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Avril Lavigne

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Avril Lavigne Whibley, better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne, (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian Grammy award-nominated rock/pop punk singer, musician and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood, and in 2007 she won ninth place in the Jabra Music Contest for the Best Band in the World, based on fan votes from around the world.

Lavigne's birth name is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as above ("La-Veen"). Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002. Over 18 million copies were sold worldwide and it was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) sold 12 million copies and The Best Damn Thing (2007) currently 5 million copies sold, respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored six number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend" which became #1 hits in the ARC Top 40. She's ranked #50 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list. Currently, Avril Lavigne has sold about 35 million albums worldwide.


Background
Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario on September 27, 1984, to a devout Christian family of French-Canadian descent. Lavigne's mother was the first to spot young Lavigne’s talent. At the age of two, Lavigne began singing along with her mother on church songs. The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Lavigne was five years old.

In 1998, Avril Lavigne won a competition to sing with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain on her first major concert tour. She appeared alongside Twain at her concert in Ottawa, appearing on stage to sing "What Made You Say That".

She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer Steve Medd, who invited her to sing on his song "Touch the Sky" for his 1999 album Quinte Spirit. She also sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow up album, My Window to You, in 2000.

At the age of sixteen she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the New York City studio of producer Peter Zizzo.

She then completed work on her first album, Let Go. The Matrix, who worked extensively with Lavigne on the album, commented on her songwriting, saying, "We had a fabulous and unique experience with Avril, who was then a 16-year-old rapidly growing songwriter with tremendous raw talent. The songs were conceived on piano and guitar by four people: The Matrix (3) and Avril. Avril was instrumental in the songs' creation. We were all very close during the making of the record."

Let Go 2002 - 2004

Let Go was released on June 4, 2002 in the United States, it has reached number two there and number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne, at seventeen, the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the UK up until that time.

The album shows definite pop rock/indie pop roots; however, alternative and post-grunge influences can be heard in some of the songs.

Just over one month after its release, Let Go reached multi-platinum status in late-August, and was certified triple platinum two weeks after. Before the end of 2002, just six months after its debut, it was certified four times platinum by the RIAA. It sold a total of 14 million copies worldwide. It was the best selling album of the year for a female artist and for a debut album in 2002. As of December 2007 the album has sold 6.6 million copies in the U.S and more than 18 million worldwide.

Four singles from the album were released. "Complicated" went to number one in Australia, while reaching number two on the U.S. Hot 100, and it was one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Lavigne tied a record set by Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" when "Complicated" held the number one spot on the contemporary hit radio chart (which tracks air play on the radio) for eleven weeks in a row.[22] "Sk8er Boi" reached the top ten in the U.S. and Australia, "I'm with You" reached the top ten in the U.S and the UK, and "Losing Grip" reached the top ten in Taiwan and the top twenty in Chile.

Lavigne was named "Best New Artist" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 (out of six nominations), received a World Music Award for "World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including "Song of the Year" for "Complicated" and "Best New Artist".

 

Let Go is the first studio album by pop-rock singer Avril Lavigne, released on June 4, 2002. It was highly successful, being certified platinum six times in the United States, five times in United Kingdom, seven times in Australia, four times in New Zealand, and once in Japan. In Canada it received a diamond award for surpassing sales of 1 million in less than a year (11 months). It topped the United World Chart 7 nonconsecutive weeks. To this date, Let Go has sold over 16 million copies worldwide, and it's listed at number 91 on the all-time United World Chart. Lavigne recorded a song called "Let Go", but it was never put in the album. She embarked on the Try To Shut Me Up Tour on January 23rd, and released the My World DVD. Let Go was originally set to be titled Anything But Ordinary.

 

Track listing

"Losing Grip" (Avril Lavigne/Clif Magness) – 3:53

"Complicated" (Lavigne/The Matrix) – 4:05

"Sk8er Boi" (Lavigne/The Matrix) – 3:23

"I'm with You" (Lavigne/The Matrix) – 3:44

"Mobile" (Lavigne/Magness) – 3:31

"Unwanted" (Lavigne/Magness) – 3:40

"Tomorrow" (Lavigne/Curtis Frasca/Sabelle Breer) – 3:48

"Anything But Ordinary" (Lavigne/The Matrix) – 4:12

"Things I'll Never Say" (Lavigne/The Matrix) – 3:43

"My World" (Lavigne/Magness) – 3:27

"Nobody's Fool" (Lavigne/Peter Zizzo) – 3:57

"Too Much To Ask" (Lavigne/Magness) – 3:45

"Naked" (Lavigne/Frasca/Breer) – 3:27

Japan Tour Special Limited Version (with a bonus DVD)

