Name	Devin Bronson
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Devin Joseph Bronson
Alias	Evil D, D-rOck
Born	May 15, 1983
Origin	Seattle, Washington, United States
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar
Genre	Alternative rock, indie rock, pop punk, pop rock, power pop, acoustic
Occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Guitarist
Years active	2003–present
Label	Nettwerk, ViK, RCA
Associated acts	Treble Charger, Avril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld, Kelly Osbourne, Ashley Parker Angel, P!nk, Demi Lovato, Butch Walker, Miranda Cosgrove
Url	Official website

Devin Bronson (Born Seattle, Washington, May 15, 1983) used to be Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist and previously held positions with Kelly Osbourne's backing band and the Canadian rock band Treble Charger. He is also playing and touring with Ashley Parker Angel. Currently Devin is playing a series of Acoustic shows with Ashley. Devin Bronson left Avril Lavigne's band to be with the Black List Club full time.

Bronson replaced Evan Taubenfeld when Taubenfeld left Avril Lavigne's band in 2004. Bronson and Taubenfeld remain close friends. Bronson's first performance with Avril Lavigne's band was at the 2004 Fashion Rocks! concert in New York where Avril performed 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls with Johnny Rzeznik. Bronson was given only a few days to learn how to play the mandolin for that performance.

Bronson replaced guitarist Bill Priddle in Treble Charger for their Detox tour from 2003 to 2004. He was invited to join the band and at first had accepted, however before the band were going to enter the studio to record their 6th album he was invited to join Avril Lavigne's band. He left Treble Charger, which led to the unofficial dismemberment of the band. Devin has now joined Evan Taubenfeld's band The Black List Club as lead guitarist. He will be joining the band later this year once they begin touring.

Musical Director for Aly and AJ on Hollywood Records

Devin is currently working with Evan Taubenfeld, Lights Over Paris, and Avril Lavigne.

External links

http://www.devinbronson.com — Official site

http://www.blacklistclub.com - Official Black List Club site

http://www.avrillavigne.com - Official Avril Lavigne site

Category:American punk rock guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:Avril Lavigne Category:1983 births Category:Living people

Name	Avril Lavigne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Avril Ramona Lavigne
Born	September 27, 1984Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Napanee, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Genre	Pop rock, power pop, pop punk
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress, fashion designer, philanthropist
Years active	1998–present
Label	Arista, RCA
Associated acts	Evan Taubenfeld, Deryck Whibley
Url
Notable instruments	Squier Signature Telecaster model

Avril Ramona Lavigne (; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, actress and philanthropist. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent the majority of her youth in the small town, Napanee, Ontario. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, Lavigne had signed a recording contract with Arista, now RCA Records. Record executive Antonio "L.A." Reid offered her a two-album deal worth more than $2 million. When she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002.

Let Go made Lavigne the youngest female soloist to reach #1 in the UK, and the album was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of 2009, over 16 million copies had been sold worldwide, more than 6 million of which were sold in the United States. Her breakthrough single, "Complicated", peaked at #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 #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. This album gave Lavigne her third #1 album in the UK Albums Chart and featured her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single, "Girlfriend". Lavigne has scored a total of five #1 singles worldwide, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm With You", "My Happy Ending" and "Girlfriend". Lavigne has sold more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide and is currently one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the U.S., with over 10.25 million copies certified by the RIAA. Billboard named Lavigne the #10 pop artist in the "Best of the 2000s" chart, and she was listed as the 28th overall best act of the decade based on album sales, chart success, and cultural relativity in the U.S. Her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, will be released in March 2011, with the first single to be released in January.

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. Her third fragrance is due out in August 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 have continued to work together after the divorce, with Whibley producing her upcoming fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

Early life

Avril Ramona Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario, the daughter of Judith-Rosanne "Judy" (née Loshaw) and Jean-Claude Lavigne. Her father, who is of French Canadian descent, named her Avril after the French word for the month of April. She has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Michelle. A daughter of a working-class family, Lavigne, at the age of two, began singing church songs along with her mother. When Lavigne was five years old, the family moved to Napanee, Ontario, a town with an approximate population of 5,000. Although she struggled with paying attention in school, sometimes kicked out of class for misbehaving, her parents were supportive of her singing. Her father bought her a microphone, a drum kit, a keyboard, several guitars, and converted their basement into a studio. When Lavigne was 14, her parents would take her to karaoke sessions. 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". }} In 1998, 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. Twain and Lavigne sang "What Made You Say That", and Lavigne told Twain she was going to be "a famous singer". During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer 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. Fabri sent out VHS tapes of Lavigne's home performances to several industry prospects, and Lavigne was visited by several executives. Mark Jowett, co-founder of the Canadian management firm Nettwerk, received a copy of Lavigne's karaoke performances recorded in her parents' basement, and arranged for Lavigne to work with Peter Zizzo in New York during the summer of 2000, where she wrote the song "Why?". It was on a subsequent trip to New York that Lavigne was noticed by Arista Records.

