Avril Lavigne
Lavigne at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Background information
Birth name	Avril Ramona Lavigne
Born	27 September 1984 (1984-09-27) (age�25)
Origin	Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Pop rock Pop punk
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, rhythm guitarist, actress, model, fashion designer
Instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, drums
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Arista (2002–05) RCA (2006–present)
Associated acts	Evan Taubenfeld, Deryck Whibley
Website	www.avrillavigne.com
Notable�instruments
Squier Signature Telecaster model

Avril Ramona Lavigne (pronounced /ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn/; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and occasional actress. Lavigne broke into the recording industry with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002, when she was 17 years old; as of 2009, over 16 million copies have been sold worldwide, more than 6 million of which were sold in the United States. Her breakthrough single, "Complicated", peaked in many top ten positions around the world, as did Let Go. Lavigne’s second album, Under My Skin, was released in 2004 and was her first album to peak at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The Best Damn Thing, Lavigne’s third album, was released in 2007; this album gave Lavigne her third #1 album in the UK Albums Chart and featured her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single, "Girlfriend". Lavigne has scored a total of five #1 singles worldwide, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm With You", "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend". She is currently working on her fourth studio album, expected to be released in 2010.

Lavigne has sold more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide and is currently one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the United States, with over 10 million copies certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. Billboard named Lavigne the #10 pop artist of the 2000s as well as the 28th overall best act of the decade based on album sales, chart success, and cultural relativity in the USA.

Lavigne has acted in several films, including the 2007 film "The Flock", and had a voice-acting role in the 2006 film "Over the Hedge". In August 2006, Canadian Business magazine ranked her the seventh top Canadian actor dominating in Hollywood in their second-annual ranking Celebrity Power List. She is ranked second with the most web hits, and sixth in TV mentions.

In July 2006, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Deryck Whibley. The marriage lasted a little over three years, and in October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce. Whibley and Lavigne continued to work together after the divorce, with Whibley producing on her upcoming fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

Early years

Avril Ramona Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Judith-Rosanne "Judy" (née Loshaw) and Jean-Claude Lavigne. Her father, who is of French Canadian descent, named her Avril after the French word for the month of April. She has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle. A daughter of a working-class family, Lavigne, at the age of two, began singing church songs along with her mother. The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Lavigne was five years old.

In 1998, Lavigne won a competition to sing with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain on her first major concert tour. She appeared alongside Twain at her concert in Ottawa, appearing on stage to sing "What Made You Say That". She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer Steve Medd; he invited her to contribute vocals on his song, "Touch the Sky", for his 1999 album, Quinte Spirit. She later sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow-up 2000 album, My Window to You.

Music career

In November 2000, Ken Krongard, an A&R representative, invited Antonio "L.A." Reid, the head of Arista Records, to hear Lavigne sing for 15 minutes at producer Peter Zizzo's Manhattan studio. Lavigne so impressed Reid, he immediately signed her to Arista with a deal worth $1.25 million for two albums and an extra $900,000 for a publishing advance. Signed as a singer, Lavigne was pitched with songs written by others. She dismissed them, however, and insisted on writing music herself. For a year, Lavigne and Arista had conflicts in musical direction. She collaborated with the music production team The Matrix, and the ensuing album became Let Go.

Because her songs have evolved, covering a variety of styles of music, Lavigne is not easily defined by only a few genres. Her music has been described as rock, pop rock, alternative rock, pop, pop punk, alternative pop, post-grunge, teen pop, and powerpop. Lavigne's influences include Courtney Love, Goo Goo Dolls, Blink-182 and Janis Joplin.

Let Go

Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go, on 4 June 2002 in the United States, where it reached #2 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at #1 on the Australian, Canadian and United Kingdom charts. This made Lavigne, at 17 years old, the youngest female soloist to have a #1 album in the United Kingdom until that time. By the end of 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA, making her the bestselling female artist of 2002 and Let Go the top-selling debut of the year. By May 2003, Let Go had accumulated over 1,000,000 sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association. As of 2009, the album has sold over 16 million units worldwide, and the RIAA has certified the album six-times platinum, denoting shipments of over six million units in the US.

Lavigne's debut single and the album's lead single, "Complicated", peaked at #1 in Australia and #2 in the United States. "Complicated" was one of the bestselling Canadian singles of 2002. "Complicated" was also featured on the teen television show, Dawson's Creek. Subsequent singles, "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You" reached the top ten in the United States. Thanks to the success of her first three singles, Lavigne was the second artist in history to have three #1 songs from a debut album on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards; she won four Juno Awards in 2003 out of six nominations, received a World Music Award for "World's Bestselling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Complicated" (2003) and "I'm With You" (2004).

