Avril Lavigne

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Avril Lavigne

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Avril Lavigne (born 27 September 1984), better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne (pronounced /ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn/), is a Canadian Grammy Award-nominated rock singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood.

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002. Over 16 million copies were sold worldwide and it was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums sold less well, Under My Skin (2004) at over 9 million copies and The Best Damn Thing (2007) currently over 5.3 million copies; the latter reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored six number one songs worldwide and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm With You", "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend," which became #1 hits in the ARC Top 40. In December 2007, Lavigne was ranked at #7 in the Forbes "Top 20 Earners Under 25", with annual earnings of $12 million. Currently, Avril Lavigne has sold about 30 million albums worldwide.

Background

Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario on September 27, 1984, the daughter of Judy and John Lavigne. Lavigne's birth name is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as above ("La-Veen"). In French, it is commonly pronounced /avʁil laˈviɲ/ (help·info)). Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vineyard". Her French-Canadian parents are devoutly Baptist. She has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle. Lavigne's mother was the first to spot young Lavigne’s talent. At the age of 2, Lavigne began singing along with her mother on church songs. The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Lavigne was 5-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, who invited her to sing on his song, "Touch the Sky," for his 1999 album, Quinte Spirit. She also sang on, "Temple of Life," and, "Two Rivers," for his follow up album, My Window to You, in 2000.

At the age of 16, she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the New York City studio of producer Peter Zizzo.

She then completed work on her first album, Let Go. The Matrix, who worked extensively with Lavigne on the album, commented on her songwriting, saying, "We had a fabulous and unique experience with Avril, who was then a 16-year-old rapidly growing songwriter with tremendous raw talent. The songs were conceived on piano and guitar by four people: The Matrix and Avril. Avril was instrumental in the songs' creation. We were all very close during the making of the record."

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Music career

Let Go (2002–2003)
Main article: Let Go (Avril Lavigne album)
Let Go was released on June 4, 2002 in the United States, it has reached number two there and number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne, at seventeen, the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the UK up until that time.

The album shows definite pop rock roots; however, alternative and post-grunge influences can be heard in some of the songs.

Just over one month after its release, Let Go reached multi-platinum status in late-August, and was certified triple platinum two weeks after. Before the end of 2002, just six months after its debut, it was certified four times platinum by the RIAA. It was the best selling album of the year for a female artist and for a debut album in 2002. As of December 2007 the album has sold 6.6 million copies in the U.S and more than 16 million worldwide.

Four singles from the album were released. The first single, "Complicated" went to number one in Australia, while reaching number two on the U.S. Hot 100, and it was one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Lavigne tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the contemporary hit radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for eleven weeks in a row. "Sk8er Boi" reached the top ten in the U.S. and Australia, "I'm With You" reached the top ten in the U.S and the UK, and "Losing Grip" reached the top ten in Taiwan and the top twenty in Chile.

Lavigne was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 (out of six nominations), received a World Music Award for "World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including "Song of the Year" for "Complicated" and "Best New Artist".

Under My Skin (2004–2006)

Main article: Under My Skin
Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, in the U.S. It debuted at number one in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong and sold more than 380,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week. Lavigne wrote most of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, though some tracks were co-written by Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence), Butch Walker of Marvellous 3, her former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld, and her former drummer Matt Brann. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore.

This album has a stronger alternative feel, along with songs showing punk-pop edges (such as He Wasn't and I Always Get what I Want), or soft post-grunge sounds (Freak Out and Who Knows).

Lead single "Don't Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina and Mexico, the top five in the UK and Canada, and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" went to number one in Mexico and it reached the top ten in the U.S. making it her third-biggest hit there, but third single "Nobody's Home" did not make the top forty in the U.S., and it only went to number one in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top forty positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S. "Fall to Pieces" was released as the final single from the album, but did not do as well as previous singles.

Lavigne performing in Geneva on June 9, 2005.Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Best-Selling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three, including "Fan Choice Award", "Artist of the Year", and "Pop Album of the Year". She won the award for "Favorite Female Singer" at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). "Breakaway" was later included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, being released as the album's first single. The song peaked inside the U.S. top ten and provided Clarkson with a substantial hit.

Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 4, 2004, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote Under My Skin. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until forty-eight hours before the show. The tour was very popular and was successful in promoting the album. The set at Indianapolis on March 25, 2004, at Glendale mall included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated". Selections of this tour were released on the Avril Lavigne Live Acoustic EP, which was released in U.S. Target stores.

Lavigne was touring throughout most of 2005, and pursuing her acting and modelling careers. She represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion.The album has sold more than 8 million copies.

The Best Damn Thing (2007–present)
Main article: The Best Damn Thing

Lavigne in Hong Kong, 2007.Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on April 17, 2007 and debuted at number one in the U.S. The album was produced by Dr. Luke, Lavigne's husband Deryck Whibley, Rob Cavallo, Butch Walker and Lavigne. Travis Barker recorded drums for the record. The first single from the album was "Girlfriend", which became Lavigne's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. On Ryan Seacrest's radio show Lavigne said that "When You're Gone" would be the second single. Lavigne's third single from the album is "Hot". The fourth and final single of the album is "The Best Damn Thing".

"Girlfriend" has been used as the theme song for the Japanese idol hosted talk show Cartoon KAT-TUN. On May 2, 2007, she made a guest appearance during the show. She played a game of darts with the KAT-TUN group.

Lavigne has been doing a small tour to promote The Best Damn Thing, with tickets available only to members of her fan club. She began the tour in Calgary, Alberta, and played for a crowd of around two hundred. This show was aired on television on April 2, 2007, on the CBC Network. The album had sold a total of 5.1 million copies worldwide in by December 2007. Avril is currently on her tour "The Best Damn Tour" promoting the album and traveling the world. The tour will end in September after the Japan and China tour dates.

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