Music career

2000–03: Let Go

In November 2000, 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, 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. 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, 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."

Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go, on 4 June 2002 in the U.S., where it reached #2 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at #1 on the Australian, Canadian and United Kingdom charts. This made Lavigne, at 17 years old, the youngest female soloist to have a #1 album in the UK until that time. 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. By May 2003, Let Go had accumulated over 1,000,000 sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association. As of 2009, the album has sold over 16 million units worldwide, and the RIAA has certified the album six-times platinum, denoting shipments of over six million units in the U.S. }} Lavigne's debut single and the album's lead single, "Complicated", peaked at #1 in Australia and #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 #83.

Subsequent singles, "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You" reached the top ten in the U.S. Thanks to the success of her first three singles, Lavigne was the second artist in history to have three #1 songs from a debut album on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. For the music video to "Complicated", Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. She won four Juno Awards in 2003 out of six nominations, 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).

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

Lavigne was featured in the 2003 game, , as a non-playable celebrity.

2004–05: Under My Skin

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 . "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, and she posed for the cover of Maxim in October 2004. 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.

Lavigne's second studio album, Under My Skin, was released on 25 May 2004, debuting at #1 in several countries, including Australia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the U.S. 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 U.S. 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, with stopovers in almost every continent and which lasted for the entire 2005 year. }} "Don't Tell Me", the first single off the album, went to #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 lead single, went to #1 in Mexico and the top five in the UK and Australia. In the U.S., it reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and went to #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 U.S., reaching #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.

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 and was nominated in every MTV Award show shown around the world.

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.

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", ended up being used for the film. Lavigne admitted that writing the song was challenging, making sure it flowed along 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. in Beijing at Wukesong Indoor Stadium.]] 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 #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Girlfriend" was Lavigne's first single to reach this #1 position. The single was a worldwide hit; it also peaked at #1 in Australia, Canada, Japan, and Italy and reached #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. "Girlfriend" ranked on the Hot 100 Singles of the Decade list at #94.

"When You're Gone", the second single, went to #3 in the UK, the top five in Australia and Italy, the top ten in Canada, and was very 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". "Hot" was the third single and has been Lavigne's least successful single in the U.S., charting only at #95. In Canada, "Hot" made the top ten, and in Australia, the top 20. The Best Damn Thing has sold over 5 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. red carpet.]] 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".

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. 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. On 21 August 2008, MTV reported that the concert had been approved by the Malaysian government.

2009–present: Goodbye Lullaby

Only a month after completing The Best Damn Tour, Lavigne began recording in her home studio in November 2008 with the song "Black Star", written to help promote her first fragrance of the same name. By July 2009, nine tracks had been recorded for the new album, 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." The album is expected to be a return to Lavigne's older musical style and may be largely acoustic. 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".

In January 2010, while simultaneously writing and recording for her new album, Lavigne worked with Disney on Alice in Wonderland-themed 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", which was played over the end credits and included on the soundtrack, Almost Alice.

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". 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."

In September, 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.

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," and that she had enough material for two records. In November, Lavigne was featured in Maxim, where she revealed that Goodbye Lullaby took two and a half years to complete, but she cited her record company as the reason for the album's delays, stating that the album had been completed for a year.. Goodbye Lullaby is scheduled to be released on 8 March. The lead single, "What the Hell", will premiere on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on 31 December.

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. The track is assumed to be an unused song from Goodbye Lullaby.

Musical style and songwriting

}} Themes in Lavigne's music are usually self-empowerment messages from a female or adolescent point of view. Lavigne has stated "my 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." 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", stating "the songs I did with The Matrix, yeah, they were good for my first record, but I don't want to be that pop anymore." Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, had more personal themes, with Lavigne stating "I've gone through so much, so that's what I talk about....Like boys, like dating or relationships". In contrast, her third album, The Best Damn Thing, was not very 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. They're just songs." Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne's fourth album, is expected to be much more personal than her earlier records, with Lavigne stating "the album is more stripped down, deeper. All the songs are very emotional".

Lavigne has an alto vocal range. Growing up Lavigne listened to Blink-182, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty and Shania Twain. Her influences include Courtney Love and Janis Joplin. Due to Lavigne’s influences, musical genre and personal style, the media frequently referred to her as a punk, something she denied. Lavigne’s close friend and guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld, stated "Its 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". Lavigne stated "I have been labeled like I'm this angry girl, [a] rebel... punk, and I am so not any of them."

