Avril Lavigne

Background

Avril Lavigne, the Canadian singer and songwriter has had a passion for music since she was a child. Not only did she possess the passion, but she had the talent too! Born in Canada, Lavigne’s parents first noticed her vocal skills when she was two years old while she was singing ‘Loves Me.’ As she grew older, her parents supported her talent and passion immensely and bought her a microphone, drum kit, keyboard, and guitars. They even renovated their basement into a studio for their young aspiring singer. At 14, her parents took her to karaoke sessions to practice her singing. She performed at various fairs, sang her favorite songs from various artists, and began writing her music. The first song she wrote was dedicated to her teenage crush at the time, called ‘Can’t Stop Thinking About You.’

In 1999, when Lavigne was just 16 years old, her dream of becoming a singer finally started to become a reality. She was noticed by Cliff Fabri — who became her first professional manager — while singing at a bookstore. Lavigne’s home recordings in her studio were sent to several industry prospects by Fabri until she found a producer from a Canadian music company called Nettwerk. In 2000, she signed her first record deal with Arista Records and dropped out of school to focus on her music career.

In 2001, Lavigne started producing songs with The Matrix production team and released her debut album, “Let Go,” in 2002. At just 17 years old, her album’s success made her the youngest female singer to reach the number one spot on the U.K. Albums Chart. Her album reached number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and number one in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. The album was also certified as Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.), making her the best-selling female artist of 2002.

Within the same year, she was named ‘Best New Artist’ at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003, received a World Music Award for ‘World’s Best Selling Canadian Singer,’ and was nominated for eight Grammy awards. In 2004, she released her second studio album, “Under My Skin,” which was another success. “Under My Skin” reached number one in Australia, Canada, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. The album sold 10 million copies and was certified five-times Platinum in Canada.

Lavigne shared that each song from her second album was written from personal experiences. In 2004, she began her first year-long world tour called the Bonez Tour. In the same year, she won the ‘World’s Best Pop/Rock Artist,’ and ‘World’s Best Selling Canadian Artist.’ In 2002, Lavigne decided to try acting and made a television appearance in one episode of “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” In 2006, she voiced an animated character in the film, “Over the Hedge,” and landed a small acting role for a film in New Mexico called “The Flock” in 2007. Within the same year, Lavigne released her third album, “The Best Damn Thing,” which was another roaring success, achieving Platinum status and selling more than two million copies in the U.S. The lead single from this album, ‘Girlfriend,’ became her first number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was recorded in several languages. In 2007, she was ranked eighth on “Forbes” magazine’s ‘Top 20 Earners Under 25’ list.

Lavigne’s following albums were all successes, with her seventh and most recent album, “Love Sux,” which was released in 2021, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200 chart and three on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Throughout her career, Lavigne has also been involved in charity work and even launched her charity foundation called The Avril Lavigne Foundation in 2010. It aims to help young people with serious illnesses and disabilities by working with leading charitable organizations. Lavigne is now engaged to Mod Sun.