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Avril Ramona Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian pop rock singer, Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She was originally known for her "skater punk" persona, but has since shed that image in favour of a more sophisticated and feminine style. Her two albums, Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004), have topped charts in several countries.

Although her surname is of French origin, she does not speak French and her name is pronounced in an anglicized way, somewhat as  ("La-veen"), rather than . Lavigne in French means the vine or the vineyard. Her first name, Avril, is French for April, but is also pronounced in an anglicized way as ("Av-ril"), rather than.

Lavigne is featured in Maxim Magazine's Girls of Maxim gallery. In 2006, she was included in Canadian Business Magazine's ranking of the most powerful Canadians in Hollywood, grabbing the seventh position.

Biography

(1984-2000) Early Life

Avril was born in Belleville, Ontario, to Franco-Ontarian Roman Catholic parents John and Judy Lavigne. Avril's musical talent was first spotted at the age of two when her mother says Avril began singing along with her on church songs. At age five she moved with her family to Napanee, Ontario, Canada, where she sang in a church choir and taught herself to play the guitar.

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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, Avril was spotted by local folksinger 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 sixteen 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 in a New York City studio. She then completed work on her first album.

(2001-2003) Rise to superstardom (Let Go)

After attempts to capture Lavigne's sound, Arista A&R head Josh Saurbin reached out to producer-songwriters Curt Frasca and Sabelle Breer (Madonna, Ryan Cabrera, Stacie Orrico) to help with the album. Lavigne eventually moved to Los Angeles, California and co-wrote with Cliff Magness and the songwriting team The Matrix. They have also worked with singers such as Sheena Easton and Christina Aguilera.

Lavigne described her first release Let Go as an album with "a couple of rock songs on it" and has voiced a desire to write more rock-oriented songs in the future. Let Go was released on 4 June 2002 in the United States, reaching number two and number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the UK up until that time (17 yr old Joss Stone broke Avril's record in 2003).

In October '02 less than six months later  Let Go was RIAA certifies four times platinum and it sold 13,197,000 copies worlwide Four singles from the album were released, all of them number-one hits in Canada. "Complicated" went to number one in Australia while reaching number two on the U.S. Hot 100, and it was also one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Avril Lavigne tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the Contemporary Hit Radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for 11 weeks in a row. Natalie Imbruglia previously held the record with her song "Torn", which also held onto number one for 11 weeks. "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), a World Music Award for World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer, and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards.

 

(2003-2005) Public acceptance (Under My Skin)

Lavigne's second album Under My Skin was released on 25 May 2004 in the U.S. It debuted at number one in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong and sold more than 380,000 copies in 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 Marvelous 3, and her former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore.

Lead single "Don't Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina, the top five in the UK and Canada, and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" reached the top ten in the U.S., and was her third-biggest hit there, but third single "Nobody's Home" did not make the top forty, though it reached the number one spot in Canada. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", became her eighth consecutive number-one release in Canada since her debut single, but failed to make the UK top twenty and was not released in the U.S.

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 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. "Breakaway" peaked in the U.S. top ten and provided Clarkson with a substantial hit.

(2005-present) Recent activities

Lavigne represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She performed her song, "Who Knows", during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion.

Lavigne made her film debut in the animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on the comic strip of same name, alongside William Shatner, Bruce Willis, and Garry Shandling. She is also acting in the Richard Gere film The Flock, and her third project is Fast Food Nation, based on her favourite book.

Her third album currently does not have a release date or a title, and it is being produced by Butch Walker and herself On July 10, 2006, Avril Lavigne answered a Q&A on her official website stating that her next CD will be released in the first half of next year, 2007. Avril says that her new album will contain love songs since 'that's what I'm feeling at the moment' and that she is enjoying being able to write songs with Butch Walker. It is said on her message board on her official website that her new album will contain 15 songs. "Of course, I still have my boy-bashing songs, but they're very playful. So the record is really fun and cool and different and honestly, I think it's my best record yet. I can say that with confidence."

It will have 15 tracks and is nearing completion.

Media Image

Until 2003, Avril Lavigne travelled with a bag full of about 30 neckties. Some of them she bought, and the rest she took from her father; some were sent to her by fans. Avril Lavigne stopped wearing neckties in 2003, as she was horrified at the media references to her style overshadowing her music; and that she was starting a fashion trend.

The classification of Avril Lavigne's style of music has been debated. All Music Guide and other reviewers consider her to be "teen pop" or "adult/alternative pop-rock". It is questioned whether or not her music style is punk. The reason for the confusion appears to be for her punk-like appearance early in her career. There have been several occasions where she has stated "I'm not punk," and other occasions where she stated she was a "skater punk."

Avril Lavigne spoke about her glamorous new look in a September 2006 interview. She explains, "When I was in high school I was a little s**t, hanging out with the guys, getting drunk, smoking, getting in fights, playing hockey. My band were all guys, so I was only around guys, but when I got older I started being more of a chick. I broke out on the scene looking like the 17-year-old that I was. And from then to now I look really different - but that's called growing up".

Personal life

It has been speculated that Lavigne is a vegetarian, but she has said many times that she is not. 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 will not say she's a vegetarian "in case anyone caught her eating meat". As a teenager she would hang out at the La Pizzeria restaurant in Napanee, Ontario. In her Under My Skin Bonez Documentary, she has stated that pizza with olive toppings is her favourite food, although she doesn't eat it too much because pizza is not good for her voice. Since her rise to fame, the restaurant has named a pizza after Avril that contains her favourite toppings and there is a guest book for fans to sign which is picked up by Avril when she visits friends and family in her home town.

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 had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist — thought to be a reference to husband Deryck Whibley. She has also bought a house with him in Beverly Hills.

Lavigne was romantically linked to her former guitarist Jesse Colburn, and acknowledged him as her first boyfriend. After breaking up, Colburn also left the band.

In February 2004, she began dating fellow Canadian singer, Deryck Whibley; Whibley became Lavigne's second boyfriend. In June 2005 they became engaged. Whibley proposed to Lavigne by surprising her with a trip to Venice, a gondola ride, and then a romantic picnic. The couple finally married in a traditional ceremony on Saturday, July 15th, 2006 at a private estate in the California coastal city of Montecito. Lavigne wore a Vera Wang gown, carried pearl white Australian roses and was walked down the aisle by her father. Whibley wore a Hugo Boss suit and was accompanied by four best men. There were about 110 guests in attendance. When asked if they were ready for kids they said not right now but somewhere down the road.

Backing band

• Devin Bronson - lead guitar (2004 – present)
• Craig Wood - rhythm guitar (2003 – present)
• Charlie Moniz - bass guitar (2002 – present)
• Matt Brann - drums and percussion (2002– present)

Former members

• Evan Taubenfeld - lead guitar (2002 – 2004)
• Mark Spicoluk - bass guitar (2002)
• Jesse Colburn - rhythm guitar (2002 – 2003).

Discography

Filmography

References and Notes

Wiki Source

References ^ E! Online Factsheet on Avril Lavigne ^ Avril Lavigne Bandaids - Avril Lavigne Fansite ^ a b c d Thorley, Joe. Avril Lavigne The Unofficial Book, Virgin Books, 2003. ^ http://www.thesexydesktop.com/avril_lavigne.html The Avrilites - Avril Lavigne Fansite Finnish Avril Lavigne fansite Singles Albums Top40.com Information about Avril Lavigne on Music Library (rus) Rock on the Net.Com Singles Worldwide Success Avril Star - Avril Lavigne Web Community Avril Lavigne Bandaids - Avril Lavigne Fansite Avril Lavigne Brazil - Avril Lavigne Fansite Avril Teen