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'd been writing "full-structured songs" since she was 14. Despite this, Lavigne’s songwriting has been questioned throughout her career; The songwriting trio, The Matrix, who Lavigne wrote with for her debut album, stated that they were the main songwriters of Lavigne’s singles, "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You". Lavigne denied this, implying she was the primary songwriter for every song on the album, stating "none of those songs aren't from me". In 2007, Chantal Kreviazuk, who wrote with Lavigne on her second album, accused Lavigne of plagiarism and criticised her songwriting, "I mean, Avril, songwriter? Avril doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything". Lavigne denied this and stated that she was considering taking legal action due to a "clear defamation of my character". Kreviazuk then apologised, stating "Avril is an accomplished songwriter and it has been my privilege to work with her". Shortly after Kreviazuk apologised, Tommy Dunbar, the founder of the 1970s band the Rubinoos, sued Lavigne, her publishing company and Lukasz "Dr.Luke" Gottwald for allegedly stealing parts of her song "Girlfriend" from the Rubinoos’ "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend". Gottwald defended Lavigne, stating "me and Avril wrote the song together….It has the same chord progressions as 10 different Blink-182 songs, the standard changes you'd find in a Sum 41 song. It's the Sex Pistols, not the Rubinoos." In January 2008, the lawsuit was closed after a confidential settlement had been reached.

Other work

Film career

on 30 April 2006.]] Lavigne became interested in appearing on television and in feature films. The decision, she said, was entirely her own. Although her years of experience in making music videos would be to her advantage, Lavigne admitted that it was the singing that actually removed any fear of performing before the camera. She specifically mentioned that the video "Nobody's Home" had the most amount of actual "acting" in it. Her first television appearance was in a 2002 episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing "Sk8er Boi" with her band in a nightclub. 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 after her performance of "Losing Grip".

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 to film a single scene in the 2007 film, The Flock. She starred as Beatrice Bell, the girlfriend of a crime suspect, appearing alongside Claire Danes and Richard Gere. Gere gave Lavigne acting tips in-between takes. 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". The Flock would not be released in American theaters, 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.

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. The process of 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." 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 due to her rock star status. "[The director] thought I'd give my character... a bit of attitude". The film opened on 19 May 2006, making $38 million over its opening weekend. It went on to gross $336 million worldwide.

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. The fictionalized adaptation, directed by Richard Linklater, traces fast-food hamburgers contaminated with cow feces back to the slaughterhouses. Lavigne starred in her on-screen acting debut as a high school student intent on freeing the cows. The film opened on 17 November 2006 and remained in theaters for 11 weeks, grossing $2 million worldwide.

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." 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.

Entrepreneurship

In July 2008, Lavigne launched the clothing line Abbey Dawn, featuring a back-to-school collection. 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. Kohl's describes Abbey Dawn as a "juniors lifestyle brand", 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."}} The designs were also featured on the Internet game Stardoll, where figures can be dressed up as Avril Lavigne. On 14 September 2009, Lavigne took her latest collection for her clothing line to be a part of the New York Fashion Week. "It's fun to be a chick and design clothes and things I'd like for myself. I design things I [can't] find." In December 2010, the clothing line was made available to over 50 countries via the line's official website. At the end of 2008, Lavigne signed a contract with Canon Canada to appear in ad campaigns and commercials to promote the latest line of cameras, along with a full range of other accessories.

Lavigne released her first fragrance, Black Star, created by Procter & Gamble Prestige Products. The fragrance was announced via 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 U.S. and Canada. 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." Black Star won the 2010 Best "Women's Scent Mass" by Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW). Black Star was followed by a second fragrance in July 2010, Forbidden Rose, which took two years to develop. It features notes of red apple, winepeach, black pepper, lotusflower, heliotrope, shellflower, praline agreement, sandalwood, and vanilla. Its message is an extension of Black Star's "follow your dreams", though the tagline for the new perfume is "Dare to Discover". The commercial takes place in a gothic garden setting, where Lavigne, upon entering the garden, finds a single, purple rose. Lavigne is to launch a third fragrance in August 2011 and filmed the commercial for it in late 2010.

In January 2010, Lavigne began working with Disney to incorporate Alice in Wonderland-inspired designs into her Abbey Dawn line of clothing. 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.

Philanthropy

Lavigne has been involved in a number of charitable activities, such as 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. In November 2010, Lavigne attended the Clinton Global Initiative.

Lavigne worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organisation, for her 2005 east coast tour. 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 . Released on 12 June 2007, the album was produced to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur.

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. 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 organisations related to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

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 and works with leading charitable organisations; The foundation partners with the Easter Seals, Make-A-Wish foundation and Erase MS, 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". 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". 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.

Personal life

Public image

}} When Lavigne first gained publicity, she was known for her tomboyish style, in particular her necktie and tank-top combinations. She preferred baggy clothes, skater shoes or Converses, wristbands, and sometimes shoelaces wrapped around her fingers. During photo shoots, instead of wearing "glittery get-ups", she preferred wearing "old, crumpled T's". In response to her fashion and musical influences, the media would call her the "pop punk princess". 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." By November 2002, however, Lavigne stopped wearing ties, claiming she felt she was "wearing a costume". 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."

