Everything about Avril Lavigne totally explained
Avril Lavigne Whibley better known by her birth name of
Avril Lavigne (; born
September 27 1984) is a
Canadian Grammy award-nominated
pop punk singer, musician, 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,
Under My Skin (2004) sold 8 million copies and
The Best Damn Thing (2007) currently over 5 million copies sold respectively, reached number one on the U.S.
Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored six number one songs worldwide to date 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. She's ranked #50 on VH1's "
50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list and came 41st on "The Top Acts Of The Noughties". In December 2007, Lavigne was ranked at #7 in the
Forbes "Top 20 Earners Under 25", with an 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's commonly pronounced ).
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 two, Lavigne began singing along with her mother on
church songs. 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.
Music career
Let Go (2002–2004)
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/
indie pop 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 sold a total of 14 million copies worldwide. 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 (2004–2005)
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" didn't 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 wasn't released in the U.S. "
Fall to Pieces" was released as the final single from the album, but didn't do as well as previous singles.
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 (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 wasn't 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)
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".
This album has a high
punk-pop influence, with
punk rock guitar riffs and poppy choruses.
"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 4.1 million copies worldwide in by December 2007.
Allegations of Plagiarism
On
May 25 2007, Lavigne, her co-songwriter
Lukasz Gottwald, and her record label were sued by songwriters James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar over claims that her song "Girlfriend" infringes on their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", originally performed by
The Rubinoos.
In June 2007, Canadian singer-songwriter
Chantal Kreviazuk, with whom Lavigne wrote the majority of her second album,
Under My Skin, spoke to
Performing Songwriter magazine about Lavigne's songwriting, saying, "I mean, Avril, songwriter? Avril doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything. Avril will also cross the ethical line and no one says anything. That's why I'll never work with her again. I sent her a song two years ago called 'Contagious', and I just saw the tracklisting to this album and there's a song called 'Contagious' on it and my name's not on it. What do you do with that? See, I won't [callthe lawyers], I'll just tell you. Art shouldn't be subject to that kind of controversy."
On July 6, Lavigne denied both accusations in an open letter on her website, claiming that she'd "never heard the [Rubinoos] song in [her] life" and also that she's considering taking legal action against Kreviazuk with regards to her allegations, which she considers "damaging to my reputation and a clear defamation of my character".
On July 10, Kreviazuk made a full public apology and retracted the statements made in the aforementioned interview, saying "I would like to apologize for any misconceptions concerning Avril Lavigne, which may have resulted from statements I made in my interview with Performing Songwriter Magazine. It wasn't my intention to call Avril's songwriting ability or ethics into question.
My statements and any inference from my statements, which call into question Avril's ethics or ability as a respected and acclaimed songwriter, should be disregarded and are retracted. Avril is an accomplished songwriter and it has been my privilege to work with her.". Kreviazuk and Lavigne share the same manager, Nettwerk Management.
In January 2008 Dubar and Gangwer dropped their lawsuit and retracted their allegations of plagiarism
The song "I Don't Have to Try," also stirred up controversy. Similarities between this song and
Peaches' 2003 song, "I'm the Kinda" has sparked further plagiarism speculations.However, Avril has cited Peaches as one of her favourite artists, and Peaches had nothing but nice to say about Lavigne: "She is a huge superstar and she's a young girl, but she’s also a hard worker. Avril has to be. Musicians aren’t living the life. She has to be present and on at all times. I’m glad she was influenced by me; it brought more attention to my song. All of a sudden, half a million people are listening to my music because of her."
Other works
Covers
Lavigne recorded a cover of the
John Lennon song "
Imagine" as her contribution to the album .
Lavigne has also covered
The Goo Goo Dolls' mega-hit "
Iris", actually performing a duet of the song with the band's lead singer and lyricist
John Rzeznik at the Fashion Rocks concert in 2004, which was produced by Eric Book.
