"Adia" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. It was co-written by McLachlan and her longtime producer, Pierre Marchand. The song allegedly reflected the apology to her best friend for becoming involved with, and later marrying, her friend's ex-boyfriend.^[1] On VH1 Storytellers, McLachlan also said "I'm not quite sure how to explain this one but, uh, I guess more than anything it's about my problems in dealing with feeling responsible for everyone else" about this song.^[2]

"Adia" was McLachlan's first top 5 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaked at number three. Though it only remained at the position for one week, the song did spent six consecutive weeks at number four and seven consecutive weeks at number five, totalling twenty-three weeks at the top ten and forty-nine weeks at the chart, "Adia" was the twentieth most successful song of 1998 in the US.

Releases[link]

"Adia" was the third of four songs from Surfacing to be released as a single. It was her most successful US single, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, released July 7, 1998, contains four tracks: the radio mix of "Adia", the Surfacing mix of "Angel", the original studio version of "I Will Remember You" (as opposed to the live version included on the Mirrorball album, also released as a single), and a live version of "Building a Mystery".^[3] McLachlan was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1999 for "Adia", losing to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".^[4]

A live version of "Adia" appears on the Mirrorball album.

Cover versions[link]

"Adia" has been covered by Avril Lavigne on the Control Room – Live EP. She said she used to cover it when she was 15. In 1999, saxophonist Richard Elliot covered the song from the release Chill Factor.^[5][6]

Track listing[link]

1. "Adia" – 4:03
2. "Adia" (remix) – 4:01
3. "Angel" – 4:30
4. "I Will Remember You" – 4:22

Charts[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Adia" live performance at AOL Video (along with other McLachlan songs)
• "Adia" on YouTube (licensed content by Sony BMG)

Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan after a performance at JFK Airport, July 2010
Background information
Birth name	Sarah Ann McLachlan
Born	(1968-01-28) January 28, 1968 (age 44) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genres	Pop, soft rock, adult contemporary
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, painter, executive producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboard, guitar, banjo, harp[1]
Years active	1988–present
Labels	RCA Records, Arista, Nettwerk
Website	sarahmclachlan.com

Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter.^[2] Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range,^[3] as of 2009, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.^[4][5] McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards (out of four nominations) and four Juno Awards. In addition to her personal artistic efforts, she founded the Lilith Fair tour, which showcased female musicians. The Lilith Fair concert tours took place from 1997 to 1999, and resumed in the summer of 2010. Since 2006 she has also been known as a highly visible supporter of the ASPCA, as well as various other charities.

Biography[link]

Sarah McLachlan was born on January 28, 1968, and adopted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As a child, she took voice lessons, along with studies in classical piano and guitar. When she was 17 years old and still a student at Queen Elizabeth High School, she fronted a short-lived rock band called The October Game. One of the band's songs, "Grind", credited as a group composition, can be found on the independent Flamingo Records release Out of the Fog and the CD Out of the Fog Too. It has yet to be released elsewhere. Her high school yearbook predicted that she was "destined to become a famous rock star."

Following The October Game's first concert at Dalhousie University opening for Moev, McLachlan was offered a recording contract with Vancouver-based independent record label Nettwerk by Moev's Mark Jowett. McLachlan's parents insisted she finish high school and complete one year of studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before moving to Vancouver and embarking on a new life as a recording artist, and McLachlan finally signed to Nettwerk two years later before having written a single song.

In 1994 McLachlan became the target of a lawsuit, when she was sued by Uwe Vandrei, an obsessed fan from Ottawa, who alleged that his letters to her had been the basis of the single "Possession." The lawsuit was also challenging for the Canadian legal system—Vandrei was a self-admitted stalker whose self-acknowledged goal in filing the lawsuit was to be near McLachlan physically. Consequently, special precautions were planned to ensure McLachlan's safety if at any time she had to be in the same location as Vandrei. The lawsuit never came to trial, however, as Vandrei was found dead in an apparent suicide before the trial began. This topic was explored at length in Canadian author Judith Fitzgerald's book, Building a Mystery: The Story of Sarah McLachlan & Lilith Fair.

In 1997, Sarah McLachlan married her drummer, Ashwin Sood, in Jamaica. McLachlan lost her mother to cancer in December 2001, while McLachlan herself was pregnant. McLachlan gave birth to a daughter, named India Ann Sushil Sood, on April 6, 2002, in Vancouver. By this time, McLachlan had already completed three-quarters of the production on her next record, Afterglow. On June 22, 2007, she gave birth to her second daughter, named Taja Summer Sood, in Vancouver. McLachlan announced her separation from Ashwin Sood in September 2008.^[6]

Sarah McLachlan currently resides in Vancouver.

Musical career[link]

[edit] Touch and Solace

The signing with Nettwerk prompted McLachlan to move to Vancouver, British Columbia. There she recorded the first of her albums, Touch, in 1988, which received both critical and commercial success and included the hit song "Vox". During this period she also contributed to an album by Manufacture, and embarked on her first national concert tour as an opening act for The Grapes of Wrath.^[7][8]

Her 1991 album, Solace, was her mainstream breakthrough in Canada, spawning the hit singles "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire". Solace also marked the beginning of her partnership with Pierre Marchand. Marchand and McLachlan have been collaborators ever since, with Marchand producing many of McLachlan's albums and occasionally co-writing songs.^[9]

[edit] Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, and Surfacing

McLachlan at a 1993 benefit for Clayoquot Sound

1993's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was an immediate hit in Canada. From her Nettwerk connection, her piano version of the song "Possession" was included on the first Due South soundtrack in 1996. Over the next two years, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy quietly became McLachlan's international breakthrough as well, scaling the charts in a number of countries.

In 1993, Darryl Neudorf filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, Nettwerk, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch, and alleging that he wasn't paid properly for work done on Solace. The judge in this suit eventually ruled in McLachlan's favour on the songs; though Neudorf may have contributed to the songwriting, neither regarded each other as joint authors. The judge ruled in Neudorf's favour on the payment issue.

Following the success from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, McLachlan returned in 1997 with Surfacing, her best-selling album to date. Earning her two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards, the album has since sold over 11 million copies worldwide and brought her much international success. Still in the spotlight from the album, McLachlan launched the highly popular Lilith Fair tour. Her song "Angel"—inspired by the fatal overdose of Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin—made sales skyrocket. In Spring 1998, the motion picture City of Angels featured "Angel". It became the No. 1 album on the Billboard chart. More than five months after the movie disappeared from the theatres, City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture remained firmly entrenched among Billboard's top 40 albums. This soundtrack earned quadruple-platinum status.^[10]

Lilith Fair[link]

In 1996 McLachlan became frustrated with concert promoters and radio stations that refused to feature two female musicians in a row.^[11] Bucking conventional industry wisdom, she booked a successful tour for herself and Paula Cole. At least one of their appearances together – in McLachlan's home town, on September 14, 1996 – went by the name "Lilith Fair" and included performances by McLachlan, Cole, Lisa Loeb and Michelle McAdorey, formerly of Crash Vegas.

