1999 the foursome had created their own press kit, which included a ten-minute video featuring some of their musical numbers interspersed with clips of the band mates pulling pranks. They sent the kit off to several major record labels, and within a week Sum 41 was signed by Island Records. The band's first album, Half Hour of Power (2000), attracted little attention, but with 2001's All Killer No Filler Sum 41 began to reach an international fan base, especially because of the hit single "Fat Lip," which reached number sixty-six on the U.S. Billboard charts. The band attracted a loyal fol-lowing (who called themselves the Bomb Squad) particularly because of their on-stage antics. During Sum 41's 2001 Tour of the Rising Sun they pogo-jumped, participated in mock guitar battles, and urged the audience to join in rock song challenges.
The band released two more albums by the mid-2000s: Does This Look Infected? (2002) and Chuck (2004). The 2004 CD is named after Chuck Pelletier, a United Nations peacekeeper who was instrumental in saving the lives of the band members while they were making a documentary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; formerly Zaire). Since the late 1990s the Democratic Republic of Congo had been embroiled in the Second Congo War (1998–2002), a conflict that involved nine African nations, but that was centered in the DRC. Many artists from the United States and Canada have offered humanitarian aid to the citizens of the war-torn country. Although there is tentative peace in the DRC, military threats still exist for civilians. In April 2005 Chuck received the Rock Album of the Year prize at the Juno Awards, which are presented annually in Canada to honor achievement in the music industry.
Avril's "Happy Ending"
Some of the press surrounding Under My Skin came as a result of a twenty-one-city mall tour that Lavigne and her band embarked on just prior to the album's release. As Lavigne explained to Deborah Evans Price of Billboard, "We thought it would be cool to put on a free show and give back to the fans." Armies of Lavignettes turned out to demonstrate their support, and thousands of CDs were pre-sold even before the album's release. To encourage even more sales Lavigne again went out on the road doing nonstop interviews and heading out on a spring 2004 concert tour. According to Jill Kipnis of Billboard, twenty-six of the thirty-one shows sold out completely and the tour grossed over $9 million.
By the end of 2004 the twenty-year-old Lavigne was the one of America's top-selling entertainers. Her face graced the covers of teen magazines like CosmoGIRL!, and she was featured in articles in such national magazines as Time and Newsweek. She also completed her second sold-out concert tour, the Bonez Tour, which was launched in October. Lavigne ended the year by appearing on the soundtracks of two films, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
In 2005, just three years after her debut album appeared, Lavigne was again the top-honored entertainer at Canada's Juno Awards. She received five nominations and took home three prizes, including the Best Artist award and a second win for Best Pop Album. Lavigne also announced that she would be adventuring more into film by lending her voice to a character in an animated movie called Over the Hedge, scheduled for a 2006 release. Perhaps the biggest bit of personal Lavigne news came in June 2005, when the Canadian "punk princess" became engaged to boyfriend Deryck Whibley (1980–), lead singer of the Canadian punk-rock group Sum 41.
Although she had only two albums under her belt, most music critics predicted that Avril Lavigne had a solid future. As USA Today correspondent Brian Mansfield told Billboard, "Avril's core audience may be a very young one, but she strikes me as the type of artist that a wide range of people respect and hope to see succeed. Those are the kind of artists who have long careers."