Lavigne eventually took on a more gothic style as she began her second album, Under My Skin, trading her skating outfits for black tutus and acquiring an overall disposition of angst. During The Best Damn Thing years, Lavigne changed directions entirely, dying her hair blonde with a pink streak and wearing more feminine outfits, including "tight jeans and heels," and modelling for magazines like Harper's Bazaar. Lavigne defended her new style: "I don't really regret anything. You know, the ties and the wifebeaters and all... It had its time and place. And now I'm all grown up, and I've moved on". She now tries to eat healthy foods and participate in athletic activities, including yoga, street hockey, soccer, rollerblading, and surfing.

Tattoos

Only a few of Lavigne's tattoos are unique to her; the rest are matching tattoos, shared with friends. Lavigne had a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist that matched 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 around the letter "D" applied to her right wrist, which represented her boyfriend at the time, Deryck Whibley. Lavigne and Whibley each received matching tattoos again in March 2010, in celebration of his 30th birthday. In April, Lavigne added another tattoo on her wrist, that of a lightning bolt and the number 30, and her boyfriend, Brody Jenner, received a matching lightning bolt tattoo under his ear. }} Her love of tattoos, however, gained media attention in May 2010, after Lavigne and Jenner received matching tattoos of the word "fuck" on their ribs. 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", she had it applied after the magazine's photo shoot. She added that she wanted to eventually 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." In July 2010, Lavigne had the name "Brody" tattooed beneath her right breast.

Marriage to Deryck Whibley

Lavigne and Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for punk band Sum 41, began dating when she was 19 years old, after being friends since she was 17. Only a few weeks before they met, Lavigne had publicly stated that she was having trouble meeting boys because her bodyguards scared 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.

She initially 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?'"

The wedding was held on 15 July 2006. About 110 guests attended the wedding, which was held at a private estate in Montecito, California. 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 centerpieces 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.

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'd 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." 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. 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." The divorce was finalized on 16 November 2010, officially ending the marriage.

Backing band

;Current members

Al Berry – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)

Rodney Howard – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present)

Steve Ferlazzo – electronic keyboard, backing vocals (2007–present)

Jim McGorman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)

Steve Fekete – lead guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)

Sofia Toufa – backing vocals, dancer (2007–present)

Lindsay Bluafarb – backing vocals, dancer (2007–present)

;Past members

Mark Spicoluk – bass guitar, backing vocals (April–September 2002)

Jesse Colburn – rhythm guitar (2002–January 2004)

Evan Taubenfeld – lead guitar, backing vocals (2002–September 2004)

Craig Wood – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, vocals (2004–January 2007)

Matt Brann – drums, percussion, vocals on (2002–February 2007)

Charlie Moniz – bass guitar (2002–February 2007)

Devin Bronson – lead guitar, backing vocals (2004–08)

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Title!! Role !! Notes |- | 2002 || ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch || Herself || Cameo; performed "Sk8er Boi" |- | 2004 || Going the Distance|| Herself || Cameo; performed "Losing Grip" |- | rowspan=2|2006 || Fast Food Nation || Alice || High school activist |- | Over the Hedge || Heather || Voice only |- | 2007 || The Flock || Beatrice Bell || Suspect's girlfriend |- | 2010 || American Idol || Herself || Guest judge (L.A. auditions) |}

Discography

Let Go (2002)

Under My Skin (2004)

The Best Damn Thing (2007)

Goodbye Lullaby (2011)

See also

List of Avril Lavigne concert tours

List of awards and nominations received by Avril Lavigne

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Juno Award winners Category:Arista Records artists Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian female guitarists Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian voice actors Category:English-language singers Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Franco-Ontarian people Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Belleville, Ontario Category:People from Lennox and Addington County, Ontario Category:RCA Records artists Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Evan Taubenfeld
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Evan David Taubenfeld
Born	June 27, 1983
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland,
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, drums
Genre	Alternative rock, post-grunge, pop punk, pop rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, executive music director
Years active	2002–present
Label	Sire/Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Avril LavigneThe Black List ClubSpinfireDitch RuxtonSecondhand Serenade
Url	Official website

Evan David Taubenfeld (born June 27, 1983) is an American singer/songwriter, best known for being Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist. Evan Taubenfeld's debut album, Welcome to the Blacklist Club, was released on May 18, 2010.

Early life

Taubenfeld was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Mark and Ami Taubenfeld, who ran a catering business. He has two siblings, a younger brother Drew (b. 1984), who is in Demi Lovato's touring band, and a younger sister, Annie (b. 1991). Taubenfeld was raised Jewish and went to the McDonogh School. He taught himself guitar by learning to play "Come As You Are" by Nirvana.

