Avril Lavigne, actually Avril Ramona Lavigne, was born on September 27, 1984. Avril Lavigne is a Canadian pop punk singer/songwriter and actress who is well known for her "skater punk" persona. Her two albums to date, Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004), have topped the charts in numerous countries. Although her name is of French origin, she herself does not speak French and her name is pronounced in an anglicized way, more or less as "La-veen" (although, actual pronunciation should be "La-Vine"). Her first name, Avril, means "April" in French and is pronounced "Av-reel" (anglicized "Ahv-ril").
When singer, songwriter, and musician Avril Lavigne first burst upon the music scene at age 17, she was known as a young, pop-punk tomboy who refused to resort to skin-baring come-ons, preferring to entice the record-buying public with her powerhouse voice, high-spirited melodies, and straight-talking lyrics. Staying steadfastly true to herself and putting music before image paid off both critically and commercially for the Canadian-born artist. In 2002, Lavigne shot to global pop stardom with the 6x-platinum Let Go, followed by 2004’s 3x-platinum Under My Skin, and 2007’s platinum The Best Damn Thing. Over the course of her three albums, Lavigne scored a string of international hit singles: “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m With You,” “Losing Grip,” “Don’t Tell Me,” “My Happy Ending,” “Nobody’s Home,” “Keep Holding On,” “Girlfriend,” “When You’re Gone,” “Hot,” and “The Best Damn Thing.” She earned eight Grammy Award nominations, won seven Canadian Juno Awards, and sold more than 30 million albums and nearly 20 million tracks worldwide over the past eight years.
Lavigne also launched a second career as an entrepreneur by creating a well-received fashion and lifestyle brand (Abbey Dawn), two fragrances (Black Star and Forbidden Rose), branched out into film work (Over the Hedge, Fast Food Nation), and further committed herself to the philanthropic activities she’s participated in over the years by establishing The Avril Lavigne Foundation, which works in partnership with leading charitable organizations to design and deliver programs, raise awareness, and mobilize support for children and youth living with serious illnesses or disabilities.
With her multiple creative endeavors and impressive musical success, it’s worth pointing out that Avril Lavigne is all of 26. She may be young by veteran performer standards, but she has evolved as a person and as an artist since releasing The Best Damn Thing. Lavigne brings the maturity and insight she’s gained from her experiences to her next labor of love, her fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby, which will be released by RCA Records in March 2011.
“I pushed myself and didn’t hold back,” Lavigne says of Goodbye Lullaby for which she wrote or co-wrote every song, and wrote and produced two — “4 Real” and “Goodbye” — entirely on her own. “I allowed myself to be vulnerable. I think it’s during the real moments that people can relate the most. Those who have heard the album have had very strong emotional reactions to the songs, so I realized that when something is so real, it will probably touch somebody. The beauty of music is that it’s open to interpretation.”
Written at various stages over the past few years, Goodbye Lullaby is filled with appealingly relatable, heartfelt songs that convey a variety of emotions and reflect a bittersweet mood not generally associated with Lavigne’s best-known tunes. Except for the anthemic first single, the irresistibly feisty “What The Hell” and “Smile,” which create a perfect bridge from her previous work, the remainder of Goodbye Lullaby finds Lavigne exploring what it means to push through the tough times and emerge stronger for it — a theme apparent on songs like “Everybody Hurts,” “Push,” “Remember When,” and “Wish You Were Here.”
“Overall, the album is about how we all go through difficult experiences, whether it’s ending a relationship, losing a job, or just missing someone,” Lavigne says. “We get through it and we grow.” Nowhere is this feeling better expressed than on “Goodbye,” a delicate piano-and-string ballad that closes out the album. “’Goodbye’ is the most raw and vulnerable track I’ve ever written and recorded in my career,” Lavigne says. “It’s a very special song because I wrote and produced it myself. It’s so real and truthful. You can’t fake that.”
Goodbye Lullaby’s intensity is balanced out by its instrumentation: bright, rich textures of acoustic guitar and piano, as well as an orchestra on “Darlin’,” “Remember When,” and “Goodbye.” Through it all, from the upbeat pop tracks to the mellower ballads, Lavigne’s voice is front and center, summoning up and soaring easily through the emotion that her lyrics require.
“This album is all about me being a singer, a songwriter, and a musician,” Lavigne says. “Typically the lead vocal gets buried in the track and you can’t always hear the quality, character, or emotion after a certain point. I wanted my voice to be the main instrument. It forced me to really throw myself out there. I still love rocking out, but I wanted this record to show a different side. That’s why I produced some of the songs myself, which I never thought I’d do.”
For the rest of the album’s tracks, Lavigne turned to her longtime friends and collaborators Evan Taubenfeld and Butch Walker, as well as Max Martin. Another important influence was Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley, who lends his production skills to several tracks, including “Darlin’,” — a song Lavigne wrote at the age of 14. “Whenever I hear ‘Darlin,’ I think of the family room I wrote it in and playing it for my mom,” she says. “So it’s really special for me to have it on the album.”