14. "Why" – 4:00

15. "Complicated (Video)"

16. "Sk8er Boi (Video)"

17. "I'm With You (Video)"

18. "Day In The Life (NYC Epk)"

Tour Edition

14. Get Over It (Sk8er Boi B-Side)

15. Why (Complicated B-Side)

16. Unwanted (Live)

17. I'm With You (Live)

18. Nobody's Fool (Live)

 

Singles

"Complicated" was the first single released from the album. Its release had a major impact on Lavigne's career, and significantly increased sales of the album. The song peaked at number one in Spain, number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number three on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Australia for 6 weeks and number one in New Zealand for 9 weeks. "Complicated" remains Lavigne's second most successful song to date, after Girlfriend, from The Best Damn Thing.

"Sk8er Boi" was the second single released from Let Go, with a punk edge. The song went to number 1 in Spain, top 10 in the US, UK and Australia, New Zealand and top 30 in Canada. Nonetheless, it remains one of Lavigne's biggest songs to date. In the UK, the Single Sk8er Boi also helped the Album to achieve the Number one position just one week after the single was released.

After the upbeat songs "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" had their runs globally, Lavigne decided to release a ballad from her album. "I'm With You" performed a little bit better than "Sk8er Boi", peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, number five in New Zealand, number seven in the UK, and number seventeen in Canada. It also made #1 on the United World Chart

The alternative rock-influenced "Losing Grip" was the fourth single. It barely gained any airplay or video play in the U.S., peaking at number sixty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, more than fifty spots lower than its three predecessors. It managed a twenty-two place in the UK, and went to number twenty in Australia, probably its highest chart position anywhere in the world. Otherwise its release was unsuccessful.

"Mobile" was the fifth single released from the album, and was released in Australia and New Zealand as a radio-only track. It was later used in The Medallion (2003), and the 2004 film Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst. It charted at #26 in New Zealand.

 

B-Sides

I Don't Give - 3:38 (B-side of Complicated)

Why - 4:00 (B-side of Complicated)

Get Over It - 3:28 (B-side of Sk8er Boi)

All You Will Never Know -3:40 (B-side of Mobile)

Let Go - 4:11 (B-side of Mobile)

Falling Down - 3:54 (from the Sweet Home Alabama soundtrack)

 

Outtakes / Leaked Tracks from the Let Go Sessions

I Don't Give (Demo Version)

Get Over It (Demo Version)

Take Me Away (Avril Lavigne, The Matrix) - 3:29

Headset (Peter Zizzo) - 3:35

Falling Into History (Jessica Sheely, Peter Zizzo) - 4:09

Tomorrow You Didn't (Keith Follesse, Peter Zizzo) - 4:12

Once And For Real (Peter Zizzo, Avril Lavigne) - 3:48

Make Up (Avril Lavigne, The Matrix) - 3:15

Not The Only One (Avril Lavigne, Sabelle Breer,Curt Frasca)- 3:15

Stay (Be The One) (Avril Lavigne, Peter Zizzo) - 3:54

Move Your Little Self On (Avril Lavigne, The Matrix) - 4:12

You Never Satisfy Me (Avril Lavigne, Clif Magness) - 3:00

The songs "Headset", "Falling Into History", "Tomorrow You Didn't", are the only songs in Lavigne's career for which she does not share writing credits.

 

Other Outtake tracks

Breakaway (later re-recorded by Kelly Clarkson)

 

B-Sides Tracks:

These songs are from Avril Lavigne's B-Sides, an album of B-Sides she recorded.

 

"I Don't Give" (demo version) 1

"Why"

"Get Over It" (demo version) 2

"Take Me Away" 3

"Headset"

"Falling Into History"

"Falling Down"

"Tomorrow You Didn't"

Things I'll Never Say (demo version)

"All You Will Never Know"

"Once And For Real"

"Make Up"

"Not the Only One"

"Stay (Be The One)"

"Move Your Little Self On"

"You Never Satisfy Me"

"Let Go"

1 This demo is an explicit version, the "I Don't Give" clean version is on Lavigne's single "Complicated". In the explicit she sings, "I don't give a damn; I don't give a $h!t". In the clean version she sings, "I don't give it up; I don't give a damn".

 

2 There are 2 versions of this song "Get Over It". The one on this album Lavigne sings, "Don't turn around, or you will get punched in the face". The version on Lavigne's single "Sk8er Boi" Lavigne sings, "Don't turn around, I'm sick and I'm tired of your face".

 

3 Lavigne recorded two songs both called "Take Me Away". This one on B-Sides is a happier song and the one on Lavigne's 2nd album "Under My Skin" is a lot different than the one on this album.