The next year, McLachlan founded the Lilith Fair tour, taking Lilith from the medieval Jewish legend that Lilith was Adam's first wife.^[12]

In 1997, Lilith Fair, featuring McLachlan as one of the headlining acts, garnered a $16 million gross, making it the top-grossing of any touring festival.^[11] Among all concert tours for that year, it was the 16th highest grossing.^[11] Lilith Fair tour brought together 2 million people over its three-year history and raised more than $7 million for charities. It was the most successful all-female music festival in history, one of the biggest music festivals of the 1990s, and helped launch the careers of several well-known female artists. Subsequent Lilith Fairs followed in 1998 and 1999 before the tour was discontinued.

Nettwerk CEO and Lilith Fair co-founder Terry McBride announced that the all-female festival would make its return in summer 2010.

Hiatus[link]

McLachlan performing for Good Morning America in 1998

In 1998, in addition to performing her own set, she performed a cover of "Sad Lisa" with rock band Phish at the annual Bridge School Benefit concert in California, hosted by Neil Young, after which McLachlan began an extended period away from recording or touring. Six years elapsed between the release of Surfacing and that of her next studio album, Afterglow.

However, she did release a live album in 1999, entitled Mirrorball. The album's singles included a new live version of her earlier doubles "I Will Remember You", a studio recording of which had previously been released on The Brothers McMullen soundtrack as well as Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff.

Also that year, McLachlan (in the singing voice of "Jessie") recorded the Randy Newman song "When She Loved Me" on the Toy Story 2 soundtrack. This song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 2000, and McLachlan performed it at the awards ceremony, but the award went to "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan, written and recorded by Phil Collins.

In 1997, McLachlan co-wrote and provided guest vocals on the Delerium song "Silence" for their album Karma. This song achieved a massive amount of US top 40 airplay when released as a single in late 2000 and also featured on the soundtrack for the movie Brokedown Palace. In 2001, McLachlan provided background vocals, guitar, and piano on the closing track "Love Is" from Stevie Nicks' eighth solo album, Trouble in Shangri-La, in addition to drawing the dragon used for the "S" in Stevie's name on the album cover. In May 2002, her duet with Bryan Adams was released on the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron soundtrack. She sang harmonies and played the piano on the song "Don't Let Go" while Sood did the drum work.

McLachlan also participated in several concerts during her break, such as Sheryl Crow's Live from Central Park in 1999, the Arista Records twenty-fifth anniversary celebration in 2000, as well as the 2002 British Columbia Cancer Foundation Benefit Concert in memory of cancer victim Michele Bourbonnais. She participated along with four other Canadian artists: Bryan Adams, Jann Arden, Barenaked Ladies, and Chantal Kreviazuk.

[edit] Afterglow

McLachlan in Menlo Park, California, USA

McLachlan returned to public life and touring with her 2003 album release, Afterglow, which contained the singles "Fallen", "Stupid", and "World On Fire". Rather than shoot a conventional music video for "World On Fire", McLachlan donated all but $15 of the $150,000 budget to various charitable causes around the world and then used the video to explain how it benefited the communities that received the money.

Another live album, Afterglow Live, was released in late 2004. The CD consisted of several tracks from a full-length concert, which was included in its entirety on a DVD, as well as the three music videos from Afterglow.

In 2004, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, who credits McLachlan and her music for lifting him from a period of depression, invited her to join him on a track from his solo album. Although the album was not released until early 2006, remixes of the song "Just Like Me" were included on a number of compilations in 2005.

In 2007, McLachlan's song "Answer" featured in The Brave One starring Jodie Foster.

[edit] Wintersong

In October 2006, McLachlan released a Christmas album called Wintersong. The album included 11 new recordings, featuring covers of Joni Mitchell's "River", Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night", and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", which she recorded with her outreach children and youth choir, and seasonal favourites: "Christmas Time Is Here", "O Little Town of Bethlehem", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Silent Night", "The First Noel", and "Greensleeves (What Child Is This?)", among others. The title track is an original work of McLachlan's.

Wintersong debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 album chart the week ending 4 November 2006. It peaked at #7. For the week of 5 December 2006, it was the #1 album on iTunes. Worldwide the album has sold over 1.1 million copies to date. It has been certified Platinum in the U.S. and 2x Platinum in Canada.

Wintersong was nominated for both a Grammy Award, in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category, as well as for a Juno Award, for Pop Album of the Year.

Guest appearances[link]

In November 2006, McLachlan performed the song "Ordinary Miracle" for that year's feature film, Charlotte's Web. The song was written by Glen Ballard and David A. Stewart of Eurythmics. McLachlan was the subject of rumours of an Oscar nomination for the song, but in the end was not nominated. She helped to promote the song and movie by performing it on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She also performed the song during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in her hometown of Vancouver, in front of an estimated 3 billion television viewers worldwide.

In early 2007, she sang on Dave Stewart's Go Green, alongside Nadirah X, Imogen Heap, Natalie Imbruglia, and others.^[13]

McLachlan also appeared on Annie Lennox's album, Songs of Mass Destruction. Together with Madonna, Céline Dion, Pink, Sugababes, Angélique Kidjo, k.d. lang, Faith Hill, Fergie, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Anastacia, Joss Stone, Dido, and KT Tunstall, she performed on the song "Sing".

In 2010, McLachlan appeared as herself on the television series Life Unexpected and performed. On September 8, 2010, McLachlan performed and sang "Forgiveness" from her 2010 album Laws of Illusion on a semi-final show of America's Got Talent; she did so again on the Tonight Show, two days later.

Sarah appeared alongside Aimee Mann on the IFC series Portlandia, as a pinata and a yard maintenance person.

On November 22, 2010, McLachlan again performed and sang "Forgiveness" this time on the Regis and Kelly show.

On September 10, 2011, she performed I Will Remember You and Angel at a ceremony in Stonycreek, Pennsylvania, commemorating the passengers and crew of hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 who fought the hijackers and brought down their airplane on September 11, 2001. The event marked the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial and was attended by U.S. President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker John Boehner.^[14]

[edit] Rereleases, Rarities Vol 2, and Greatest Hits

On October 3, 2006, the live album Mirrorball was re-released as Mirrorball: The Complete Concert. This release contains 2 discs that were compiled from 2 concerts performed on consecutive nights in April 1998 at the Rose Garden arena in Portland, Oregon.

On April 29, 2008, Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2 was released. The tracklist includes McLachlan's recent covers of Joni Mitchell's "River" and Dave Stewart's "Ordinary Miracle", as well as collaborations throughout her career with The Perishers, Cyndi Lauper and Bryan Adams, among others.

On August 5, 2008, the 15th anniversary 3-disc edition of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was released. The set includes the original re-mastered album, The Freedom Sessions and a DVD that includes live performances, music videos and more. The album was released by Legacy Recordings.

