Avril Lavigne, actually Avril Ramona Lavigne, was born on September 27, 1984.
Avril Lavigne is a Canadian pop punk singer/songwriter and actress who is well
known for her "skater punk" persona. Her two albums to date, Let Go (2002) and
Under My Skin (2004), have topped the charts in numerous countries. Although her
name is of French origin, she herself does not speak French and her name is pronounced
in an anglicized way, more or less as "La-veen" (although, actual pronunciation
should be "La-Vine"). Her first name, Avril, means "April" in French
and is pronounced "Av-reel" (anglicized "Ahv-ril").
Born in Belleville, Ontario to conservative Franco-Ontarian Christian parents
John and Judy Lavigne, Avril grew up in Napanee; having moved there at the age
of five. It was in Napanee that she sang country music and in a church choir
and taught herself to play guitar. Avril Lavigne 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, Avril was spotted by Steve Medd, a local folksinger, who invited her
to perform vocals on his song Touch The Sky for his 1999 album Quinte Spirit.
Suitably impressed, he invited her back to perform vocals on Temple Of Life
and Two Rivers for his followup album, My Window To You in 2000. By the age
of sixteen, Avril Lavigne was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire
(A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited his boss, Arista head Antonio
"L.A." Reid, to hear her sing in a New York City studio. She then completed
work on her first album. Apparently, early attempts to co-write songs for her
failed to meet her approval; and Lavigne eventually moved to Los Angeles, California,
and co-wrote her album with Clif Magness and the songwriting team The Matrix,
whose previous work included songs for Sheena Easton and Christina Aguilera.
Avril Lavigne described her first album, Let Go, 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. It was released by Arista on June 4, 2002 in the United
States, reaching number two there and number one in Australia, Canada, and the
United Kingdom (making Avril Lavigne the youngest female solo act ever at the time
to have a number-one album in the UK). It was certified four times platinum
less than six months later by the RIAA, and had sold fifteen million copies
worldwide as of December 2004. Four singles from the album were released, all
of them hits. "Complicated" went to number one in Australia while reaching number
two on the U.S. Hot 100, and was also one of the best-selling Canadian singles
of 2002. "Sk8er Boi" reached the top ten in the U.S. and Australia and number
one in Canada, "I'm With You" reached the top five in the U.S., while "Losing
Grip" reached number one in Canada, the top ten in Taiwan, and the top twenty
in Chile.
The media have often compared Avril Avril Lavigne to Alanis Morissette (one
of her favourite artists alongside Coldplay and The Goo Goo Dolls), who is also
Canadian, as well as singer-songwriters such as Vanessa Carlton and Michelle
Branch, who emerged at about the same time and were popularly credited, with
Avril Lavigne, as part of a trend towards more genuine creativity in the teen
pop-music market. Avril Lavigne was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV
Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 (out of six nominations), a
World Music Award for World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer, and was nominated
for eight Grammy Awards. 2004 the present Avril Lavigne's second album, Under
My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004 in the U.S. and went to number one in
several countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia.
Avril Lavigne wrote most of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal
Kreviazuk, though some tracks were co-written by Lavigne and Ben Moody (formerly
of Evanescence), Butch Walker of Marvelous 3, and the rest with her former lead
guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace Kreviazuk's husband,
co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lead single "Don't
Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina, top five in the U.K. and Canada, and
top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" reached the top ten in the
U.S., and was her third biggest hit to date there, but third single "Nobody's
Home" did not make the top forty. The final single from the album, "He Wasn't",
reached number one in Canada, making the song her eighth number-one release
since "Complicated", but failed to make the UK top twenty and was not released
in the U.S.. Avril 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 also won the award for Favourite
Female Singer at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Avril Lavigne co-wrote a song, "Breakaway", which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson
for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
and was later included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, being released
as the album's first single. It went on to peak at #6 in the US and provided
Clarkson with a substantial hit. One source reports that Lavigne will release
a new album some time in the spring of 2006. In a phone interview with Newsday,
Avril Lavigne said: "Don't expect the album any time soon. I'm going to get
off the road, take my time, be with my little sweetheart and have a life and
then get back to business." In a recent interview with Celebrity.com, Lavigne
said that she is in the middle of making her record. . Lavigne is to make her
film debut in the animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on comic strip
of same name, alongside William Shatner, Bruce Willis and Gary Shandling. Avril
Lavigne is also acting in the Richard Gere film The Flock, and her third project
is Fast Food Nation, based on her favourite book. Her co-stars in the film include
Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Hawke and Greg Kinnear. In January
2006, Lavigne signed a contract with Ford Models.