 

Try To Shut Me Up Tour

The Try To Shut Me Up Tour was the first Avril Lavigne World Tour, which took place in 2003.

In this tour she sung the songs of her first album Let Go, and her never-released songs and different covers, like Knockin' on Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan or Basket Case by the band Green Day. She made a DVD of the tour called My World

 

Opening acts

Our Lady Peace

Gob

Swollen Members

Simple Plan

 

Setlist

Sk8er Boi

Nobody's Fool

Mobile

Anything But Ordinary

Losing Grip

Naked

Too Much To Ask

I Don't Give

Basket Case

My World

I'm With You

Complicated

Unwanted

Tomorrow

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Things I'll Never Say

 

 

Awards

Avril Lavigne received four Grammy nominations for this album and its singles.

Edited January 15, 200817 yr by pink_princess01

Under My Skin 2004 - 2005

Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, in the U.S. It debuted at number one in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong and sold more than 380,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week. Lavigne wrote most of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, though some tracks were co-written by Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence), Butch Walker of Marvellous 3, her former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld, and her former drummer Matt Brann. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore.

This album has a stronger alternative feel, along with songs showing punk-pop edges (such as He Wasn't and I Always Get what I Want), or soft post-grunge sounds (Freak Out and Who Knows).

Lead single "Don't Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina and Mexico, the top five in the UK and Canada, and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" went to number one in Mexico and it reached the top ten in the U.S. making it her third-biggest hit there, but third single "Nobody's Home" did not make the top forty in the U.S., and it only went to number one in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top forty positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S. "Fall to Pieces" was released as the final single from the album, but did not do as well as previous singles.

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Best-Selling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three, including "Fan Choice Award", "Artist of the Year", and "Pop Album of the Year". She won the award for "Favourite Female Singer" at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). "Breakaway" was later included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, being released as the album's first single. The song peaked inside the U.S. top ten and provided Clarkson with a substantial hit.

Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 4, 2004, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote Under My Skin. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until forty-eight hours before the show. The tour was very popular and was successful in promoting the album. The set at Indianapolis on March 25, 2004, at Glendale mall included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated". Selections of this tour were released on the Avril Lavigne Live Acoustic EP, which was released in U.S. Target stores.

Lavigne was touring throughout most of 2005, and pursuing her acting and modelling careers. She represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion. The album has sold more than 12 million copies as of December 2007

 

Under My Skin is the second studio album by rock singer Avril Lavigne, released on May 25, 2004 in the North America by Arista Records. In its first week of release, it reached number one on the Billboard 200, Australian ARIA Albums Chart and UK Albums Chart. According to Metacritic.com, Under My Skin received an average rating of sixty-three, reflecting a mixed reception from critics. Under My Skin is significantly different to Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, which had a pop-punk style for many of the tracks. This album is heavier and more serious, as proclaimed by Lavigne herself, and brought out a darker image for her and her music. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in July 2004, double Platinum in November 2004, and triple Platinum in January 2006. The album topped the United World Chart for six non-consecutive weeks. She embarked on the Bonez Tour and released the DVD Live at Budokan: Bonez Tour. The album has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. Under My Skin was 3rd best-selling album of 2004 according to United World Chart

 

 

Track listing

"Take Me Away" (Lavigne, Taubenfeld) – 2:57

"Together" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:14

"Don't Tell Me" (Lavigne, Taubenfeld) – 3:21

"He Wasn't" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:00

"How Does It Feel" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:44

"My Happy Ending" (Lavigne, Walker) – 4:02

"Nobody's Home" (Lavigne, Moody) – 3:32

"Forgotten" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:17

"Who Knows" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:30

"Fall to Pieces" (Lavigne, Maida) – 3:28

"Freak Out" (Lavigne, Taubenfeld, Brann) – 3:13

"Slipped Away" (Lavigne, Kreviazuk) – 3:34

 

Bonus tracks

"I Always Get What I Want" – 2:31 – Japanese and UK bonus track. Also released as a B-side of the "Nobody's Home" single.

"Take It" - 2:50 (B-side of "My Happy Ending")

"Nobody's Home" (Live Acoustic Version)– Under My Skin Special Edition

"Take Me Away" (Live)– Under My Skin Special Edition

"He Wasn't" (Live) – Under My Skin Special Edition

"Tomorrow" (Live)– Under My Skin Special Edition

 

B-Sides and outtakes

"I Always Get What I Want" (Avril Lavigne, Clif Magness) – 2:31

"Take It" (Avril Lavigne, Clif Magness) - 2:50

"Daydream" (Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk) - 3:02

"Breakaway" (Avril Lavigne , Matthew Gerrard) Avril wrote this song for Under My Skin, but it was rejected. This song appears in the album Breakaway of Kelly Clarkson.

