1 : Avril Lavigne
2 : External links
Avril Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was one of the most popular new pop music artists of 2002, when she released her first album, and is well-known for her "skater punk" personality.
Born in Napanee, Ontario to conservative parents, Lavigne grew up singing country music and in a church choir and taught herself guitar. She was signed by Arista Records head L.A. Reid when she was 16 years old. She moved to New York City to work on an album.
Apparently, early attempts to co-write songs for her failed to meet her approval, and she eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and co-wrote her album with Clif Magness and a songwriting team called "The Matrix", whose previous work included songs for Sheena Easton and Christina Aguilera. Her first album, Let Go, was released by Arista on June 4, 2002, and was certified "Quadruple Platinum" less than six months later by the Recording Industry Association of America. She was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2003 Juno Awards, where she led all musicians with six nominations, winning four Junos. Singles off the album include her breakthrough hit Complicated, and Sk8er Boi (txt for skater boy).
Press accounts frequently credit her, along with singers Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, with bringing a new sense of earnestness and genuine creativity to an often vacuous and pre-fabricated teen pop music market. Whilst her marketing has been every bit as sophisticated as, for instance, that of Britney Spears and her competitors, a profile in the Washington Post found that in the flesh, her personality reflected the marketing and found her, if anything, something of a wide-eyed innocent, citing the fact that she was intending to purchase her first Ramones CD. In another interview, she listed her current listening tastes as including Blink 182, Sum 41, and System of a Down.
Her "skater punk" fashion style was one of the most imitated of 2002.
She describes her first album as a pop album with "a couple of rock songs on it," and has indicated a desire to write more rock-oriented songs in the future.
Her new album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004. The first single, Don't Tell Me, was released early.
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." She then said to Duff (who was not present during that interview), "You can go screw yourself". Reportedly, 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 (bleeped) photo!" All this happened while on air. According to Lavigne, she had permission to take the picture down.
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