She is appearing on the February edition of Harpers Bazaar Fashion Magazine
with a new look. She will sing at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics
(Turin, Italy) for the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion. Her third
album is supposed to be released during the middle of 2006. It should include
collaborations with Chantal Kreviazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace front
man Raine Maida, who have also worked on 2004's 'Under My Skin' Lavigne's current
band consists of the following: Devin Bronson (lead guitar), Craig Wood (rhythm
guitar), Charlie Moniz (bass) and Matt Brann (drums). Departed members from
Lavigne's band consist of the following: Evan Taubenfeld (lead guitar), Mark
Spicoluk (bass, 2002) and Jesse Colburn (rhythm guitar). In 2003, it was reported
that Lavigne was romantically involved with Colburn. Lavigne is engaged to be
married to Deryck Whibley of the pop punk band Sum 41, and Mark Spicoluk was
a former member of that band.
Avril Lavigne formerly traveled with a bag full of about thirty neck ties.
Some of them she bought, and the rest of them she took from her father and some
were sent to her by fanmail. Lavigne stopped wearing neckties completely in
2003, as she was horrified at the constant media references to them overshadowing
her music and that she was starting a fashion trend amongst her fans. She has
a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, applied at the same time as
friend and musical associate Ben Moody's identical tattoo.
In late 2004, Avril Lavigne had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring
the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist thought to be a reference to fiance
Deryck Whibley. She has also bought a house with him in Beverly Hills. 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". Avril Lavigne then said to Duff
(who was not present during that interview), "You can go screw yourself". Reportedly,
Avril 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 fucking photo!" All
this happened while on air. According to Avril Lavigne, she had permission to
take the picture down station personnel encouraged her to take it down. She
has admitted to Rollingstone.com that she got into some fights one night. "The
other night, I got into three fights", says Lavigne. "I was at a club and some
girl was giving me attitude. She pushed me and I got her down on the floor.
Security came, and because I was on top, they threw me out."
A profile of Avril Lavigne in The Washington Post found that, in the flesh,
her personality did not reflect her marketing, and instead found her to be,
if anything, something of a wide-eyed innocent, citing her intending to purchase
her first Ramones CD. In another interview, Avril Lavigne listed her current
listening tastes as including blink-182, Sum 41, Green Day and System of a Down.
She is a vegetarian. Some members of the old school, hardcore punk community
have an intense dislike for Lavigne and her style of music, which they believe
waters down what punk is really all about. Comments she has made, showing a
lack of knowledge/interest in the seventies punk movement and the luminaries
of that movement (Lavigne once admitted to not ever having heard of the Sex
Pistols), has led some to label her a poser. However, Avril Lavigne has consistently
stated that her music is not punk rock and that she does not believe she is
punk. Although it's constantly debated whether or not she is punk, there have
been several (and more recent) occasions where she has stated "I'm not punk,
that's a whole other world. If anything I'm more rock or pop." Avril Lavigne
has made it to the list of FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World for three consecutive
years, from 2003 to 2005. She was also included in Maxim Hot 100 for 2003 and
2005 at 92nd and 36th spots respectively.
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)
- Devin Bronson — lead guitar, backing
vocals (2004 – present)
- Charlie Williams — backing vocals,
dancer (2007 – present)
- Andrew Ford — 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)
Soon after departing Avril Lavigne's band, Taubenfeld
formed The Black List Club, later signing up Bronson as lead guitarist.
Studio albums
- Let Go (2002)
- Under My Skin (2004)
- The Best Damn Thing (2007)
Number-one singles
The following singles reached number
one in the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, Europe, Brazil, United
World Chart and/or Philippines, New Zealand.
| Year |
Single |
Chart positions |
| U.S. |
AUS |
CAN |
EUR |
WOR |
| 2002 |
"Complicated" |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
| 2003 |
"Sk8er Boi" |
10 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
| 2003 |
"I'm With You" |
4 |
- |
13 |
9 |
1 |
| 2004 |
"My Happy Ending" |
9 |
6 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
| 2007 |
"Girlfriend" |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Total Number-one hits |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