In 2002, Lavigne made a cameo appearance in the music video to "Hundred Million" by the pop punk band Treble Charger. In March 2003, Lavigne posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and, later in May, performed "Fuel" during MTV's Icon tribute to Metallica. During her first headlining tour, the Try To Shut Me Up Tour, Lavigne covered Green Day's "Basket Case".

"Complicated" ranked on the Hot 100 singles of the decade list at #83.

Under My Skin

Lavigne in Vancouver, Canada during the "Live and By Surprise" mall tour

Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. "Breakaway" would later be included on Clarkson's second album, and released as the album's lead single. Lavigne covered the Goo Goo Dolls' song "Iris", performed with the band's lead singer John Rzeznik at Fashion Rocks, and posed for the cover of Maxim in October 2004. She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Lavigne's second studio album, Under My Skin, was released on 25 May 2004, debuting at #1 in several countries, including Australia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the U.S. The album has sold more than 10 million copies. Lavigne wrote most of the album's tracks with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, whose husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album along with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lavigne went on the "Live and By Surprise" twenty-one city mall tour in the U.S. and Canada to promote the album, accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. At the end of 2004, Lavigne embarked into her first world tour the "Bonez Tour", which visited almost every continent around the world and lasted for the entire 2005 year.

"Don't Tell Me" the first single off the album went to #1 in Argentina and Mexico, top five in the UK and Canada, and top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending", the album's lead single, went to #1 in Mexico and top five in the UK and Australia. In the U.S., it reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and went to #1 in the Mainstream Top 40, making it her fourth-biggest hit there. The third single, "Nobody's Home", did not make the top 40 in the U.S., reaching #1 only in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top 40 positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S.

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Bestselling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, and picked up three, including "Artist of the Year". She won the award for "Favorite Female Singer" at the eighteenth annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and was nominated in every MTV Award show shown around the world.

In 6 March 2006, Lavigne represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minute Vancouver 2010 portion.

The Best Damn Thing

While Lavigne was in the studio for her third studio album, Fox Entertainment Group approached her to write a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 fantasy-adventure film Eragon. She wrote and recorded two "ballad-type" songs, but only one, "Keep Holding On", ended up being used for the film. Lavigne admitted that writing the song was challenging, making sure it flowed along with the film. She emphasized that "Keep Holding On" was not indicative of what the next album would be. The song, which later appeared on the album, debuted on radio on 20 November 2006, and was later released for digital download on 28 November.

Lavigne promoting The Best Damn Thing in Hong Kong, 2007

Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on 17 April 2007, which Lavigne immediately promoted with a small tour. Its lead single, "Girlfriend", topped the Billboard Hot 100 the week The Best Damn Thing debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Girlfriend" was Lavigne's first single to reach this #1 position. The single was a worldwide hit; it also peaked at #1 in Australia, Canada, Japan, and Italy and reached #2 in the UK and France. "Girlfriend" was recorded in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Japanese, and Mandarin. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ranked "Girlfriend" as the most-downloaded track worldwide in 2007, selling 7.3 million copies, including the versions recorded in eight different languages. In December 2007, Lavigne, with annual earnings of $12 million, was ranked number eight in the Forbes "Top 20 Earners Under 25". "When You're Gone", the second single, went to #3 in the UK, the top five in Australia and Italy, the top ten in Canada, and was very close to reaching the top twenty in the U.S. "Hot" was the third single and has been Lavigne's least successful single in the U.S., charting only at #95. In Canada, "Hot" made the top ten, and in Australia, the top 20. The Best Damn Thing has sold 6 million copies worldwide.

During this era, Lavigne won nearly every award she was nominated for, including two World Music Awards for "World's Bestselling Canadian Artist" and "World's Best Pop/Rock Female Artist". She took her first two MTV Europe Music Awards, received one Teen Choice Awards for "Summer Single", and was nominated for five Juno awards.

In March 2008, Lavigne undertook a world tour named "The Best Damn Tour" to support the album. In mid-August, Malaysia's Islamic opposition party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, attempted to ban Lavigne's show in Kuala Lumpur, judging her stage moves "too sexy". Her concert on 29 August was considered as promoting wrong values ahead of Malaysia's independence day on 31 August. On 21 August 2008, MTV reported that the concert had been approved by the Malaysian government.

