Avril Lavigne

Name: Avril Lavigne
Birth Name: Avril Ramona Lavigne
Height: 5 feet, 1 inch
Sex: Female
Nationality: Canadian
Birth Date: September 27, 1984
Birth Place: Napanee, Ontario, Canada
Occupation: Singer/Musician
Education: She dropped out of Napanee District High School after 11th grade when she secured a record deal.
Relationship: Deryck Whibley (dating since February 2004)
Father: John Lavigne
Mother: Judy Lavigne
Sister: Younger sister, Michelle Lavigne
Brother: Older brother, Matthew Lavigne
Claim to fame: Singer of hit tunes such as "Sk8er Boi" and "Complicated" (the latter was featured on the TV show Dawson's Creek).
Facts: Lavigne has a pet minature Schnauzer named Sam. She is often described as a skater-punk, but she says she's only a fair skateboarder. She has also distinguished herself from her contemporaries by emphasizing her music and basically refusing to play "sexy." She was originally pursuing a career in country and folk music, but transitioned into "punk-rock" because of its more lucrative possibilities.
Awards: Won the 'New Artist in a Video' award for her song 'Complicated' at the 2002 VMA; Received 5 Grammy nominations, including 1 for ‘Best New Artist’ (2003); Won 3 MTV Asia Awards for ‘Favorite Female Artist,’ ‘Favorite Breakthrough Artist & Style (2003); Has been nominated for 6 Juno Awards (2003); Won four Juno Awards: Single of the Year’ ("Complicated"), ‘Album of the Year’ ("Let Go"), ‘New Artist of the Year’ and ‘Pop Album of the Year;’ Nominated for 3 Grammys including ‘Song Of The Year’ ("I'm With You"), ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ ("I'm With You") and ‘Best Female Rock Vocal Performance’ ("Losing Grip") (2004).

Discography: Studio Albums

• Under My Skin (2004)
• Let Go (2002)


Avril Lavigne (La-VEEN) is a rock-and-roll singer who burst onto the scene in 2002 with a catchy bubble-gum ballad, "Sk8er Boi" (later the basis of a feature film). This Canadian singer and songwriter is considered one of the most popular new pop punk artists of 2002, when she released her first album, and is well-known for her "skater punk" persona. Her music is an angsty fusion of pop, punk, and old-fashioned rock-and-roll.
Avril Ramona Lavigne was born in Napanee, Ontario, to parents John and Judy on September 27th, 1984. She is the middle child and has a brother named Matthew and a younger sister Michelle.
Avril had been into music since the tender age of 2, performing in local musicals, village fairs and, thanks to her devout Christian family, at church. She grew up singing country music and in a church choir and taught herself to play the guitar.

At 16, she caught the eye of record producers, who had plans to make her a pop star in the mold of Shania Twain or Faith Hill. Lavigne was discovered by her first professional manager while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. She was signed by Arista Records head L.A. Reid, and she subsequently moved to Manhattan, New York City to work on her debut album after dropping out of Napanee District High School after eleventh grade.

The headstrong and self-confident star rejected several of the songs and songwriters her label lined up for her first album. Lavigne instead chose to team up with songwriters and came up with hit tunes such as "Sk8er Boi" and "Complicated" (the latter was featured on the show Dawson's Creek). , Apparently, her instincts were correct and her debut album, Let Go, was a multiplatinum hit that netted her five Grammy nominations. Lavigne is now a high school dropout and a millionaire. She was only 17 when her first album Let Go was released (2002). During this year, she also won the 'New Artist in a Video' award for her song 'Complicated' at the 2002 VMA.
Let Go - career breakthrough
Early attempts to co-write songs for her failed to meet her approval, and Lavigne eventually moved to Los Angeles, California to co-write her album with Clif Magness and songwriting team The Matrix, known for their previous work with Sheena Easton and Christina Aguilera. Her first album, Let Go, was released by Arista on June 4, 2002, and was certified "Quadruple Platinum" less than a year later by the Recording Industry Association of America. She was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2003 Juno Awards, where she took the limelight with six nominations and winning four Junos. Lavigne has also been nominated for eight Grammy Awards but has not won any to date.
As of June 2004, Let Go had sold 14 million albums and reached the number one spot in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada and second place in the US. In the U.K., Lavigne was the youngest female artist ever to have a number one album, although this record was later broken by English singer Joss Stone. Let Go spawned 5 hit singles (the first 3 with The Matrix), in various parts of the world:
• "Complicated" went to the number one spot on the US adult charts and in Australia while reaching second place on the Billboard Hot 100;
• "Sk8er Boi" (txt for Skater Boy) was included in the top 10 in the US and Australia and top 30 in Canada;
• "I'm With You" reached no. 1 on the US and world adult charts (based on the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and Australia) Taiwan and Canada and fourth place on the Billboard Hot 100;
• "Losing Grip" reached no. 1 in Canada, no. 10 in Taiwan, no. 20 in Chile and top 50 on a composite European chart; and
• "Mobile" was included in Taiwan’s top ten and went top 40 in New Zealand.
Song parodist Weird Al Yankovic lampooned "Complicated" on his Poodle Hat album -- a sure sign of her impact on popular culture.
The media has often compared her to fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette, though she has been criticized for not being as strong a lyricist as Morissette at the same age. She has also often been compared with singers like Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, who gained popularity at about the same time and were popularly credited, with Lavigne, as part of a trend towards more earnestness and genuine creativity in an often vacuous and pre-fabricated teen pop music market.
While her marketing has been every bit as sophisticated as, for instance, that of Britney Spears and her contemporaries, a profile in the Washington Post found that in the flesh, her personality reflected the marketing and described her as a wide-eyed innocent girl, citing the fact that she was intending to purchase her first Ramones CD. In another interview, she named Goo Goo Dolls, Blink 182, Sum 41, and System of a Down as her current favorite bands. Lavigne had a close friendship with Derrick Whibley of Sum 41 and hired a former member of that band, Mark Spicoluk, as a member of her backing band.
Under My Skin
Lavigne wrote most of the songs in her second album, Under My Skin, with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. She also co-wrote one track, "Nobody's Home," with Ben Moody, former band member of Evanescence, and the rest with her former guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Lavigne also had three producers for Under My Skin, notably: Butch Walker of Marvelous 3; Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace (also Kreviazuk's husband); and Don Gilmore, who has produced Good Charlotte and Linkin Park.
Under My Skin was released on May 25, 2004 and climbed to the no. 1 spot around the world, notably in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia and on the Billboard Internet charts. The first single, "Don't Tell Me," was released earlier, and as of June 2004, had claimed the no. 1 spot in Argentina, top 5 in the UK and Canada, and top 10 in Australia, Brazil and a European composite chart.
The second single, "My Happy Ending," reached ninth place on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her third biggest hit as of late. They shot the music video to the track in actor/singer Eric West's neighborhood. Her third single from Under My Skin is "Nobody's Home."
Avril's band
Lavigne's backing band currently includes Devin Bronson (lead guitar), Craig Wood (rhythm guitar), Charlie Muniz (bass) and Matt Brann (drums).
Former band members include Evan Taubenfeld (lead guitar, 2002-04), Mark Spicoluk (bass, 2002) and Jessie Colburn (rhythm guitar, 2002-03).