 

Special editions

Under My Skin received two notable special edition albums. On February 8, 2005, nearly one year after the album's release, Avril decided to do what many other popular artists were doing and release a DualDisc edition of the album, although the special edition was not promoted in any way. The audio side of the disc included the original tracks as the U.S. album. The DVD side included the making of the "Don't Tell Me" video, the complete "Don't Tell Me" video, as well as the clean complete video for "My Happy Ending", and her newest video at the time, "Nobody's Home". The advantage to this set was that it was released in PCM audio.

Under My Skin also received a special edition release in Europe (Spain), Mexico and the Eastern hemisphere, in places such as Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Australia and Taiwan. The album itself included 4 live bonus tracks - "Nobody's Home", "Take Me Away", "He Wasn't", and a live version of "Tomorrow" from her first album, Let Go. These songs were recorded live from her 2004-2005 Bonez tour. This edition also included a bonus DVD or VCD that included all of her music videos from the album (all the way to "He Wasn't"), a Bonez tour documentary, and the Under My Skin diary.

 

The making of the album

Lavigne wrote much of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. She also co-wrote one track, "Nobody's Home", with Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence, and the rest with her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Lavigne used three producers for Under My Skin: Butch Walker from Marvelous 3, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, and Don Gilmore, who has produced Good Charlotte and Linkin Park.

Much of the album was recorded in Maida's Malibu studios, as Maida is Kreviazuk's husband, and the rest was recorded nearby. On her website, Lavigne states that she had learned a lot since her first record, Let Go: "I was involved in every aspect of making this record. I'm very hands-on. I knew how I wanted the drums, the guitar tones, and the structures to be. I understand the whole process so much better this time because I've been through it. I'm really picky with my sound."

Track 11, "Freak Out", though not released as a single, is used by BBC Scotland as the theme tune to their sports television programme, Sportscene. It was also used as an image song in the early trailers of Ice Princess.

The track, "Slipped Away", is about the death of Lavigne's grandfather. It has been used during the introduction of the 2003 ABC Family film, "Searching for David's Heart".

 

Singles

"Don't Tell Me" was the first single released from Under My Skin. It deals with a girl rejecting a boy's attempts to pressure her into sex when she is not ready. The song shot Lavigne back to the charts, reaching the top ten in several countries around the world, and number twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified gold in late October 2004.

"My Happy Ending" was the second single from the album. It was released to radio in June 2004 and to retail stores on August 2, 2004. The song returned Under My Skin to number one again in Canada for several weeks, and to the top five in the U.S., Germany, the UK, Australia, and other European countries. The song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in mid-November 2004[4] and then platinum in late January 2005.

"Nobody's Home" was the third single released from the album. It went top 40 in most countries, and received a significant amount of airplay, but failed to reach the top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number forty-one.[citation needed]

"He Wasn't" was the fourth single from the album. It peaked at number twenty-three in the UK.[citation needed] The single was not promoted in the United States; however, her 2005 tour included images from the music video.

"Fall to Pieces" was the radio-only fifth single and the fourth single in the United States.

 

Chart performance

Under My Skin was released on May 25, 2004 in the United States and went to number one there and sold over 381,000 copies in its first week. Under My Skin also went to number one in Canada selling over 63,000 copies, UK, Japan, Australia, Spain, Mexico and Taiwan. It also topped the United World Chart for 6 weeks but not consecutively and the U.S. Billboard Internet Albums. It spent almost 5 months in the New Zealand Album Charts, eventually going Gold, but only peaking at number 7. On April 15, 2007, the album re-entered the UK Albums Chart at #60.

 

 

Bonez Tour

The Bonez Tour was a world concert tour by Avril Lavigne to promote her album, Under My Skin. She played the piano in the songs "Slipped Away", "Together", and "Forgotten", and she played the drums in a cover of "Song 2" by Blur. The Live performance at the Budokan Stadion was covered on the DVD Live at Budokan: Bonez Tour, which was only made available in Japan.