Career

When intending to study at Berklee College of Music, he received a phone call from Josh Sarubin, inviting him to audition for a new talent he just signed, a young Canadian named Avril Lavigne. Taubenfeld remained in Lavigne's band until September 2004; when he left to focus on his own music.

In 2008, Taubenfeld produced two tracks for rapper Tyga's debut album No Introduction, "Press 7" and "First Timers", the latter of which he was also featured in. On February 13, 2009, he revealed the album cover for Welcome to the Blacklist Club in the fanclub area of his site. In mid-February 2009 he released a lyric video for "Cheater of the Year". On March 31, 2009, Taubenfeld's first single, "Boy Meets Girl (song)|Boy Meets Girl", was released on iTunes and Amazon.com. In April 2009 Evan released a lyric video for "Boy Meets Girl". On August 13, 2009 he released the music video for "It's Like That" which features pictures from his fans.

He was the executive musical director for the short lived MTV show Kaya.

A video featuring scenes from Private was released for song "Evan Way", from his upcoming album. Taubenfeld also had a role in the series as Blake Pearson.

On July 26, 2009 Taubenfeld joined Metro Station, Mayday Parade, and Mitchel Musso on his second tour as a solo artist.

Taubenfeld has been touring this year with band Secondhand Serenade and obligingly appeared with a mohawk after a performance.

Taubenfeld's Christmas single, "Merry Swiftmas (Even Though I Celebrate Chanukah)" debuted at #59 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of December 26, 2009.

On February 10, 2010 Taubenfeld released a music video for his song "Starbucks Girl." He also announced in his weekly ustream that his Welcome to the Blacklist Club album will be available worldwide May 18, 2010

He recently teamed up with Avril Lavigne, and cowrote several songs on her upcoming fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby.

Discography

Albums/EPs

Welcome to the Blacklist Club (2010)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official website

Category:1983 births Category:American Jews Category:American rock guitarists Category:Avril Lavigne Category:Crush Management artists Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Maryland

Name	Deryck Whibley
Nationality	Canada
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Deryck Jason Whibley (born March 21, 1980) is a Canadian musician and producer, best known for his work as the guitarist, lead vocalist, songwriter and producer of the Juno Award-winning rock band Sum 41.

External links

Sum 41 Deryck's Band Official Site

Fender Artist Deryck's Fender Artist Profile

Squier Guitars Deryck's Signature Telecaster

Category:1980 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian punk rock singers Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian record producers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Scarborough, Ontario Category:Pop punk singers Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:Sum 41 members

Name	BoA
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	권보아 Kwon Boa
Born	November 05, 1986
Origin	Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Genre	Pop, dance, electropop, electronica, R&B;
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, composer, dancer, model, Actress, voice actress, Record producer
Years active	2000–present
Label	SM Entertainment (South Korea)Avex Trax (Japan)SM Entertainment USA
Associated acts	SM Town, Verbal, M-Flo, Anyband
Url

Background	solo_singer
Hangul	권보아
Hanja
Rr	Gwon Boa
Mr	Kwŏn Poa

Boa Kwon (, Kwon Boa, born November 5, 1986 is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother to a talent search. In 2000, after two years of training, she released ID; Peace B, her debut Korean album, under SM Entertainment. Two years later, she released her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, under the Avex label. On October 14, 2008, under SM Entertainment USA, a subdivision of SM Entertainment, BoA debuted in the United States with the single "Eat You Up" and released her debut English-language album, BoA on March 17, 2009.

Influenced by hip hop and R&B; singers such as Nelly and Janet Jackson, many of BoA's songs fall into those genres. As the singer feels she does not "have any talent for writing [songs]", the writing and composition of her songs are handled mostly by her staff; for this reason, she has drawn some criticism. have contributed to her commercial success in South Korea and Japan and her popularity throughout East Asia. She is the only non-Japanese Asian to have two million-selling albums in Japan and is one of only two artists to have six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts since her debut. BoA is known as one of the most respected artists in Kpop today.