Other covers which were performed live include:
Music Video Appearances
"Hundred Million" by the pop-punk band Treble Charger
"Bethamphetamine (Pretty, Pretty)" by the hard rock singer Butch Walker
Other Appearances
Lavigne has also been featured in a comic series called Make 5 Wishes. She stars as herself, a pop star, who is idolized by the protagonist of the story.
Fashion
Lavigne will launch her clothing line in July. The line is called "Abbey Dawn", which is her childhood nickname given by her father.
Film career
Lavigne made her film debut in the animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on the comic strip of same name. She worked alongside William Shatner, Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes, Nick Nolte and Steve Carell. She is also acting in the Richard Gere film The Flock, as the girlfriend of a crime suspect, and her third project was Fast Food Nation, based on her favorite book. Lavigne wrote and recorded a song titled "Keep Holding On" with Dr. Luke, for the Eragon film soundtrack; it was included on her third album, The Best Damn Thing. The song was released for digital download on November 28, and made its worldwide debut on radio on November 17. It reached the top spot on the Canadian top twenty. She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Lavigne made a cameo in the film Going the Distance and also appeared in an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing "Sk8er Boi" with her band.
Filmography
Media image
In Lavigne's official MySpace page, she affirms that her music genre is Pop/Punk/Rock; but All Music Guide and other reviewers consider her "Punk, Punk-pop, Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Alternative Pop-Rock, Modern Rock and Post-Grunge". The reason for the confusion appears to be for her punk-like appearance, however, she's frequently stated that she's "not punk", and that she never claimed to be. Lavigne said this despite her many claims to be a "skater punk" in her earlier years. Lavigne cites many early punk bands and figures as influences (most notably Sid Vicious), but her music has little in common with 1970s punk.
Personal life
In the January 2003 issue of Seventeen magazine, she admitted to "snagging a bite of Matt's cheeseburgers every now and again." Also in a recent interview, she said she prefers not to eat meat, but won't say she's a vegetarian "in case anyone caught her eating meat".
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'd a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist, which represents her now husband Deryck Whibley.
In February 2004, she began dating fellow Canadian singer Deryck Whibley, the lead singer/guitarist of pop punk band Sum 41. On June 27 2005, Lavigne and Whibley became engaged.
The couple married in a Catholic ceremony attended by about 110 guests on July 15 2006 at a private estate in Montecito, California. When asked if they were ready for kids the couple said "not right now but somewhere down the road."
Avril once said in an interview that her favorite 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 loves especially the track "I miss you". Asked what she'd put on a mix tape to a boy she liked, Avril answered: "Iris, by Goo Goo Dolls. I'd put a few Coldplay and Oasis songs. Radiohead -- The Bends is one of my favorite albums."
Charities
Lavigne has been involved in a number of charities, such as Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, 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 worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 east coast tour.
Lavigne also covered 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' for War Child's Peace Songs compilation.
Backing band
Current members
Al Berry — bass guitar, backing vocals (2007 – present)
Rodney Howard — drums, percussion, backing vocals (2007 – present)
Stephen Anthony Ferlazzo Jr. — electronic keyboard, backing vocals (2007 – present)
Jim McGorman — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2007 – present)
Steve Fekete — lead guitar, backing vocals (2008 – present)
Sofia Toufa — backing vocals, dancer (2007 – present)
Lindsay Bluafarb — backing vocals, dancer (2007 – present)
Past members
Mark Spicoluk — bass guitar, backing vocals (April 2002 – September 2002)
Jesse Colburn — rhythm guitar (2002 – January 2004)
Evan Taubenfeld — lead guitar, backing vocals (2002 – September 2004)
Craig Wood — rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004 – January 2007)
Matt Brann — drums, percussion (2002 – February 2007)
Charlie Moniz — bass guitar (2002 – February 2007)
Devin Bronson — lead guitar, backing vocals (2004 – 2008)
Soon after departing Lavigne's band, Taubenfeld formed The Black List Club, later signing up Bronson as lead guitarist.
Discography
Awards
Further Information
Get more info on 'Avril Lavigne'.
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