 

Opening acts

Bowling For Soup

Simple Plan

Butch Walker

Nailpin

Rooster

Gavin DeGraw

Tweak

The Glitterati

 

Setlist

He Wasn't

My Happy Ending

Take Me Away

Freak Out

Unwanted

Anything But Ordinary

Who Knows

I'm with You

Losing Grip

Together

Forgotten

Tomorrow

Nobody's Home

Fall To Pieces

Don’t Tell Me

Sk8er Boi

Complicated

Slipped Away

 

Mall Tour

Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one-city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 4, 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote Under My Skin. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until forty-eight hours before the show. The tour was very popular and was successful in promoting the album. The set at Indianapolis on March 25, 2004 at Glendale mall included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Try to Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated". Selections of this tour were released on the Avril Lavigne Live Acoustic EP, which was released in U.S. Target stores.

 

The Best Damn Thing 2007 - Present

Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on April 17, 2007 and debuted at number one in the U.S. The album was produced by Dr. Luke, Lavigne's husband Deryck Whibley, Rob Cavallo, Butch Walker and Lavigne. Travis Barker recorded drums for the record. The first single from the album was "Girlfriend", which became Lavigne's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. On Ryan Seacrest's radio show Lavigne said that "When You're Gone" would be the second single. Avril's third single from the album is "Hot".

This album has a high punk-pop influence, with punk rock guitar riffs and poppy choruses.

"Girlfriend" has been used as the theme song for the Japanese idol hosted talk show Cartoon KAT-TUN. On May 2, 2007, she made a guest appearance during the show. She played a game of darts with the KAT-TUN group.

Lavigne has been doing a small tour to promote The Best Damn Thing, with tickets available only to members of her fan club. She began the tour in Calgary, Alberta, and played for a crowd of around two hundred. This show was aired on television on April 2, 2007, on the CBC Network. The album had sold a total of 5 million copies worldwide in November 2007.

 

The Best Damn Thing is the third studio album by Canadian pop punk singer Avril Lavigne. The album was released in North America and part of Europe on April 17, 2007, and in Australia and in the United Kingdom on April 16. It made its radio debut on Ottawa radio station HOT 89.9 at 6:00 pm on April 14.

The album's first single was the number-one hit "Girlfriend", the second single is "When You're Gone", and the third single is "Hot". It also includes "Keep Holding On", a single from the soundtrack of the film Eragon. The album was certified Platinum in the United States. It is certified double Platinum worldwide according to the United World Chart. As of December 12, 2007 "The Best Damn Thing" has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. The album was 6th best-selling studio album of 2007, with Avril being the third best selling female artist of 2007

 

Album information

Lavigne described the record as "fast, fun, young, bratty, aggressive, confident, cocky in a playful way...all the good stuff." It is produced by Dr. Luke, Lavigne's husband Deryck Whibley, Butch Walker and Lavigne herself. Travis Barker (Box Car Racer, blink-182, +44, Transplants, Expensive Taste, Aquabats) has also recorded drums for the album.

 

The standard version of the album, released on April 14, has all the profanities censored. This applies to the songs: "Girlfriend", "I Can Do Better", "Everything Back but You" and "I Don't Have to Try". In "I Can Do Better", all uses of the word $h!t are replaced with a shhh sound, but the line "You're so full of $h!t" is changed to "You're so full of it", and in "Everything Back but You" the words b**ch and $l*t (in the chorus line "...b**ch, $l*t, psycho babe, I hate you...") are replaced with hey, similar to those in "Girlfriend". Also, the lyric "Get ready, motherf***er" is replaced with double "get ready" in "I Don't Have to Try". The term motherf***ing is used in the track "Girlfriend". In some radio edits of the song, this is changed to "one and only". The word "b**ch" is unedited on the song "Runaway". Only the Deluxe and Limited Edition versions contain the unedited, explicit versions of the songs. This version of the album bears the Parental Advisory label because of the instances of profanity. It was Lavigne's first album in the U.S. to bear the label; in some markets the label was used on her second album, Under My Skin (2004). Because of this, and because the album title contains the word damn, some children's radio stations (e.g. Radio Disney) that previously played Lavigne's music are not playing her new singles.

In an interview on Much Music, Lavigne stated that, after numerous photoshoots, she could not choose a suitable image for the album's cover. Lavigne's husband, Deryck Whibley, took the photo which appears on the cover on the side of the road in a suburb of Los Angeles, which was taken in a "spur of the moment" decision by the couple.

 

Promotion

The first single, "Girlfriend", was to be released on January 29, but the date was changed because of the then-increasing popularity of "Keep Holding On" on the radio.[citation needed] The single premiered on Ottawa radio station HOT 89.9 on February 6, and the video debuted on February 26. Evan, her former guitarist, said in his MySpace blog that he makes a cameo in the "Girlfriend" video. "Girlfriend" is available in seven other languages, the only difference from the English version being the chorus translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, German and French.