Career

2000–2002: Debut

At age eleven, BoA accompanied her older brother to an SM Entertainment talent search. Though her brother was the one who auditioned, SM talent scouts instead took notice of BoA and offered her a contract. Her parents initially opposed the notion of BoA's leaving school to enter the entertainment business but eventually consented at her older brothers' persuasion. Meanwhile, her Korean record label, SM Entertainment, made arrangements with Japanese label Avex Trax to launch her music career in Japan. In early 2001, BoA released her first mini-album, Don't Start Now; it sold around 90,000 units. After its release, she took a hiatus from the Korean music industry to focus on the Japanese market at which time she worked to solidify her skills in Japanese. In 2001, she released her debut Japanese single, a Japanese version of the song, "ID; Peace B" (originally from the eponymous album). The single reached #20 on the Oricon chart and was followed by "Amazing Kiss", "Kimochi wa Tsutawaru", and "Listen to My Heart"; the last became the singer's first single to enter the Oricon's Top Five. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, BoA recorded the charity single "The Meaning of Peace" with Kumi Koda as part of Avex's Song Nation project to raise funds for charity. Her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, was released on March 13, 2002. The album was a breakthrough in BoA's career: it became an RIAJ-certified million-seller and debuted atop the Oricon, making it the first album by a Korean artist to reach the top. A single, "", was released on the same day as the album. After the release of Listen to My Heart, BoA released her second Korean studio album, No.1, a month later. The album sold around 544,000 units and became the fourth-best-selling record of the year in South Korea. Jumping into the World (a Japanese re-release of the mini-album Don't Start Now) and the Japanese single "Don't Start Now" were released a month later on the same day.

2003–2005: Commercial success

BoA then released her seventh single "Valenti". It became a Top Five single for the artist, peaking at the number-two position on the Oricon. BoA released two more singles "Kiseki / No.1" and "", both which also peaked at the number-three position. At the end of the year, BoA released her second Korean mini-album Miracle.

BoA's second Japanese studio album, Valenti (2003), became her best-selling album, with over 1,249,000 copies sold. In support of the album, BoA launched BoA 1st Live Tour Valenti, her first Japanese concert tour. Later that year, she released two Korean albums, Atlantis Princess and the mini-album Shine We Are!. The former was the fifth-best-selling South Korean record of the year with around 345,000 units sold; the latter sold around 58,000 units and was the fifty-second-best-selling record. Her third Japanese studio album, Love & Honesty (2004) was a musical "change in direction": it contained a rock-dance song ("Rock with You") and "harder" R&B.; Though the album failed to match Valenti in sales, it topped the Oricon chart for two weeks and became RIAJ-certified triple-platinum. In support of the album, BoA held a tour, Live Concert Tour 2004: Love & Honesty. The tour, which started in Saitama and ended in Yokohama, spanned nine performances and attracted approximately 105,000 attendants. Her first compilation album, Best of Soul (2005), however, sold over a million copies, making BoA the first non-Japanese Asian singer to have two million-selling albums in Japan. The album was the beginning of a foray into the Chinese market and contained two songs sung in Mandarin Chinese. Her fifth Korean album, Girls on Top, continued her image change. The album portrayed the singer as more "mature and self-confident" and was a "declaration of war on male chauvinism"; the "bohemian" look of the cover photograph represented "freedom and depth", while music videos and album photographs that portrayed BoA in traditional Korean dress brought the "idea of Korean womanhood" into her music. The album also continued BoA's foray into the Chinese market and, like the previous album, contained Mandarin Chinese songs. The album sold less than the previous album; it was the fourteenth-best-selling record of the year in South Korea with 113,000 units sold.

2006–2008: Next Stage

In 2006, BoA was mostly inactive in South Korea as she focused her attention on Japan; however, on September 21, 2006, she released her first digital single in Korea, a Korean version of "Key of Heart". Her fourth Japanese studio album, Outgrow, was released on February 15, 2006. The limited CD+DVD edition of the album contained music videos of the album's singles and a password to access a special version of the official website. The album reached the number-one spot on the Oricon chart for its first week of release, making it her fourth consecutive Japanese album to do so. It had low debut sales, however; with 220,000 copies sold, it became her lowest-selling first-week debut for a studio album at that point. those of Valenti 615,000, and those of Love and Honesty 296,000.|group=note}} "Do the Motion", the first single from the album, reached the top spot, making her the fourth non-Japanese Asian to have a number-one single on the Oricon charts. "Merry Christmas from BoA" (2005), the album's last single, was the singer's first digital single. In support of Outgrow, BoA launched a special Zepp tour, B0A The Live, on September 29, 2006. The tour, which lasted until October 29, started from Nagoya and contained twelve shows, two in each of the following cities: Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, Sendai, and Sapporo. She staged her first Christmas concert on December 7, 2006.

BoA's fifth Japanese studio album, Made in Twenty (20) (2007), continued her transition from a "teenage girl" image to a more mature image. The album, which contained R&B; and dance songs as well as ballads, debuted at the top of the weekly Oricon charts, making the album her sixth in a row to do so. She began using a personal computer for composing one of the songs ("No More Make Me Sick"). On March 31, 2007, she launched a nationwide tour of Japan in support of the album. The tour, which sold about 70,000 tickets, was, according to BoA, "the biggest concert" she had ever given. Two tracks from the singles of Made in Twenty (20) were used as theme songs; "Your Color", from the single "" (2006), was used as the ending theme song for the Japanese release of the Xbox 360 game Ninety-Nine Nights. "Key of Heart", from the single "Key of Heart / Dotch" (2006), was the ending theme for the Japanese release of the movie Over the Hedge. She also released an English version of "Key of Heart", which was only available on the first press edition of the single. Later in 2007, Anycall (a Samsung brand) signed BoA, Xiah (of TVXQ), Tablo (of Epik High), and jazz pianist Jin Bora onto "Anyband", a band created specifically to promote Anycall. The band released only one single, "AnyBand".