A small-town girl from Napanee, Ontario, Lavigne had already been writing, singing, and performing for a few years before releasing her breakthrough album, Let Go, which featured the smash singles “Complicated” and “Sk8r Boi” and sold more than 16 million units worldwide. Her second album, 2004’s Under My Skin, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, and sold more than eight million copies worldwide fueled by the hit singles “Don’t Tell Me” and “My Happy Ending.” Four years later came The Best Damn Thing, which featured the No. 1 single “Girlfriend.” Lavigne’s biggest record to date, “Girlfriend” was the top digital track of 2007, selling more than 7.3 million downloads in eight languages. The Best Damn Thing included the epic ballad “Keep Holding On,” which Lavigne wrote at the request of 20th Century Fox for the studio’s fantasy/adventure film Eragon. Lavigne’s songs have also graced the soundtracks of such feature films as Sweet Home Alabama, Bruce Almighty, Legally Blonde 2, The Princess Diaries 2, and The House Bunny.
In 2010, Lavigne wrote “Alice” for Tim Burton’s film fantasy Alice in Wonderland, which was included on the compilation album Almost Alice, released in March. The video for “Alice,” directed by David Meyers, depicts Lavigne’s own adventure down the rabbit hole. She also brought her fashion brand into the mix, designing “Alice in Wonderland” pieces for Abbey Dawn that were sold in stores in connection with the film’s release.
It’s been a whirlwind journey for Lavigne, who says the thing she’s looking forward to most about releasing Goodbye Lullaby is getting the opportunity to hit the road and perform for her fans around the world. “My fans are hardcore,” Lavigne says. “They are very dedicated and really supportive — the kind of fans who stick around. It’s been an amazing experience meeting them after shows and reading their letters, because the things they’ll say to me are very special. People have come up and started crying, saying, ‘You have no idea what your music has done for me.’” That’s all I need to hear. If I can give even one person strength through my music, that’s pretty frickin’ special.”
She is appearing on the February edition of Harpers Bazaar Fashion Magazine with a new look. She will sing at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics (Turin, Italy) for the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion. Her third album is supposed to be released during the middle of 2006. It should include collaborations with Chantal Kreviazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, who have also worked on 2004's 'Under My Skin' Lavigne's current band consists of the following: Devin Bronson (lead guitar), Craig Wood (rhythm guitar), Charlie Moniz (bass) and Matt Brann (drums). Departed members from Lavigne's band consist of the following: Evan Taubenfeld (lead guitar), Mark Spicoluk (bass, 2002) and Jesse Colburn (rhythm guitar). In 2003, it was reported that Lavigne was romantically involved with Colburn. Lavigne is engaged to be married to Deryck Whibley of the pop punk band Sum 41, and Mark Spicoluk was a former member of that band.
Avril Lavigne formerly traveled with a bag full of about thirty neck ties. Some of them she bought, and the rest of them she took from her father and some were sent to her by fanmail. Lavigne stopped wearing neckties completely in 2003, as she was horrified at the constant media references to them overshadowing her music and that she was starting a fashion trend amongst her fans. She has a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, applied at the same time as friend and musical associate Ben Moody's identical tattoo.
In late 2004, Avril Lavigne had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist thought to be a reference to fiance Deryck Whibley. She has also bought a house with him in Beverly Hills. In March 2004, she became involved in a celebrity feud with Hilary Duff: Duff reportedly criticized Lavigne after she apparently got mad at her fans for dressing like her. Duff called her "mean-spirited" and said: "You should be happy that these people like you and look up to you."
During an interview for a Boston radio station, Lavigne then said that Duff was a "mommy's girl" and a "goody two-shoes". Avril Lavigne then said to Duff (who was not present during that interview), "You can go screw yourself". Reportedly, Avril Lavigne also said about Duff, "I'm sure she's really nice and sweet. I'm sure she's all smiles." During that same interview, she spotted a picture of herself and ripped it up, allegedly saying, "I hate that fucking photo!" All this happened while on air. According to Avril Lavigne, she had permission to take the picture down station personnel encouraged her to take it down. She has admitted to Rollingstone.com that she got into some fights one night. "The other night, I got into three fights", says Lavigne. "I was at a club and some girl was giving me attitude. She pushed me and I got her down on the floor. Security came, and because I was on top, they threw me out."
A profile of Avril Lavigne in The Washington Post found that, in the flesh, her personality did not reflect her marketing, and instead found her to be, if anything, something of a wide-eyed innocent, citing her intending to purchase her first Ramones CD. In another interview, Avril Lavigne listed her current listening tastes as including blink-182, Sum 41, Green Day and System of a Down. She is a vegetarian. Some members of the old school, hardcore punk community have an intense dislike for Lavigne and her style of music, which they believe waters down what punk is really all about. Comments she has made, showing a lack of knowledge/interest in the seventies punk movement and the luminaries of that movement (Lavigne once admitted to not ever having heard of the Sex Pistols), has led some to label her a poser. However, Avril Lavigne has consistently stated that her music is not punk rock and that she does not believe she is punk. Although it's constantly debated whether or not she is punk, there have been several (and more recent) occasions where she has stated "I'm not punk, that's a whole other world. If anything I'm more rock or pop." Avril Lavigne has made it to the list of FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World for three consecutive years, from 2003 to 2005. She was also included in Maxim Hot 100 for 2003 and 2005 at 92nd and 36th spots respectively.
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