Avril Lavigne is the flip side of the modern-day pop coin; while defining herself in opposition to sugary pop stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, the young rocker is nonetheless criticized for being as shrink-wrapped as her bubbly nemeses. Yet Lavigne’s mature second album and her anxiety-ridden lyrics have revealed that this pseudo-punk pop princess may be the singer-songwriter virtuoso that fans have been obsessing over for years.
Lavigne was born in Ontario, Canada on September 27, 1984 and raised in the town of Napanee. She exhibited singing talent at an early age, and was discovered by manager Cliff Fabri while singing at a bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. At the age of 15 she was featured on folk musician Steve Medd’s 1999 album, and the next year signed a major record deal with Arista Records. Lavigne then spent two years developing her album with a string of prominent producers and songwriters, who helped her capture her unique sound for her first major release. The result was 2002’s “Let Go”, which has sold roughly 15 million copies worldwide, hitting #1 in several countries and spawning four smash hit singles including the worldwide pop anthem “Complicated”. The album earned her eight Grammy nominations and an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
Though Lavigne has never had a dip in popularity, she has endured enormous criticism from punk-rock circles for what many believe to be overproduced, trite pop rock glossed over with a punk veneer. Lavigne, however, has countered with the assertion that she has never considered herself a punk artist, and aligns herself more with recent mainstream rock acts like The Goo Goo Dolls, Alanis Morissette, and Coldplay. Regardless, it’s hard to deny that Lavigne is a unique act in pop music with her rock-tinged sound and angry lyrics, and her follow-up album “Under My Skin” proved that Lavigne indeed has the musical gusto required to hit back at her detractors.
Released in May 2004, “Under My Skin” debuted at #1 in the U.S. and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Showcasing Lavigne’s leap in maturity as a songwriter, “Under My Skin” discarded the catchy pop hooks of “Let Go” in favor of tortured, emotional rock ballads. The album did much better with critics than her debut, and angry punk enthusiasts have calmed down as she continues to distance herself from her early and somewhat misguided punk ambitions. The album won her two World Music Awards in 2004, and since the album’s release she has co-wrote the Kelly Clarkson hit “Breakaway”, lent her voice to the film “Over the Hedge”, and has signed a contract with Ford Models to publicize her more sophisticated, feminine aesthetic makeover.
Currently engaged to Sum 41 rocker Deryck Whibley, Lavigne is starting work on her third album and will appear in Richard Linklater’s film version of “Fast Food Nation”, which recently competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.