Lavigne has been doing a small tour to promote The Best Damn Thing. Only members of her fan club were allowed to attend the shows. She kicked off the small tour in Calgary, Alberta, and played for a crowd of around 200. The Calgary show aired on television on April 2, 2007, on the CBC Network. On this show, one could see behind-the-scenes footage and Lavigne performing songs from The Best Damn Thing, as well as other shows in Los Angeles, Paris and Madrid. She also held autograph signings in New York City and Hollywood after the album was released.

On February 18, 2007, clips of "Everything Back But You", "I Can Do Better" and "When You're Gone" were released on AOL Music. The track "Alone" (the B-side of "Girlfriend") was made available for download on the iTunes Store in New Zealand and Australia on March 29. On April 4, 2007, the album was leaked onto the internet and was made available to download on many file sharing sites. The whole album made its radio debut on Ottawa radio station HOT 89.9 at 6:00 pm on April 14, 2007.

On July 6, 2007, Lavigne performed the song "Hot" on The Friday Night Project in the UK.

On September 11, 2007, Lavigne appeared on the season finale of Canadian Idol 2007 and performed Hot and When You're Gone. She received standing ovations from the audience after both these performances. On the show, Lavigne stated that she will be on tour in North America (Canada first) in March-April 2008.

"The Best Damn Tour" starts March 5th, 2008 in Canada. The tour will first go through Canada and USA, but Sony BMG has confirmed that Avril will be in Europe in June/July. Boys Like Girls will be the musical guest

 

Plagiarism allegations

In a June 2007 interview with the magazine Performing Songwriter, Chantal Kreviazuk, who collaborated with Lavigne on the album Under My Skin, stated that Lavigne "doesn't really sit and write [songs] by herself or anything", and that because she "[will] cross the ethical line" without complaint from others, Kreviazuk refused to work with her again. She said she sent Lavigne a song she had written titled "Contagious" in 2005, and that she noticed the track listing of The Best Damn Thing features a song called "Contagious" on which Kreviazuk is not credited. "What do you do with that?", she said. On July 10, 2007, Kreviazuk retracted the statements she made in the aforementioned interview. On the website of The Black List Club, Evan Taubenfeld said that he and Lavigne had co-written "Contagious" for him to record, but that it sounded better when recorded by Lavigne.

On July 2, 2007, songwriters for the U.S. band The Rubinoos filed a lawsuit against Lavigne, her publishing company and Dr. Luke, stating that the song "Girlfriend" was very similar to The Rubinoos' 1970s single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend". On July 6, Lavigne denied The Rubinoos' and Kreviazuk's accusations in an open letter on her website, writing that she had "never heard the [Rubinoos] song in [her] life" and that she was considering taking legal action against Kreviazuk with regards to her allegations, which she considered "damaging to my reputation and a clear defamation of my character."

On July 10, the song "I Don't Have to Try" sparked further plagiarism speculation, after Perez Hilton and Rolling Stone noted similarities between it and Peaches's 2003 song "I'm the Kinda".

 

Chart performance and sales

The Best Damn Thing sold 19,000 copies in a few hours in the UK,[citation needed] eventually selling over 60,000 copies in its first week. It became Lavigne's third number-one album on the UK Albums Chart. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with about 289,000 copies sold, less than Under My Skin, which sold 381,000 in its first week. This is Lavigne's second number-one album, after Under My Skin. The Best Damn Thing remained at number-one in its second week on the chart, selling about 121,000 copies.

In Canada, the album debuted at number one with 68,000 copies sold, slightly more than Under My Skin. In its second week, there was a 62% sales drop to around 26,000 copies.The album has sold 320,000+ in Canada. In Australia, The Best Damn Thing debuted on the ARIA Albums Chart at number two and shipped over 35,000 copies, being accredited Gold by ARIA; it was Lavigne's first album not to reach number-one. It has been certified 2x Platinum.

In Japan, it debuted at number two. In its second week of release, after Lavigne's Music Station performance, it reached the number-one spot, selling 120,000 copies. This is her second number-one album in Japan. To date, it has sold 900,000+ copies and is the 3rd best selling album of the year, and the only western album in the top 25. It peaked on the Taiwanese Albums Chart at number-one, and it had already been certified Gold within three days when the album was available for pre-order. It went Platinum when it was released to stores. In Spain, The Best Damn Thing debuted at number nine, lower than Under My Skin, which debuted at number one.