McLachlan released a greatest hits album, Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan, on October 7, 2008. On August 12, 2008, she released a new song from the album, "U want me 2", a mid-tempo contemplative love song, as a digital single on iTunes; also accompanied with a video performance. McLachlan also admitted the song was inspired by the dissolution of her marriage, which she announced in September 2008, during initial promotion. Being quietly released as a single on 3 February 2009 the other new song found on the album, "Don't Give Up on Us", signalled a wrap.

[edit] 2010 Winter Olympics, Laws of Illusion and Lilith Fair 2010

A new single, "One Dream," was released on September 29, 2009 and was the official theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.^[15] McLachlan's first studio album of original material in seven years, Laws of Illusion, was released on June 15, 2010. New York Times music critic John Pareles says about Laws of Illusion - "It’s a kindly, enveloping sound that Ms. McLachlan has long used to conjure passion and empathy laced with melancholy. But now it encompasses a new anguish, deeper and sharper than what she hinted at with Afterglow in 2003." It features 10 new songs in addition to the previously released tracks "U Want Me 2" and "Don't Give Up on Us," as well as various bonus tracks. Previews of the tracks and bonus materials were made available on iTunes and Amazon.com for listening and viewing on May 26, 2010. Lilith Fair kicked off in Calgary, AB on June 27, 2010. In anticipation of the album and the summer's tour, McLachlan appeared on the WNYC-produced radio show Soundcheck. During the wide-ranging interview, McLachlan discussed with host John Schaefer the last eleven years of her life and how she has changed, especially as a working mother of two.

Guitars and equipment[link]

For years, Sarah McLachlan's main stage guitar has been a late-'70s Larrivée C-10 with rosewood back and sides, a spruce top, and a Florentine cutaway. The guitar is amplified with a Fishman Rare Earth Blend (which combines a magnetic pickup and an internal mic), running through a Radial JDV Mk3 active DI. She has also performed with Canadian-made Morgan guitars, and at the time of the interview, she was trying out Taylor models with Expression System electronics.

McLachlan strings her guitars with phosphor-bronze or vintage bronze Dean Markleys. She uses medium-lights (.012–.054) for her guitars in E A D G A D and D A D G A D tunings. Sometimes she uses lights (.011–.046) and raises E A D G A D a whole step so her capo positions can be two frets lower. For instance, in the past she played "Building a Mystery" in E A D G A D with a capo at the seventh fret, but now she tunes to F# B E A B E and capoes at the fifth fret. McLachlan's capo of choice is a Dunlop C-Four.^[16]

Awards and achievements[link]

McLachlan has been nominated for twenty-one Juno Awards and awarded eight. In 1992, her video for "Into the Fire" was selected as best music video. In 1998, she won Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year (along with Pierre Marchand), Single of the Year for "Building a Mystery", and Album of the Year for Surfacing. In 2000, she won an International Achievement award and in 2004, won Pop Album of the Year for Afterglow and again shared the Songwriter of the Year award with Pierre Marchand for the singles "Fallen", "World on Fire", and "Stupid."

She has also won three Grammy Awards. She was awarded Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1997 for "Building a Mystery" and again in 1999 for the live version of "I Will Remember You." She also scored Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1997 for "Last Dance." Among these, she is credited for various nominations.

Her song "Building A Mystery" came in at 91 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.^[17]

McLachlan has been extensively profiled by media including cover stories for Rolling Stone, Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Flare, a Canadian fashion magazine.

Through her career, she has also received many awards, primarily in recognition of her efforts in launching Lilith Fair. She was awarded the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Visionary Award in 1998 for advancing the careers of women in music. In 1999, she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada by then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in recognition of her successful recording career, her role in Lilith Fair, and the charitable donations she made to women's shelters across Canada. In 2001, she was inducted to the Order of British Columbia.

On February 12, 2010, McLachlan performed her song "Ordinary Miracle" at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

On June 15, 2011, she was recognized with an honorary degree from Simon Fraser University.^[18]

Philanthropy[link]

McLachlan contributed the track "Hold On" to the 1993 AIDS-Benefit Album No Alternative produced by the Red Hot Organization. She also performed at the Leonard Peltier Defense Fund Benefit Concert on February 12, 1997 and went on to release a haunting cover version of Unchained Melody created as part of her support for Peltier and later included on the album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2.^[19]

In early 2005, McLachlan took part in a star-studded tsunami disaster relief telethon on NBC. On 29 January McLachlan was a headliner for a benefit concert in Vancouver along with other Canadian superstars such as Avril Lavigne and Bryan Adams. The show also featured a performance by the Sarah McLachlan Musical Outreach Choir & Percussion Ensemble, a children's choir and percussion band from the aforementioned Vancouver outreach program. In addition to her own headliner show she also joined Delerium live on stage for their first-ever performance of 'Silence'. The concert was titled One World: The Concert for Tsunami Relief, and raised approximately $3.6 million for several Canadian aid agencies working in south and southeast Asia. The show was the brainchild of McLachlan's manager, Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk. It ran for four hours and aired live on CTV across Canada.

She is an avid supporter of the ASPCA and animal welfare. She filmed a two-minute advertisement for the organization which featured her song "Angel".^[20] The advertisement's imagery of shelter animals mixed with the soundtrack and McLachlan's simple appeal for donations has raised $30 million for the ASPCA since it began to air in 2006, which allowed the organization to air appeals in higher profile prime-time cable ad slots; subsequently the organization produced a new ad for the 2008 holiday season featuring McLachlan appealing for the ASPCA over her Wintersong performance of "Silent Night", and a new ad with her was released in January 2009 featuring the song "Answer".^[20] In 2012, McLachlan wrote a letter on behalf of PETA to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, protesting that country's annual seal hunt.^[21]

In 2008, she donated a song to Aid Still Required's CD to assist with the restoration of the devastation done to Southeast Asia from the 2004 Tsunami.

On July 2, 2005, McLachlan participated in the Philadelphia installment of the Live 8 concerts, where she performed her hit "Angel" with Josh Groban. These concerts, which were held simultaneously in nine major cities around the world, were intended to coincide with the G8 summit to put pressure on the leaders of the world's richest nations to fight poverty in Africa by cancelling debt.

McLachlan also funds an outreach program in Vancouver that provides music education for inner city children. In 2007, the provincial government announced $500,000 in funding for the outreach program.^[22]

For raising millions of dollars for causes including women's charities, AIDS sufferers and inner-city kids, Simon Fraser University conferred Sarah McLachlan the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa on June 13, 2011.^[23]

Discography[link]

• 1988: Touch
• 1991: Solace
• 1992: Sarah McLachlan Live EP
• 1993: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
• 1995: The Freedom Sessions
• 1996: Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff
• 1997: Surfacing
• 1999: Mirrorball
• 2001: Remixed
• 2003: Afterglow
• 2005: Bloom: Remix Album
• 2006: Wintersong
• 2008: Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2
• 2008: Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan
• 2010: Laws of Illusion

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sarah McLachlan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sarah McLachlan

• Official website
• Sarah McLachlan at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Sarah McLachlan

Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne during a performance in Italy, September 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Avril Ramona Lavigne
Born	(1984-09-27) 27 September 1984 (age 27) Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Napanee, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Pop rock, power pop, pop punk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, Fashion Designer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Epic, RCA, Arista
Associated acts	Evan Taubenfeld, Deryck Whibley
Website	www.avrillavigne.com
Notable instruments
Squier Signature Telecaster model guitar

Avril Ramona Lavigne (pronunciation: /ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn/; AV-ril lə-VEEN; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million. In 2002, when she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album Let Go.