With her sixth Japanese album, The Face (2008), BoA took more creative control over her music. At this time, BoA was influenced by electro-pop. Lyrically, BoA focused mainly on love, though "Be with You." (2008) was about a person's relationship with his dog. The album debuted at the top of the weekly Oricon charts, making BoA one of only two artists in Japan to have six consecutive studio albums top the Oricon weekly charts (the other is Ayumi Hamasaki, who has eight consecutive number-one albums).

2008–2010: Foray into America and Return to Japanese Market

On September 2, 2008, SM Entertainment announced that BoA would make her American debut under a new subsidiary label, SM Entertainment USA. BoA's debut American single "Eat You Up," produced by Thomas Troelsen, was released online on October 21, 2008; The physical single was to be released in stores on November 11, 2008, but SM instead released a promotional CD containing dance remixes of "Eat You Up". "Eat You Up" became a number-one Breakout on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The remix of "Eat You Up" featuring rapper Flo Rida and was slated for release in late November and leaked onto the internet in December. BoA performed "Eat You Up" as well as other songs at YouTube's Tokyo Live concert, and performed in New York City on December 3, 2008, as well as the Jingle Ball at the Anaheim Honda Center on December 6, 2008. She also performed the song "Look Who's Talking" at the event.

BoA released a triple-A-side single on February 18, 2009, "Eien/Universe/Believe in Love". On the same day, the Ravex single "Believe in Love" was released, featuring vocals by BoA. Her second compilation album, Best & USA was released on March 18. The album will be released in a two-disc or one-disc edition. The former will contain one disc with Japanese songs and one with her debut American album; the latter contains fourteen Japanese songs and two songs from her American debut album. BoA's self-titled English album was released on March 17. BoA headlined as a performer for the San Francisco Pride Festival on June 28, 2009 alongside Solange Knowles and The Cliks. She debuted her next single "Energetic", performing it for the first time in public. She also performed "Eat You Up" and "I Did It for Love."

On August 31, SM USA released BoA Deluxe, the repackaged version of her debut English album. The album contained two new tracks and the radio edit version of "Energetic". After the release of BoA Deluxe, BoA went back to the Japanese market releasing a new single entitled "Bump Bump!" (October 2009), which features label-mate Verbal from M-Flo. Following the release of "Bump Bump!", BoA released "" (December 2009) and she held a Christmas concert in December. Her seventh Japanese album, Identity was released on February 10, 2010.

2010-present: 10 year Korean debut anniversary and current activities

On March 1, 2010, SM Entertainment announced that BoA will make a comeback in South Korea for her 10th debut anniversary and is going to release a full-length Korean album five years after her Girls on Top album in 2005.

On July 21, 2010, Avex released "Woo Weekend" single, whose lead song that was used to promote Disney on Ice's 25th Anniversary in Japan

BoA's official Korean website was updated July 23, 2010 announcing that her comeback sixth Korean album entitled Hurricane Venus. Hurricane Venus was released on August 5, 2010 and promoted with two official videos of the songs "Game" and "Hurricane Venus", which were also released as the albums singles. Hurricane Venus was released on August 5, 2010 and debuted at No.1, where it stayed for 2 weeks. The two singles, "Game" and "Hurricane Venus" charted at No.6 and No.1 respectively.

It was recently announced that Hurricane Venus would be repackaged with two new songs and a completely redesigned physical copy, under the name of Copy & Paste. The repackaged version was released on September 27, 2010.

Prior to the October 22, 2010 article on BoAjjang, the report of an upcomming BoA dance film, centered in NYC, surfaced on a BoA fanpage. It detailed the same info as the October 22nd report. BoAjjang was also member of this fanpage.

On October 22, 2010, it was reported by BoA fansite, BoAjjang, that BoA is currently preparing for a currently unnamed U.S. dance film directed by Save the Last Dance screenwriter Duane Adler. The article also went on to state that she would release a new Japanese single before the years end, with a plan to return to the American market in 2011.

On November 24, 2010, Avex Entertainment, as well as SM Entertainment Japan, released a statement about the renewal of contracts of SM artists signed to Avex.

On December 8, 2010, Avex also released a digital single, "I See Me", for a commercial that promotes new Audio Technica headphones in Japan.