The album debuted at number-one in over twenty countries. So far, 5.1 million copies of the album have been sold, according to the United World Chart

 

Singles and other tracks

Before the release of "Girlfriend", "Keep Holding On" was released as a single from the Eragon soundtrack in North America, charting at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Girlfriend" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number five in March 2007. This is Lavigne's highest debut on that chart. On April 1, 2007, "Girlfriend" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone, rising twenty-one places from the previous week. This is her highest chart position in the UK so far, ahead of her first single, "Complicated", which reached a peak of number three. On May 5, "Girlfriend" reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, the same week that The Best Damn Thing debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. This is Lavigne's first number-one single in the United States; her previous peak was with "Complicated", which peaked at number two in 2002.

On March 8, 2007, Lavigne announced on Kiss FM that "When You're Gone" would be the second single released from The Best Damn Thing. The single debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song "Hot" has been reported to be the third single from the album, and Avril Lavigne has shot the video clip for the single already. "Hot" has a planned release of October 10 in Japan. The Japanese physical single will feature "Girlfriend" (The Submarines' Time Warp '66 mix) and an acoustic version of "When You're Gone" as its B-sides. Another expected B-Side for the single is a song called "It's All Because of You" but Lavigne or any of her management hasn't announced this yet. The track "Innocence" is played on satellite radio in the U.S and is now played on various radio stations in Canada. Fans presume it is a "radio-only" single.

Songs that were not released as singles appeared on some Billboard charts. The title track "The Best Damn Thing" debuted at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and at number ninety-one on the Pop 100; "Runaway" debuted at number eleven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and at number ninety-four on the Pop 100; and "Innocence" debuted at number sixteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. In a similar fashion, some album tracks debuted inside the top 200 on the UK Singles Chart: "Keep Holding On" debuted at number 175, "When You're Gone" at number 117 and "Innocence" at number 190.

Innocence has been released as a radio single in Italy, replacing Hot.

There is speculation about the fourth single between 3 songs: "Runaway" (which is a fan favorite and is used in various places), "Everything Back But You" (which was released as a clip before the CD was released), "I Can Do Better" (which is performed at live performances in many places, and on MuchMusic in Canada, there is an episode of "Born to Be" which features Avril working on a dance for "I Can Do Better").

The bonus track "I Will Be" was also recorded by Leona Lewis for her debut album Spirit, which was released in the UK on November 12, 2007

 

Track listing

 

Original Edition

CD

"Girlfriend" — 3:36 (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald)

"I Can Do Better" — 3:17 (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald)

"Runaway" — 3:48 (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald, Kara DioGuardi)

"The Best Damn Thing" — 3:10 (Avril Lavigne, Butch Walker)

"When You're Gone" — 4:00 (Avril Lavigne, Butch Walker)

"Everything Back But You" — 3:03 (Avril Lavigne, Butch Walker)

"Hot" — 3:23 (Avril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld)

"Innocence" — 3:53 (Avril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld)

"I Don't Have to Try" — 3:17 (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald)

"One of Those Girls" — 2:56 (Avril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld)]

"Contagious" — 2:10 (Avril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld)

"Keep Holding On" — 3:59 (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald)

 

Deluxe Edition/Special Edition

CD

"Girlfriend" – 3:37

"I Can Do Better" (explicit version) – 3:17

"Runaway" – 3:49

"The Best Damn Thing" – 3:10

"When You're Gone" – 4:00

"Everything Back but You" (explicit version) – 3:03

"Hot" – 3:24

"Innocence" – 3:53

"I Don't Have to Try" (explicit version) – 3:18

"One of Those Girls" – 2:56

"Contagious" – 2:11

"Keep Holding On" – 4:00

Bonus DVD

"The Making of The Best Damn Thing"

"Photo Gallery"

 

Limited Edition

CD

"Girlfriend" – 3:37

"I Can Do Better" (explicit version) – 3:17

"Runaway" – 3:49

"The Best Damn Thing" – 3:10

"When You're Gone" – 4:00

"Everything Back but You" (explicit version) – 3:03

"Hot" – 3:24

"Innocence" – 3:53

"I Don't Have to Try" (explicit version) – 3:18

"One of Those Girls" – 2:56

"Contagious" – 2:11

"Keep Holding On" – 4:00

"Alone" (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin) – 3:15

"I Will Be" (Avril Lavigne, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin) – 4:00

"I Can Do Better" (acoustic) – 3:41

"Girlfriend" (The Submarines' Time Warp '66 mix) – 3:11

"Girlfriend" (Dr. Luke Remix feat. Lil Mama) – 3:25

"Girlfriend" (Mandarin Version) (Only in Asia)

Bonus DVD

"Everything Back But You" (Live at Orange Lounge) – 3:02

"Girlfriend" (Live at Orange Lounge) – 3:39

"Hot" (Live at Orange Lounge) – 3:22

"When You're Gone" (Live at Orange Lounge) – 3:57

"Girlfriend" (Music Video) – 3:48

"When You're Gone" (Music Video) – 4:01

"Hot" (Music Video) – 3:23

"Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix feat. Lil Mama)" (Music Video) – 3:25

 

 

Other works

Lavigne recorded a cover of the John Lennon song "Imagine" as her contribution to the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.