Let Go made Lavigne the youngest female soloist to reach No. 1 in the UK, and the album was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. By 2009, over 16 million copies had been sold worldwide. Her breakthrough single, "Complicated", peaked at No. 1 in many countries around the world, as did the album Let Go. Her second album, Under My Skin, was released in 2004 and was her first album to peak at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, eventually selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. The Best Damn Thing, Lavigne’s third album, was released in 2007, becoming her third No. 1 album in the UK Albums Chart and featuring her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, "Girlfriend". Lavigne has scored six number-one singles worldwide, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", "Nobody's Home", and "Girlfriend". With more than 30 million copies of her albums sold worldwide, Lavigne is one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the U.S., with over 10.25 million copies certified by the RIAA. Her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, was released in March 2011. Goodbye Lullaby gave Lavigne her fourth top 10 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and her third No. 1 album in both Japan and Australia. Three months after the release of Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne began work on her fifth album, which will be released on Epic Records following her departure from RCA Records.

Lavigne branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in feature film acting and designing clothes and perfumes. She voiced a character in the animated film, Over the Hedge, in 2006. That same year, she made her on-screen feature film debut in Fast Food Nation. In 2008, Lavigne introduced her clothing line, Abbey Dawn, and in 2009, she released her first perfume, Black Star, which was followed by her second perfume, Forbidden Rose, in 2010 and her third perfume, Wild Rose, in 2011. In July 2006, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for Sum 41. The marriage lasted a little over three years, and in October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce. Whibley and Lavigne continued to work together, with Whibley producing her fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

Early life[link]

Avril Ramona Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario. Her father, Jean-Claude Lavigne, named her "Avril" after the French word for the month of April. At the age of two, she began singing church songs with her mother,^[1] Judith-Rosanne "Judy" (née Loshaw). Judy recognized her two-year-old daughter's talents after hearing her sing "Jesus Loves Me" in church.^[2] Lavigne has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle,^[3] both of whom teased her when she sang. "My brother used to knock on the wall because I used to sing myself to sleep and he thought it was really annoying."^[2]

When Lavigne was five years old, the family moved to Napanee, Ontario,^[1] a town with a population of approximately 5,000.^[4][5][6] Although she struggled to pay attention in school, sometimes being kicked out of class for misbehaving, her parents supported her singing. Her father bought her a microphone, a drum kit, a keyboard, and several guitars, and converted their basement into a studio. When Lavigne was 14, her parents would take her to karaoke sessions.^[7] Lavigne also performed at country fairs, singing songs by Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, and Shania Twain. She also began writing her own songs. Her first song was called "Can't Stop Thinking About You", about a teenage crush, which she described as "cheesy cute".^[8]

In 1999,^[9] Lavigne won a radio contest to perform with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain at the Corel Centre (now Scotiabank Place) in Ottawa, before an audience of 20,000 people.^[1][4] Twain and Lavigne sang "What Made You Say That",^[1] and Lavigne told Twain that she was going to be "a famous singer".^[4] During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folksinger Stephen Medd. He invited her to contribute vocals on his song, "Touch the Sky", for his 1999 album, Quinte Spirit. She later sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow-up album, My Window to You, in 2000. In December 1999, Lavigne was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario.^[1][4] Fabri sent out VHS tapes of Lavigne's home performances to several industry prospects, and Lavigne was visited by several executives.^[10] Mark Jowett, co-founder of the Canadian management firm Nettwerk, received a copy of Lavigne's karaoke performances recorded in her parents' basement.^[11] Jowett arranged for Lavigne to work with Peter Zizzo during the summer of 2000 in New York, where she wrote the song "Why". Lavigne was noticed by Arista Records on a subsequent trip to New York.^[10]

Lavigne would go on to sell more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide,^[12] becoming one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the U.S., with over 10.25 million copies certified by the RIAA.^[13] In 2009, Billboard named Lavigne the No. 10 pop artist in the "Best of the 2000s" chart.^[14] She was listed as the 28th overall best act of the decade based on album and single chart performance in the U.S.^[15]

Music career[link]

[edit] 2000–03: Let Go

In November 2000,^[5] Ken Krongard, an A&R representative, invited Antonio "L.A." Reid, then head of Arista Records, to producer Peter Zizzo's Manhattan studio to hear Lavigne sing. Her 15-minute audition "so impressed" Reid that he immediately signed her to Arista with a deal worth $1.25 million for two albums and an extra $900,000 for a publishing advance.^[6][1] By this time, Lavigne had found that she fit in naturally with her hometown high school's skater clique, an image that carried through to her first album, but although she enjoyed skateboarding, school left her feeling insecure. Armed with a record deal, she dropped out to focus on her music career,^[5] but she still had to inform her parents of her decision. "I wasn't going to turn [the record deal] down. It's been my dream all my life. They knew how much I wanted this and how much I've put into it."^[16][8]

Reid gave A&R Joshua Sarubin the responsibility for overseeing Lavigne's development and the recording of her debut album.^[17] They spent several months in New York working with different co-writers trying to forge an individual sound for her. Sarubin told HitQuarters that for while they struggled finding her sound and although early collaborations with songwriter-producers including Sabelle Breer, Curt Frasca and Peter Zizzo resulted in some good songs, they didn't match her and her voice.^[17] It was only when Lavigne then went to Los Angeles in May 2001 and created two songs with The Matrix production team – including "Complicated" – that the record company felt she had made a major breakthrough.^[17] Lavigne then worked further with The Matrix and also with singer-songwriter Cliff Magness. Recording finished in January 2002.^[17]

Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go, on 4 June 2002 in the U.S., where it reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian, Canadian, and UK charts. This made Lavigne, at 17 years old, the youngest female soloist to have a No. 1 album in the UK until that time.^[18] By the end of 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA, making her the bestselling female artist of 2002 and Let Go the top-selling debut of the year.^[19] By May 2003, Let Go had accumulated over 1,000,000 sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association.^[20] As of 2009, the album has sold over 16 million units worldwide,^[21] and the RIAA has certified the album six-times platinum, denoting shipments of over six million units in the U.S.^[22]

Lavigne's debut single and the album's lead single, "Complicated", peaked at No. 1 in Australia and No. 2 in the U.S. "Complicated" was one of the bestselling Canadian singles of 2002, and it was also featured on the teen television show, Dawson's Creek. "Complicated" later ranked on the Hot 100 Singles of the Decade list at No. 83.^[23]

