January 5, 2005. Copyright 2005, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Anything but ordinary: profile of Canadian music sensation Avril Lavigne
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, January 5, Graphic News:  Avril LavigneÕs success owes much to attitude: the slight, stroppy singer and songwriter burst onto the music scene just as North American teens were growing tired of Britney and her imitators. Yet, despite two successful albums and a heavy tour schedule planned for 2005, many are still asking whether Avril is, like, for real.

Born in 1984 to conservative parents outside Ontario, Lavigne grew up singing country music and might have continued in that vein had she not been discovered by her first manager at a church bookstore. By the time she reached 16, she had been signed by Arista records and had moved to New York City to work on her first album.

That album, Let Go, sold more than 14 million copies and won numerous awards, -- including Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV music awards -- for Lavigne, who cultivated a wild child, Òskater chickÓ style that set her apart. And, while critics have attacked her for being abrasive and inarticulate, fans her own age see her as part of a new wave in music that emphasises genuine creativity as opposed to manufactured pop.

Most agree, however, that the girl has talent. Her second album, Under My Skin, was praised as a more than competent follow-up, and Lavigne looks set to stick around. Exactly how much of her provocative, wild child image is manufactured and how much is genuine, nobody knows. But, as Avril herself might say, whatever.
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