 

Lavigne has also covered The Goo Goo Dolls' mega-hit "Iris", actually performing a duet of the song with the band's lead singer and lyricist John Rzeznik at the Fashion Rocks concert in 2004 produced by Eric Book[36]. Other covers include "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan, "No One Needs To Know" by Shania Twain and "Basket Case" by Green Day. Lavigne has stated that "Iris" is her favorite song of all time.

 

Lavigne has also featured in a comic series called Make 5 Wishes. She stars as herself, a pop star, who is idolized by the protagonist of the story.

 

Videos Appearances

 

Hundred Million by the Punk-pop band Treble Charger

Bethamphetamine (Pretty, Pretty) by the Hard Rock singer Butch Walker

Lil' Mama with her own video Girlfriend

 

Film career

Lavigne made her film debut in the animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on the comic strip of same name. She worked alongside William Shatner, Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes, Nick Nolte and Steve Carell. She is also acting in the Richard Gere film The Flock, as the girlfriend of a crime suspect, and her third project was Fast Food Nation, based on her favorite book. Lavigne wrote and recorded a song titled "Keep Holding On" with Dr. Luke, for the Eragon film soundtrack; it was included on her third album, The Best Damn Thing. The song was released for digital download on November 28, and made its worldwide debut on radio on November 17. It reached the top spot on the Canadian top twenty. She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

 

Lavigne made a cameo in the film Going the Distance and also appeared in an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing "Sk8er Boi" with her band.

 

Media image

In Lavigne's official MySpace page, she affirms that her music genre is Pop/Punk/Rock; but All Music Guide and other reviewers consider her "Punk, Punk-pop, Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Alternative Pop-Rock, Modern Rock and Post-Grunge". The reason for the confusion appears to be for her punk-like appearance, however, she has frequently stated that she's "not punk". Lavigne cites many early punk bands and figures as influences (most notably Sid Vicious), but her music has little in common with 1970s punk.

 

Personal life

In the January 2003 issue of Seventeen magazine, she admitted to "snagging a bite of Matt's cheeseburgers every now and again." Also in a recent interview, she said she prefers not to eat meat, but will not say she's a vegetarian "in case anyone caught her eating meat".

 

Lavigne has a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist that matches 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-shaped tattoo featuring the letter 'D' applied to her right wrist — thought to be a reference to husband Deryck Whibley.

 

Lavigne was romantically linked to her former guitarist Jesse Colburn, but despite rumors, she did not have a relationship with another former guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. However, Taubenfeld still considers Lavigne his "dearest friend in the whole world" as said on a recent Q&A on his band's official website. In a J-14 magazine from 2004, she talks about her first kiss being when she was fourteen years old.

 

In February 2004, she began dating fellow Canadian singer Deryck Whibley, the lead singer/guitarist of pop punk band Sum 41. On June 27, 2005, Lavigne and Whibley became engaged. Whibley proposed to Lavigne by surprising her with a trip to Venice, a gondola ride, and then a romantic picnic.

 

The couple married in a Catholic ceremony attended by about 110 guests on July 15, 2006 at a private estate in the California coastal city of Montecito. When asked if they were ready for kids the couple said "not right now but somewhere down the road."

 

Charities

Lavigne has been involved in a number of charities, such as Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, 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. ALDO sells tags featuring the phrases "HEAR", "SEE", and "SPEAK" and limited edition tote bags that are now being sold at ALDO stores and online, to help fund YouthAIDS HIV-prevention initiatives around the world.

 

Lavigne worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 east coast tour.

 

Lavigne also covered 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' for War Child's Peace Songs compilation.

 

 

Backing Band

 

Current members

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

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

Stephen Anthony Ferlazzo Jr. — electronic keyboard, backing vocals (2007 – present)

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

Devin Bronson — lead guitar, backing vocals (2004 – present)

Charlie Williams — backing vocals, dancer (2007 – present)

Andrew Ford — backing vocals, dancer (2007 – present)

 

Past members

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

Jesse Colburn — rhythm guitar (2002 – January 2004)

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

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

Matt Brann — drums, percussion (2002 – February 2007)

Charlie Moniz — bass guitar (2002 – February 2007)

Soon after departing Lavigne's band, Taubenfeld formed The Black List Club, later signing up Bronson as lead guitarist.