Subsequent singles, "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You" reached the top ten in the U.S.^[24] Thanks to the success of her first three singles, Lavigne was the second artist in history to have three No. 1 songs from a debut album on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.^[25] For the music video to "Complicated", Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.^[26] She won four Juno Awards in 2003 out of six nominations,^[27] received a World Music Award for "World's Bestselling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Complicated" (2003).^[28]

In 2002, Lavigne made a cameo appearance in the music video to "Hundred Million" by the pop punk band Treble Charger.^[29] In March 2003, Lavigne posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine^[30] and, later in May,^[31] performed "Fuel" during MTV's Icon tribute to Metallica.^[32] During her first headlining tour, the Try To Shut Me Up Tour, Lavigne covered Green Day's "Basket Case".^[33]

Lavigne was featured in the 2003 game, The Sims: Superstar, as a non-playable celebrity.^[34]

[edit] 2004–05: Under My Skin

Lavigne in Vancouver, Canada during the Live and By Surprise mall tour

Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.^[35] "Breakaway" would later be included on Clarkson's second album and released as the album's lead single. Lavigne covered the Goo Goo Dolls song "Iris", performed with the band's lead singer John Rzeznik at Fashion Rocks,^[36] and she posed for the cover of Maxim in October 2004.^[37] She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. "I made the song a little more edgy", Lavigne said. "There are a lot of loud guitars, and we picked the tempo up a little and sang it with a little more attitude." Lavigne rearranged the song with the help of producer Butch Walker.^[38]

Lavigne's second studio album, Under My Skin, was released on 25 May 2004, debuting at No. 1 in several countries, including Australia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the U.S.^[39] The album has sold more than 10 million copies. Lavigne wrote most of the album's tracks with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album, along with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lavigne went on the Live and By Surprise twenty-one-city mall tour in the US and Canada to promote the album, accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. At the end of 2004, Lavigne embarked on her first world tour, the Bonez Tour, which had stopovers in almost every continent and lasted for the entire 2005 year.

"Don't Tell Me", the lead single of the album, went to No. 1 in Argentina and Mexico and reached the top five in the UK and Canada and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending", the album's second single, went to No. 1 in Mexico and the top five in the UK and Australia. In the US, it reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and went to No. 1 in the Mainstream Top 40, making it her fourth-biggest hit there. The third single, "Nobody's Home", did not make the top 40 in the US, reaching No. 1 only in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top 40 positions in the UK and Australia and was not released in the U.S.^[41]

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Bestselling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, and picked up three, including "Artist of the Year". She won the award for "Favorite Female Singer" at the eighteenth annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards^[42] and was nominated in every MTV Award show shown around the world.

[edit] 2006–08: The Best Damn Thing

On 26 February 2006, Lavigne represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the Torino Olympics, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minute Vancouver 2010 portion.^[43]

While Lavigne was in the studio for her third studio album, Fox Entertainment Group approached her to write a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 fantasy-adventure film Eragon. She wrote and recorded two "ballad-type" songs, but only one, "Keep Holding On", was used for the film.^[44] Lavigne admitted that writing the song was challenging, making sure it flowed with the film. She emphasized that "Keep Holding On", which later appeared on the album, was not indicative of what the next album would be like.^[45][46]

Lavigne in 2008 performing in the Netherlands.

Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on 17 April 2007, which Lavigne immediately promoted with a small tour. Its lead single, "Girlfriend", topped the Billboard Hot 100 the same week The Best Damn Thing debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Girlfriend" was Lavigne's first single to reach this No. 1 position.^[47] The single was a worldwide hit; it also peaked at No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Japan, and Italy and reached No. 2 in the UK and France. "Girlfriend" was recorded in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Japanese, and Mandarin. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ranked "Girlfriend" as the most-downloaded track worldwide in 2007, selling 7.3 million copies, including the versions recorded in eight different languages.^[48][12] "Girlfriend" ranked on the Hot 100 Singles of the Decade list at No. 94.^[49]

"When You're Gone", the second single, went to No. 3 in the UK, the top five in Australia and Italy, the top ten in Canada, and was close to reaching the top twenty in the U.S. In December 2007, Lavigne, with annual earnings of $12 million, was ranked number eight in the Forbes "Top 20 Earners Under 25".^[50] "Hot" was the third single and has been Lavigne's least successful single in the U.S., charting only at No. 95. In Canada, "Hot" made the top ten, and in Australia, the top 20. The Best Damn Thing has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

During this era, Lavigne won nearly every award she was nominated for, including two World Music Awards for "World's Bestselling Canadian Artist" and "World's Best Pop/Rock Female Artist". She took her first two MTV Europe Music Awards, received one Teen Choice Awards for "Summer Single", and was nominated for five Juno awards.

In mid-2007, Lavigne was featured in a two-volume graphic novel, Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes. She collaborated with artist Camilla D’Errico and writer Joshua Dysart on the manga, which was about a shy girl named Hana who, upon meeting her hero Avril Lavigne, learned to overcome her fears. Lavigne said, "I know that many of my fans read manga, and I'm really excited to be involved in creating stories that I know they will enjoy." The volumes were released on 10 April (one week prior to the release of The Best Damn Thing) and in July, respectively. The publication Young Adult Library Services nominated the series for "Great Graphic Novels for Teens".^[51]

In March 2008, Lavigne undertook a world tour named The Best Damn Tour to support the album. In that same month, she also appeared on the cover of Maxim for the second time of her career.^[52] In mid-August, Malaysia's Islamic opposition party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, attempted to ban Lavigne's show in Kuala Lumpur, judging her stage moves "too sexy". Her concert on 29 August was considered as promoting wrong values ahead of Malaysia's independence day on 31 August.^[53] On 21 August 2008, MTV reported that the concert had been approved by the Malaysian government.^[54]

[edit] 2009–11: Goodbye Lullaby

Lavigne singing in Florida during her Black Star Tour, May 2011.