Image and artistry

BoA lists hip hop as her main musical influence, though she also enjoys R&B.; Her favorite musicians are Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Nelly, Britney Spears, Brian McKnight, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Jay-Z; as a result, much of BoA's music is either dance pop or R&B.; Because she also sings ballads, she is often compared to fellow Japanese singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada. Her debut album, ID; Peace B, contained urban pop, "slickly produced" ballads, and "upbeat dance tunes". As her career went on, she began experimenting with different styles: Valenti contained mostly ballads; Love and Honesty was an experiment with "harder" R&B; and rock music.

Because the composition and writing of BoA's songs is handled mostly by her staff, BoA has been criticized as being a "manufactured pop star". In response to such criticism, BoA said that "if one person were to force their own will on something, then things that should have gone right could easily go wrong" and that she is "not all that unhappy with the expression that [she is] a manufactured star. In a way, that is true. Because SM Entertainment created the environment and all the surrounding conditions, [she is] able to be successful in the way [she is] now." Other artists she has collaborated with are Soul'd Out, Dabo, Verbal (of M-Flo), Rah-D, Seamo, TVXQ, Yutaka Furakawa (of the band Doping Panda), and Crystal Kay (for her single ). American rock band Weezer covered "Meri Kuri" on the Japanese version of their album Weezer (The Red Album).

BoA is a "top artist" in South Korea and Japan; her popularity in the latter is attributed to her linguistic skills (she speaks and records in Japanese, Korean, and English) and a Japanese interest in Korean pop culture started in the early 2000s when the two countries began promoting cultural exchanges. BoA's popularity extends throughout East Asia; she has fans in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. She has expressed plans to enter a global market; she stated in an interview, "I will [...] get recognition in the U.S. and Europe to become a world-renowned Diva." In June 2006, the music video of her Korean song "My Name" became the first music video ever shown on MTV K, an MTV music channel directed at Korean Americans.

Because of her wide appeal, BoA has appeared in advertisements for many brands. Among the brands she has promoted are Olympus, Nike, L'Oréal, Japanese cosmetic company Kosé, Skechers, Audio-Technica, and GM Daewoo. Four of her songs have been used as themes. "Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi" was used as the ending theme for the anime InuYasha; "Beside You: Boku o Yobu Koe" was used as the opening theme for the anime Monkey Typhoon; "Key of Heart" was the theme song for the Japanese release of Over the Hedge; and "Your Color" was the theme song of the video game Ninety-Nine Nights. Her widespread popularity has also made her a "cultural ambassador"; she has represented South Korea in inter-Asian musical events and has appeared in an Oxford University Press-published English-language textbook.

Other work

From 2001 to 2007, BoA hosted Beat it BoA's World, a radio program on the Japan FM Network. In September 2004, BoA instigated controversy in Japan when she donated ₩50 million to a memorial project for Korean independence activist and nationalist An Jung-geun. BoA voiced Heather the opossum in the Korean and Japanese version of Over the Hedge. In 2008, Korean jewelry brand Ramee released Ramee by BoA, a line of jewelry designed by the singer herself. On June 9, 2008, BoA and nine other artists from around the world recorded an English cover of Wei Wei's "Dedication of Love". Produced by Roald Hoffmann and Brian Alan, the single was used to raise funds for victims of the Sichuan Earthquake.

Discography

;Korean studio albums

2000: ID; Peace B

2001: Jumping into the World (mini-album; titled Don't Start Now in Korea)

2002: No.1

2002: Miracle (mini-album)

2003: Atlantis Princess

2003: Shine We Are! (mini-album)

2004: My Name

2005: Girls on Top

2010: Hurricane Venus

;English studio albums

2009: BoA

;Japanese studio albums

2002: Listen to My Heart

2003: Valenti

2004: Love & Honesty

2006: Outgrow

2007: Made in Twenty (20)

2008: The Face

2010: Identity

;Compilation albums

2004: K-pop Selection

2005: Best of Soul

2009: Best & USA

;Remix albums

2002: Peace B. Remixes

2003: Next World

Tours

2003: Live Tour 2003: Valenti

2004: BoA Live Tour 2004: Love & Honesty

2005: Arena Tour 2005: Best of Soul

2006: BoA the Live "Ura BoA... Kikase Kei" (The Other Side of BoA... Listen)

2007: Arena Tour 2007: Made in Twenty (20)

2007: BoA the Live 2007 "X'mas"

2008: Live Tour 2008: The Face

2009: BoA THE LIVE 2009 "X'mas"

2010: Live Tour 2010: Identity

2010: BoA the Live 2010 "X'mas"

Awards

List of awards received by BoA

See also

Contemporary culture of South Korea

Korean wave

Footnotes

References

External links

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Avex Trax artists Category:Child singers Category:English-language singers Category:Japanese-language singers Category:K-pop singers Category:Living people Category:Korean Mandopop singers Category:People from Gyeonggi-do Category:SM Town Category:South Korean dancers Category:South Korean female singers Category:South Korean pop singers Category:South Korean Roman Catholics Category:South Korean singer-songwriters Category:World Music Awards winners