Rock and roll wild child Avril Lavigne hit big in summer 2002 with her spiky-fun debut song “Complicated,” shifting pop music into a different direction. Lavigne, who was 17 at the time, didn’t seem concerned with the glamour of the TRL-dominated pop world and such confidence allowed her star power to soar. By her early teens, Lavigne was already writing songs and playing guitar. The church choir and local festivals and county fairs also allowed Lavigne to get her voice heard, and luckily, Arista Records’ main man, L.A. Reid was listening. He offered her a deal, and at 16, Lavigne’s musical dreams became reality. Lavigne headed for Los Angeles. Producer/songwriter Clif Magness tweaked Lavigne’s melodic, edgy sound and her debut, Let Go, was the polished product. Singles such as “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi” hit the Top Ten. Lavigne’s second album, Under My Skin, appeared in May 2004. The album topped the Billboard charts and produced the number one hit, “My Happy Ending.” Lavigne spent most of ’06 working on her third album, The Best Damn Thing, which was released in April of 2007. It marked a return to the bratty, spunky punk-pop of Let Go, best heard on the album’s first single, the chart-topping “Girlfriend.” In 2007, The Best Damn Thing debuted at number one on the Billboard charts upon the week of its release. More recently, in 2013, she released Avril Lavigne. Avril continues to tour the world.