Only a month after completing The Best Damn Tour, Lavigne began recording in her home studio in November 2008 with the song "Black Star",^[55] written to help promote her first fragrance of the same name.^[56] By July 2009, nine tracks had been recorded for the new album,^[55] including the songs "Fine", "Everybody Hurts" and "Darlin". Several of the tracks were written in Lavigne's youth. "Darlin" was the second song Lavigne wrote as a 15-year-old while living in Napanee, Ontario. Lavigne described the album as being about "life". She stated, "It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing."^[56] With the exception of the album's lead single, "What the Hell", Lavigne described the songs on the album as different from her earlier material: "I'm older now, so I think that comes across in my music, it's not as pop-rock".^[57]

In January 2010, while simultaneously writing and recording for her new album, Lavigne worked with Disney clothing designs inspired by Tim Burton's feature film, Alice in Wonderland. She asked the executives if she could write a song for the film. The result was the song "Alice",^[58] which was played over the end credits^[59] and included on the soundtrack, Almost Alice.^[60]

On 28 February, Lavigne gave a performance at the concert portion of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, performing "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend".^[61] Lavigne was honoured to perform at the ceremonies, but she regretted not being able to attend the U.S. vs. Canada hockey match. "They had us on lockdown. We weren't allowed to leave our trailers, for security purposes."^[62]

In September 2010, Lavigne's third single from her debut album, "I'm With You", was sampled by Rihanna on the track "Cheers (Drink to That)", which is featured on Rihanna's fifth studio album, Loud.^[63][64] In August 2011, she was featured in the music video for Cheers (Drink To That). "It's exciting to me because that was always one of my favorite songs, and for it to come out 10 years ago and so now to have it sampled and back out on the radio is pretty dope".^[65] In December 2010, American singer Miranda Cosgrove released "Dancing Crazy", a song written by Lavigne, Max Martin and Shellback. It was also produced by Martin.^[66] On 23 September 2011, Lavigne appeared in the Hub network show Majors & Minors as a guest mentor, alongside other singers including Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis. About the show, Lavigne stated, "I sang for them, and they performed for me. I was just blown away. I got to talk to them about music and the music industry, and they were all just so excited".^[65]

The release dates for Goodbye Lullaby and its lead single were pushed back several times. In response to these delays, Lavigne said, "I write my own music and, therefore, it takes me longer to put out records 'cause I have to live my life to get inspiration",^[67] and that she had enough material for two records.^[67] In November, Lavigne was featured in Maxim, where she revealed that Goodbye Lullaby took two and a half years to complete,^[68] but she cited her record company as the reason for the album's delays, stating that the album had been completed for a year.^[69] Goodbye Lullaby was released on 8 March.^[70][57] The lead single, "What the Hell", premiered on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on 31 December.^[70]

2011–present: Fifth studio album[link]

Three months after the release of Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne announced that work on her fifth studio album had already begun, with eight songs written so far. The new album will musically be the opposite of Goodbye Lullaby, with a release date rumored for sometime in 2012. ^[71] Lavigne explained, "[Goodbye Lullaby] was more mellow, [but] the next one will be pop and more fun again. I already have a song that I know is going to be a single, I just need to re-record it!"^[72][73][74] Later, in July 2011, Lavigne revealed the title of two of the songs from her fifth album as "Fine" and "Gone". The tracks were originally recorded for Goodbye Lullaby but never made the final cut. In late 2011, Lavigne confirmed that she had moved to Epic Records, which is now headed by L.A. Reid.^[75][76]

Production-wise, Lavigne stated in an interview with Virgin Radio 96 that she would begin production on the album in January 2012. ^[65] During recording, she has been confirmed to have worked with the hip hop production duo The Runners, ^[77] Chad Kroeger of rock band Nickelback and former member of rock band Evanescence David Hodges. ^[78] In April 2012, Lavigne confirmed that she had "finally" finished work on her fifth album and that she would be taking a short hiatus before releasing it and embarking on "[her] next artistic journey".^{[citation needed]}

Musical style and songwriting[link]

Avril Lavigne in February 2011.

Themes in Lavigne's music include messages of self-empowerment from a female or an adolescent view.^[79] Lavigne believes her "songs are about being yourself no matter what and going after your dreams even if your dreams are crazy and even if people tell you they're never going to come true."^[80] On her debut album, Let Go, Lavigne preferred the less mainstream songs, such as "Losing Grip", instead of her more radio-friendly singles, such as "Complicated", saying that "the songs I did with the Matrix... were good for my first record, but I don't want to be that pop anymore."^[81] Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, had deeper personal themes underlying each song. Lavigne explained, "I've gone through so much, so that's what I talk about.... Like boys, like dating or relationships".^[82] In contrast, her third album, The Best Damn Thing, was not personal to her. "Some of the songs I wrote didn't even mean that much to me. It's not like some personal thing I'm going through."^[83] Her objective in writing the album was simply to "make it fun".^[84] Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne's fourth album, was much more personal than her earlier records,^[55] with Lavigne describing the album as "more stripped down, deeper. All the songs are very emotional".^[85] Ian McKellen defined her as “... a punk chanteuse, a post-grunge valkyrie, with the wounded soul of a poet and the explosive pugnacity of a Canadian.” on the Craig Ferguson show in 2007. ^[86][87]

Growing up, Lavigne listened to Blink-182, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty and Shania Twain,^[81] and her influences include Courtney Love and Janis Joplin.^[82] Because of these influences, musical genres, and her personal style, the media often defined her as punk, something she denied being. Lavigne’s close friend and guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld, said, "It's a very touchy subject to a lot of people, but the point is that Avril isn't punk, but she never really pretended to claim to come from that scene. She had pop punk music and the media ended up doing the rest".^[88] Lavigne also commented on the matter: "I have been labeled like I'm this angry girl, [a] rebel... punk, and I am so not any of them."^[40]

Most of critics identify Lavigne as some form between teen pop and pop-punk: Publications such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NME, MusicMight, IGN and Popmatters have identified Avril Lavigne as a mix of rock, teen pop and pop-punk,^{[89][90][91][92][93][94]} influenced by a grungey pop-rock sound.^{[95][96][97][98][99]}

While Lavigne denied being angry, her interviews were still passionate about the media's lack of respect for her songwriting. "I am a writer, and I won't accept people trying to take that away from me", adding that she had been writing "full-structured songs" since she was 14.^[40] Despite this, Lavigne’s songwriting has been questioned throughout her career. The songwriting trio, the Matrix, with whom Lavigne wrote songs for her debut album, claimed that they were the main songwriters of Lavigne’s singles, "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm with You". Lavigne denied this, asserting that she was the primary songwriter for every song on the album. "[N]one of those songs aren't from me".^[81] In 2007, Chantal Kreviazuk, who wrote with Lavigne on her second album, accused Lavigne of plagiarism^[100] and criticized her songwriting. "Avril doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything".^[101] Lavigne also disclaimed this, and considered taking legal action against Kreviazuk for "clear defamation" against her character.^[101] Kreviazuk later apologized: "Avril is an accomplished songwriter and it has been my privilege to work with her".^[100] Shortly after that, Tommy Dunbar, founder of the 1970s band, the Rubinoos, sued Lavigne, her publishing company, and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald for allegedly stealing parts of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" for her song "Girlfriend".^[102] Gottwald defended Lavigne, stating, "me and Avril wrote the song together…. It has the same chord progressions as ten different Blink-182 songs, the standard changes you'd find in a Sum 41 song. It's the Sex Pistols, not the Rubinoos."^[101] In January 2008, the lawsuit was closed after a confidential settlement had been reached.^[103]

Other work[link]

Film career[link]

Lavigne became interested in appearing on television and in feature films. The decision, she said, was her own. Although her years of experience in making music videos would be to her advantage, Lavigne admitted her experience in singing removed any fear of performing on camera. She specifically mentioned that the video "Nobody's Home" involved the most "acting".^[80] Her first television appearance was in a 2002 episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,^[104] performing "Sk8er Boi"^[105] with her band in a nightclub.^[106] She later made a cameo appearance in the 2004 film Going the Distance. The main characters bump into her backstage at the MuchMusic Video Awards^[107] after her performance of "Losing Grip".^[108]

Lavigne at the Los Angeles premiere of Over the Hedge on 30 April 2006.