"Girlfriend" ranked on the Hot 100 Singles of the Decade list at #94.

Fourth studio album

Only a month after completing The Best Damn Tour, Lavigne began recording in her home studio in November 2008 with "Black Star". To help promote her first fragrance, Black Star, Lavigne needed a short theme that would be used for the TV spots. "Black Star" was composed in a Malaysian hotel during her tour. The jingle was eventually expanded into a full song, which Rolling Stone described as "an ethereal lullaby that turns epic with tinkling Coldplay-like pianos and soaring strings."

Recording began with minimal instruments, usually starting with Lavigne singing only to acoustic guitar, with additional instruments added later. Lavigne described the process: "It’s stripped down. I love performing that way, so I really felt like it was time to make a record like that. To just make it all about the vocal and the performance, and the vibe, and the emotion." By July 2009, nine tracks had been recorded, including the songs "Fine", "Everybody Hurts" and "Darlin". Several of the tracks were written in Lavigne's youth. "Darlin" was the second song Lavigne wrote as a 15-year-old while living in Napanee, Ontario. Lavigne described the album as being about "life". She stated, "It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing."

The album is expected to be a return to Lavigne's older musical style and may be largely acoustic, which would suit her desire to support the album in smaller venues. Lavigne said, "[For] this record, I just really, really wanted to sing. [...] I just wanna have silence around me, and have these acoustic songs and really deliver."

The album's and lead single's release dates have been pushed back several times. The album was originally scheduled for release on 17 November 2009. Later, in January 2010, Lavigne stated that the album cover had been photographed and the first single would be released in April, followed by the album in June. In May, Lavigne admitted that she considered the album too serious and "mellow" and would return to the studio to balance the album out. "With an album, I don't want to rush it out. [...] I have a very serious record, so I think I need to put a couple upbeat, fun songs on it."

In January, while simultaneously writing and recording for her new album, Lavigne was working with Disney on Alice in Wonderland-themed clothing designs, inspired by Tim Burton's feature film, Alice in Wonderland. She asked the executives if she could write a song for the film. The result was the song "Alice", which was played over the end credits and included on the soundtrack, Almost Alice.

On 28 February, Lavigne gave a performance at the concert portion of the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, performing "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend".

Other work

Lavigne at the Los Angeles premiere of Over the Hedge on 30 April 2006.

Film career

Lavigne appeared in a 2002 episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing "Sk8er Boi" with her band. She had a cameo in the 2004 film Going the Distance, again playing herself.

Lavigne's feature film debut was in the 2006 animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on the comic strip of the same name. She voiced the character Heather, a Virginia Opossum. In the same year, Lavigne had a role in the film Fast Food Nation, based on the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. She later starred in the 2007 Richard Gere film, The Flock, as the girlfriend of a crime suspect.

Entrepreneurship

In July 2008, Lavigne launched the clothing line Abbey Dawn, featuring a back-to-school collection. It is produced by Kohl's, which is the brand's exclusive US retailer. Named after Lavigne's childhood nickname, Abbey Dawn is designed by Lavigne herself. Kohl's describes Abbey Dawn as a "juniors lifestyle brand", which includes apparel and jewellery with skull and zebra patterns similar to the artwork featured on The Best Damn Thing album. Lavigne wore some of the clothes and jewellery from her line at various concerts before its official launch. The designs were also featured on the internet game Stardoll, where figures can be dressed up as Avril Lavigne. On 14 September 2009, Lavigne took her latest collection for her clothing line to be a part of the New York Fashion Week, one of the most prestigious fashion shows around the world.

At the end of 2008, Lavigne signed a contract with Canon Canada to appear in ad campaigns and commercials to promote the latest line of cameras, along with a full range of other accessories. In 2009, she extended her partnership with Canon; she would now be a part of Asia's campaign as well.

Lavigne released her first fragrance called Black Star, created by Procter & Gamble Prestige Products. The fragrance was announced via Lavigne's official website on 7 March 2009. Black Star, which contains notes of pink hibiscus, black plum and dark chocolate, was released in summer 2009 in Europe, and later in America and Canada. When asked what the name meant, Lavigne replied, "I wanted [the bottle] to be a star, and my colors are pink and black, and Black Star resembles being different, and standing out in the crowd, and reaching for the stars; the whole message is just about following your dreams and it's okay to be unique and be who you are."

Lavigne announced in March 2010 that her second fragrance will be called "Forbidden Rose" and will be an extension of Black Star's "follow your dreams" personal message. Lavigne stated the advertising campaign would be a Gothic garden theme.

