Avril Ramona Lavigne is born on September 27, 1984. She is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress. At 15, she got the chance to perform with Shania Twain and by 16, signed a two-album recording contract not less than $2 million with Arista Records.
: Singing Career Breakthroughs
Her best-selling album titled Let Go (2002) is the record-breaker of the 21st century by a Canadian artist. Included in this studio album are the songs "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi", which gave her the persona of being a " Pop Punk Queen" from music publications.
From then on, her studio albums also became record-breaking as it has reached high ranks on the Billboard 200 chart in the USA, going to sell 10 million copies.
Aside from music, she also began exploring the acting industry which She voiced Heather, a Virginia opossum in the animated film Over The Hedge (2006). Then finally made herself seen acting in Fast Food Nation (2006).
: Career Beginnings
1999-2001
In 1999, Lavigne won a radio contest and got to perform with Shania Twain at the Corel Centre in Ottawa. They sang "What Made You Say That". Just months after her performance with Twain, she was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri. Her manager saw potential in her and sent VHS tapes of Lavigne singing to producers and got a deal eventually worth $1.25 million in Arista Records. By this time, Lavigne left school and focused on her singing career.
2002–2003: Let Go
It took 2 years for Lavigne to create her breakthrough. They initially struggled although there were several collaborations with songwriter-producers including Furt Frasca, Peter Zizzo, and Sabelle Breer, but they were not a match for Lavigne's voice and style.
It was only then when Lavigne went to L.A in May 2001 and created two songs with The Matrix production team. It included " Complicated" which was later released as her debut single and made a major breakthrough. Following her success, she worked further with the team and recorded her debut album, Let Go in January 2002.
Her album Let Go then reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It peaked at number one in Canada, UK, and Australia. This made her the youngest female soloist to have a number one album on the UK Albums Chart at that time at 17 years old.
2002 has been her greatest year so far when the album was certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA. It even had accumulated over 1 million sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association.
2004–2005: Under My Skin
Her second studio album, Under My Skin, was released in May 2004, debuted at number one in Australia, Canada, Japan, UK, and the US. It sold 10 million copies and was certified five times Platinum in Canada.
"Don't Tell Me", " My Happy Ending" and "Nobody's Home" was among those songs included in the second studio album.
In early 2004, Lavigne went on mall tours to promote the Under My Skin album. As a result, she won 2 World Music Awards in 2004 for World's Best Pop/Rock Artist in 2004 and World's Bestselling Canadian Artist. She also won in the category of Favorite Female Singer at the 18th annual Nickolodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Fun fact:
She also co-wrote the song "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the 2004 film, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
She also performed with the lead singer of Goo Goo Dolls John Rzeznik "Iris" at Fashion Rocks in September 2004. With producer Butch Walker, she also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (released in November 2004).
2006–2011: The Best Damn Thing and Goodbye Lullaby
Lavigne performed at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Canada. The Fox Entertainment Group approached Lavigne to write a song as a soundtrack to the 2006 fantasy-adventure film Eragon. Her song "Keep Holding On" was released and became a hit to the public.
The Best Damn Thing album, was released in April 2007 and achieved Platinum status in Canada. Among those songs included in this album are "Girlfriend" and "When You're Gone". It made her record be at number-one single on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and one of the decade's biggest singles.
Meanwhile, " When You're Gone" reached the top five in Australia and the United Kingdom. It is also recorded as one of the top ten in Canada, and top forty in the US. "Hot" reached the top 10 in Canada and top 20 in Australia.
2012–2015: Here's To Never Growing Up
Lavigne announced her fifth studio album. The lead single on this album was "Here's To Never Growing Up". It was released in April 2013 and reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, Australia, and the UK. The second single, " Rock n Roll" was released in August 2013. Followed by "Let Me Go" which was released in October 2013.
In April 2015, she announced a new single titled "Fly" which was released on April 26 in association with the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
2016–present:
Lavigne released her sixth studio album titled Head Above Water on February 15, 2019, through BMG. It reached the top 10 in various countries including Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. It was then preceded by three singles: "Head Above Water", "Tell Me It's Over", and "Dumb Blonde". The fourth single, "I Fell in Love with the Devil", was released on June 28, 2019.
Lavigne re-recorded the song " Warrior" from her sixth studio album and released it as a single titled "We Are Warriors". The proceeds were given for relief purposes in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lavigne also announced that a collaboration with Mod Sun will be released in early 2021.
Shoutout to @Mathilde for this song request.
Here's a piano cover of When You're Gone:
Check my youtube channel for more piano covers:
Avril Lavigne is one of the most favorite artist of my classmates even they were not born that time yet. My favorite song on her is My Happy Ending and Complicated since I always feel like I'm on a break up even though it's not. I also admire your piano skills. Ang galing po....