She moved into feature film acting cautiously, choosing deliberately small roles to begin with. In November 2005, after going through an audition to land the role, Lavigne travelled to New Mexico^[109] to film a single scene in the 2007 film, The Flock.^[110] She starred as Beatrice Bell, the girlfriend of a crime suspect, appearing alongside Claire Danes and Richard Gere. Gere gave Lavigne acting tips between takes.^[110] On her role in The Flock, Lavigne said, "I did that just to see how it was and to not jump into [mainstream acting] too fast".^[80] The Flock would not be released in American theatres, and because it would not be released in foreign markets until late 2007, it would not be considered Lavigne's debut. The film made $7 million in the foreign box office.^[111]

Lavigne's feature film debut was voicing an animated character in the 2006 film Over the Hedge, based on the comic strip of the same name. She voiced the character Heather, a Virginia Opossum. Recording the characters' voices was devoid of interaction with other actors. Lavigne stated, "All the actors went in individually, and [director] Tim and [screenwriter Karey] and directors were there with me every time I went in, and they made it go so smoothly; they made me feel comfortable.... That was the interesting part, going in by yourself, with no one else to kind of feed off of."^[112] Lavigne found the recording process to be "easy" and "natural", but she kept hitting the microphone as she gestured while acting. "I'd use my hands constantly and, like, hit the microphone stand and make noises, so Tim and Karey had to tell me to hold still.... It's hard to be running or falling down the stairs and have to make those sounds come out of your mouth but keep your body still." Lavigne believed she was hired to perform Heather because of her rock-star status. "[The director] thought I'd give my character... a bit of attitude".^[80] The film opened on 19 May 2006, making $38 million over its opening weekend. It went on to gross $336 million worldwide.^[113]

In December 2005, Lavigne signed on to appear in Fast Food Nation, based on the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.^[114] The fictionalized adaptation, directed by Richard Linklater, traces fast-food hamburgers contaminated with cow feces back to the slaughterhouses.^[115] Lavigne starred in her on-screen acting debut^[116] as a high school student intent on freeing the cows.^[117] The film opened on 17 November 2006 and remained in theatres for 11 weeks, grossing $2 million worldwide.^[118]

Both Over the Hedge and Fast Food Nation opened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, which Lavigne attended. Lavigne felt honoured to be able to attend and was proud of her work. When asked if she would pursue her film career, she stated that she wanted to take her time and wait for the "right parts and the right movies." Lavigne was aware of the roles she had chosen. "I wanted to start off small and to learn [that] I wouldn't just want to throw myself into a big part."^[80] In August 2006, Canadian Business magazine ranked her as the seventh top Canadian actor in Hollywood in their second-annual ranking Celebrity Power List. The results were determined by comparing salary, Internet hits, TV mentions, and press hits.^[119]

Fashion design[link]

Avril Lavigne sporting clothes from her Abbey Dawn line in 2011.

In July 2008, Lavigne launched the clothing line Abbey Dawn, featuring a back-to-school collection.^[12] It is produced by Kohl's, which is the brand's exclusive U.S. retailer. Named after Lavigne's childhood nickname, Abbey Dawn is designed by Lavigne herself.^[120][121] Kohl's describes Abbey Dawn as a "juniors lifestyle brand",^[12] which incorporates skull, zebra, and star patterns, purples and "hot pinks and blacks". Lavigne, who wore some of the clothes and jewellery from her line at various concerts before its official launch, pointed out that she was not merely licensing her name to the collection. "I actually am the designer. What's really important to me is that everything fits well and is well-made, so I try everything on and approve it all."^[122] The clothing line incorporates Lavigne's musical style and lyrics, "after the release of my first album, I realized how much fashion was involved in my musical career".^[65]

The designs were also featured on the Internet game Stardoll, where figures can be dressed up as Avril Lavigne.^[124] On 14 September 2009, Lavigne took her then latest collection for her clothing line to be a part of the New York Fashion Week,^[125] returning in 2011.^[65] In December 2010, the clothing line was made available to over 50 countries through the line's official website.^[126][85] "It's fun to be a chick and design clothes and things I'd like for myself. I design things I [can't] find."^[62] At the end of 2008, Lavigne signed a contract with Canon Canada to appear in advertising campaigns and commercials to promote the latest line of cameras and a full range of other accessories.^[127]

Lavigne released her first fragrance, Black Star, created by Procter & Gamble Prestige Products. The fragrance was announced on Lavigne's official website on 7 March 2009. Black Star, which features notes of pink hibiscus, black plum and dark chocolate, was released in summer 2009 in Europe, and later in the US and Canada.^[128] When asked what the name meant, Lavigne replied, "I wanted [the bottle] to be a star, and my colors are pink and black, and Black Star resembles being different, and standing out in the crowd, and reaching for the stars; the whole message is just about following your dreams, and it's okay to be unique and be who you are."^[129] Black Star won the 2010 Best "Women's Scent Mass" by Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW).^[130] Black Star was followed by a second fragrance in July 2010,^[131] Forbidden Rose, which took two years to develop.^[132] It features notes of red apple, winepeach, black pepper, lotusflower, heliotrope, shellflower, praline agreement, sandalwood, and vanilla.^[131] Its message is an extension of Black Star's "follow your dreams",^[133] though the tagline for the new perfume is "Dare to Discover".^[134] The commercial takes place in a gothic garden setting,^[133] where Lavigne, upon entering the garden, finds a single, purple rose.^[134] Lavigne launched a third fragrance, Wild Rose, in August 2011 and filmed the commercial for it in late 2010.^[85] The tagline for the fragrance is "Dare to discover more".^[135] It features notes of mandarin, pink grapefruit, plum, orange blossom, frangipani, blue orchid, musk, sandalwood and crème brûlée.^[136]

In January 2010, Lavigne began working with Disney to incorporate Alice in Wonderland-inspired designs into her Abbey Dawn line of clothing.^[58] Her designs were exhibited at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in California beginning in May through September, alongside Colleen Atwood's costumes from the 2010 film.^[137]

Philanthropy[link]

Lavigne singing in Beijing in 2008.

