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Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne

ALL ARTIST INFO IS PULLED FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA.
IF YOU REPRESENT THIS ARTIST AND WOULD LIKE TO VERIFY YOUR PAGE OR UPDATE THE INFO, Click Here
birthday
27th
September, 1984
Birth Place
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Birth Sign
libra
Biography

Avril Ramona Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984, in Napanee, Ontario, Canada. By the time she was 15, she was already well on her way to becoming a worldwide sensation, a pop-punk forerunner now known for hits like “Girlfriend” and her first single, “Complicated.” 

Originally setting out to sing country, Lavigne pivoted with her debut album, Let Go, which came out in 2002. The record introduced the world to the songwriter’s carefree punk-pop persona and went on to become the best-selling Canadian album of the 21st century. She was nominated for eight Grammy Awards and has won four Juno Awards. 

Want to know more about this Platinum-selling 2000s pop star? NoCap has all the facts, so keep on reading.

 

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instruments played
Guitar
Piano
Vocals
Associated Acts

Evan Taubenfeld

Citizenship

Canada France

Genres

Pop punk pop rock alternative rock post-grunge (early)

Occupation

Singer songwriter actress

Spouses

Deryck Whibley (m. 2006; div. 2010) Chad Kroeger (m. 2013; div. 2015)

Website

avrillavigne.com avrillavignefoundation.org

Years Active

1999 present

Name

Avril Lavigne

Nationality

Canada, France

Wiki Link

Lavigne’s Early Life 

Avril’s name, given to her by her father, is the French word for “April.” Lavigne’s parents recognized Avril’s knack for vocals at an early age, noticing that she loved to sing at just two years old. She performed in church choirs growing up. Meanwhile, her siblings, Matthew and Michelle, both gave her a hard time for her constant singing. The jabs from her brother and sister didn’t stop Avril from singing, though – by the time she was a young teenager, Avril had a recording studio in her family’s basement, and she was attempting to perform her own music.  Lavigne’s parents were always supportive of her aspirations to make music. At 14, Avril would get rides from her mom and dad to local Karaoke nights, where she had a chance to hone her skills as a singer. At the time, she had a full-on love affair with country music, an affinity that is hard to hear in her recordings.  Music wasn’t all she did, though. In high school, Lavigne was a talented hockey player, which is part of where she developed her skater punk image. 

Gaining Momentum

Avril’s love of country inspired her to cover tracks by artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, the latter of whom had Avril join her onstage at 15 years old. Singing to a crowd of over 20,000 fans, Avril supported Twain on the song “What Made You Say That.”  A year after she got to sing with one of her idols, in November 2000, Avril was asked to go to New York to sing in front of Antonio Reid, the head of Arista Records at the time. She sang several songs over the course of 15 minutes and was given a record deal worth over a million dollars right away.  After getting signed, Avril’s artistic persona started to form, particularly after she went to Los Angeles in May of 2001. She drew from her newfound love of skating and the punk-rock aesthetic to build a new image for herself, which remained a big part of her image through the early 2000s. With the help of the team at her label, she was set up with a band and set out to make her debut album.

Let Go: A Smash-Hit Debut 

On June 4, 2002, Avril released her first album, Let Go, via Arista Records. The record was produced by The Matrix, along with Curt Frasca, Clif Magness, and Peter Zizzo. This team of talented producers helped to take Avril’s pop-punk sensibilities to the next level, turning her songs into radio-friendly hits. Lavigne’s debut yielded six singles, including the smash hit “Sk8er Boi,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum in multiple countries. Critics enjoyed the witty lyrics and wordplay on the track, which Avril co-wrote with the members of The Matrix. Another single from Let Go, “Complicated,” made it to No. 10 on the Hot 100, an even higher spot than “Sk8er Boi.” The track was certified 2x Platinum in Australia and Platinum in several other countries. Not long after its release, “Complicated” was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic. Any artist knows they’ve made it big if Weird Al parodies one of their songs.

Under My Skin: A Wildly Successful Sophomore Record 

Two years after the release of Let Go, Avril put out her second album, Under My Skin, via Arista Records and RCA. The album features the single “My Happy Ending,” one of Avril’s biggest hits to date. The song made it to the top 10 on the Hot 100 and was later certified Platinum in the US. Allmusic has listed the song as one of the most important post-grunge tracks in history, a title that it’s definitely earned. Since the release of Under My Skin, Avril has released four more records: The Best Damn Thing in 2007, Goodbye Lullaby in 2011, her self-titled album in 2015, and Head Above Water in 2019, with the title track being one of the first songs she wrote for the project. In 2020, she released the song “Warrior.” The single’s proceeds funded Project HOPE, a non-profit devoted to COVID-19 relief. She maintained her popularity for quite some time. In October of 2004, she posed for the cover of Maxim. In February of 2010, Avril even performed at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as well as the opening ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics. Her music, too, is widely varied, with power ballads and empowerment anthems, and everything in between. Her music is filled with both vulnerability and anger. 

Avril’s Relationships

Avril was previously married to Deryck Whibley, the lead singer and guitar player from the band Sum 41. However, the couple divorced in 2009 on amicable terms.  After the divorce, Avril dated Brody Jenner, the star of the show The Hills. The couple dated for two years, splitting up in 2012. In July of 2012, six months after breaking things off with Jenner, Lavigne started dating Nickelback frontman, Chad Kroeger. The couple even dabbled in collaboration, creating the Let Me Go album, which featured hits like “Rock n Roll.” Kroeger and Lavigne got engaged after dating for just a month in August of 2012. They married at a castle in the south of France, but they divorced in 2015.

Avril’s Illness, Recovery, and Advocacy

After battling Lyme disease in the 2010s, Avril made a comeback and was motivated by her experiences to help others. She started the Avril Lavigne Foundation, a charity devoted to helping those who struggle with disabilities and serious illnesses. 

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