Philanthropy

Lavigne has been involved in a number of charitable activities, such as Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, Erase MS, AmericanCPR.org, Camp Will-a-Way, Music Clearing Minefields, U.S. Campaign for Burma, Make-a-Wish Foundation and War Child. She has also appeared in ALDO ads with YouthAIDS to raise money to educate people worldwide about HIV/AIDS. Lavigne took part of the Unite Against Aids concert presented by ALDO in support of Unicef on 28 November at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Lavigne worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 east coast tour. She covered "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" for War Child's Peace Songs compilation, and she recorded a cover of the John Lennon song "Imagine" as her contribution to the compilation album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Released on 12 June 2007, the album was produced to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur.

On 5 December 2009, Lavigne returned to the stage in Mexico City during the biggest charity event in Latin America, "Teleton". She performed acoustic versions of "Complicated" and "Girlfriend" with Evan Taubenfeld and band member, Jim McGorman.

In 2010, Lavigne was one of several artists who contributed their voice to a cover of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" as a benefit single to help raise money for several charity organizations related to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Personal life

Lavigne's ex husband, Deryck Whibley

Marriage to Deryck Whibley

Lavigne and Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for punk band Sum 41, began dating in February 2004. Only a few weeks before they met, Lavigne had publicly stated that she was having trouble meeting boys because her bodyguards scared them away. In June 2005, Whibley surprised Lavigne with a trip to Venice, including a gondola ride and a romantic picnic, and on 27 June, he proposed to her.

She initially wanted to have a "rock n' roll, goth wedding", but she admitted to having doubts about going against tradition. "I've been dreaming about my wedding day since I was a little girl. I have to wear the white dress.... People thought that I would [wear a] black wedding dress, and I would have. But at the same time, I was thinking about the wedding pictures, and I wanted to be in style. I didn't want to be thinking, 20 years later, 'Oh, why did I wear my hair like that?'"

The wedding was a Catholic ceremony, held on 15 July 2006. About 110 guests attended the wedding, which was held at a private estate in Montecito, California. Seven months into their marriage, Lavigne stated that she was "the best thing that's ever happened to him", and suggested that she helped him stay off drugs since they'd begun dating. "He doesn't do drugs. Clearly, he used to, because he talked about it, but I wouldn't be with someone who did, and I made that very clear to him when we first started dating. I've never done cocaine in my life, and I'm proud of that. I am 100 percent against drugs."

The marriage lasted a little more than three years. It was announced on 17 September 2009 that Lavigne and Whibley had split up and that divorce papers would soon follow. On 9 October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce.

Personal style and public image

Lavigne's tattoo on her right wrist

When Lavigne first gained publicity, she was known for her tomboyish style, in particular her usual neck-tie and tank-top combination. Lavigne eventually started to take on a darker, more gothic style as she began her second album, Under My Skin. During The Best Damn Thing era, Lavigne dyed her hair blonde with a pink streak and generally became more feminine. Some fans felt she had become too upbeat and lost her original style. Lavigne stated, regarding her changing style, "I don't really regret anything. You know, the ties and the wifebeaters and all...It had its time and place. And now I'm all grown up, and I've moved on". She has often been dubbed as the "pop punk princess" by the media due to her personal style.

Early in her career, Lavigne was dubbed by her fans as the "anti-Britney", referring to Britney Spears, due to her less-commercial and "real" image. Lavigne responded by saying "I don't like that term – 'the anti-Britney.' It's stupid [and] I don't believe in that."

Lavigne has a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist that matches the style of the one used for her first album artwork. It was created at the same time as friend and musical associate Ben Moody's identical tattoo. In late 2004, she had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist, which represents her now separated husband Deryck Whibley. In April 2010, Lavigne added another tattoo on her wrist, that of a lightning bolt and the number 30, and her current boyfriend, Brody Jenner, received a matching lightning bolt tattoo under his ear.

In a 2004 interview, Lavigne stated that her favourite party song is "Hey Ya", by Outkast. She likes listening to Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down and Blink-182, and especially loves the track "I Miss You". Asked what she would put on a mix tape to a boy she liked, she answered: "Iris, by Goo Goo Dolls. I'd put a few Coldplay and Oasis songs. Radiohead – The Bends is one of my favorite albums".

Lavigne has been featured in a comic series Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes. She stars as herself, a rock star who is idolized by the protagonist of the story.

Backing band

Discography

Filmography

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