Lavigne has been involved with many charities, including Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, Erase MS, 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 took part in the Unite Against AIDS concert presented by ALDO in support of Unicef on 28 November 2007 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.^[138] In November 2010, Lavigne attended the Clinton Global Initiative.^[139]

Lavigne worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 east coast tour.^[140] She covered "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" for War Child's Peace Songs compilation, and she recorded a cover of the John Lennon song "Imagine" as her contribution to the compilation album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Released on 12 June 2007, the album was produced to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur.^[141]

On 5 December 2009, Lavigne returned to the stage in Mexico City during the biggest charity event in Latin America, "Teleton". She performed acoustic versions of her hits "Complicated" and "Girlfriend" with Evan Taubenfeld and band member, Jim McGorman.^[142] In 2010, Lavigne was one of several artists who contributed their voices to a cover of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" as a benefit single to help raise money for several charity organizations related to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[143]

On 14 September 2010, Lavigne introduced her charity, "The Avril Lavigne Foundation". The next day, the foundation's official website was launched. The foundation aims to help young people with serious illnesses and disabilities^[139][144] and works with leading charitable organizations;^[126] The foundation partners with the Easter Seals, Make-A-Wish foundation and Erase MS,^[145] the latter two being charities Lavigne has previously worked with. Her work with the Make-A-Wish foundation was the inspiration behind her own charity, with Lavigne stating, "I just really wanted to do more".^[144] Lavigne said on the foundation's website, "I have always looked for ways to give back because I think it’s a responsibility we all share".^[146] Philanthropist Trevor Neilson's 12-person firm, "Global Philanthropy Group", advises Lavigne with her foundation as well as several other celebrities, including musician John Legend.^[139]

Personal life[link]

Public image[link]

When Lavigne first gained publicity, she was known for her tomboyish style,^[147] in particular her necktie-and-tank-top combinations.^[148][149] She preferred baggy clothes, skater shoes or Converses,^[62] wristbands, and sometimes shoelaces wrapped around her fingers.^[7] During photo shoots, instead of wearing "glittery get-ups", she preferred wearing "old, crumpled T's".^[5] In response to her fashion and musical influences, the media would call her the "pop punk princess".^[150][151] Press and fans regarded her as the "anti-Britney", in part because of her less commercial and "real" image, but also because she was noticeably headstrong. "I’m not made up and I’m not being told what to say and how to act, so they have to call me the anti-Britney, which I’m not."^[7] By November 2002, however, Lavigne stopped wearing ties, claiming she felt she was "wearing a costume".^[6] Lavigne made a conscious effort to keep her music, and not her image, at the forefront of her career. "I'm just saying, I don't want to sell sex. I feel that's sort of lame and low. I've got so much more to say."^[152]

Lavigne eventually took on a more gothic style as she began her second album, Under My Skin, trading her skating outfits for black tutus^[151] and earning an image marked by angst.^[153] During The Best Damn Thing years, Lavigne changed directions. She dyed her hair blonde with a pink streak, wore feminine outfits,^[154] including "tight jeans and heels",^[62] and modelled for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar.^[147] Lavigne defended her new style: "I don't really regret anything. You know, the ties and the wife-beaters and all... It had its time and place. And now I'm all grown up, and I've moved on".^[154] She now tries to eat healthy foods and practises yoga, soccer, surfing, rollerblading, and street hockey.^[62]

Tattoos[link]

Lavigne's XXV and star tattoos on her right forearm, and 30, lightning bolt, and star tattoos on her left wrist.

Only a few of Lavigne's tattoos are unique to her; the rest are matched with those of her friends.^[62] Lavigne had a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist that was created at the same time as friend and musical associate Ben Moody's identical tattoo.^[155] In late 2004, she had a small pink heart around the letter "D" applied to her right wrist, which represented her then-boyfriend, Deryck Whibley.^[62][156] Lavigne and then-husband Whibley got matching tattoos in March 2010, in celebration of his 30th birthday.^[62] In April, Lavigne added another tattoo on her wrist: that of a lightning bolt and the number 30.^[157]

Her love of tattoos, however, gained media attention in May 2010, after Lavigne and Jenner each got matching tattoos of the word "fuck" on their ribs.^[158][159] Lavigne appeared in the June/July cover story for Inked magazine, where she discussed and showed off her tattoos, including an "Abbey Dawn" on her left forearm and an "XXV" and star on her right. Although she confirmed the "fuck" tattoo verbally in the article (calling it her "favorite word"^[62]) she had it applied after the magazine's photo shoot.^[160] She added that she eventually wanted to get a "big-ass heart with a flag through it with a name.... I'm going to wait a few years and make sure I still want it then. I have to wait for that special someone to come back into my life."^[62] In July 2010, Lavigne had her boyfriend's name, "Brody", tattooed beneath her right breast.^[161]

Marriage to Deryck Whibley[link]

Lavigne's ex-husband, Deryck Whibley

Lavigne and Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for the band Sum 41, began dating when she was 19 years old, after being friends since she was 17.^[162] Only a few weeks before they met, Lavigne admitted that she was not meeting boys because her bodyguards were frightening them away. In June 2005, Whibley surprised Lavigne with a trip to Venice, including a gondola ride and a romantic picnic, and on 27 June, he proposed to her.^[163]

She at first wanted to have a "rock n' roll, goth wedding", but she admitted to having doubts about going against tradition. "I've been dreaming about my wedding day since I was a little girl. I have to wear the white dress.... People thought that I would [wear a] black wedding dress, and I would have. But at the same time, I was thinking about the wedding pictures, and I wanted to be in style. I didn't want to be thinking, 20 years later, 'Oh, why did I wear my hair like that?'"^[164]

The wedding was held on 15 July 2006. About 110 guests attended the wedding, which was held at a private estate in Montecito, California.^[165] Lavigne, wearing a gown designed by Vera Wang walked down the aisle with her father, Jean-Claude, to Mendelssohn's "Wedding March". Lavigne chose a colour theme of red and white, including red rose petals and centrepieces of distinctly coloured flowers. The wedding included cocktails for an hour before the reception and a sit-down dinner. The song "Iris", by the Goo Goo Dolls, was played during Lavigne and Whibley's first dance.^[166]

Seven months into their marriage, Lavigne stated that she was "the best thing that's ever happened to him", and suggested that she helped Whibley stay off drugs since they had begun dating. "He doesn't do drugs. Clearly, he used to, because he talked about it, but I wouldn't be with someone who did, and I made that very clear to him when we first started dating. I've never done cocaine in my life, and I'm proud of that. I am 100 percent against drugs."^[164] The marriage lasted a little more than three years. It was announced on 17 September 2009 that Lavigne and Whibley had split up and that divorce papers would soon follow.^[167] On 9 October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce, releasing the statement, "I am grateful for our time together, and I am grateful and blessed for our remaining friendship."^[162] The divorce was finalized on 16 November 2010, officially ending the marriage.^[168]

Backing band[link]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• Let Go (2002)
• Under My Skin (2004)
• The Best Damn Thing (2007)
• Goodbye Lullaby (2011)

See also[link]

	Book: Avril Lavigne
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Avril Lavigne portal

• List of Avril Lavigne concert tours
• List of awards and nominations received by Avril Lavigne

References[link]