Avril Lavigne Tickets

Becoming the rule-breaking wild child of mainstream pop in the 00s, Avril Lavigne inspired audiences with her bold sound and fearless attitude. Alongside the music, she fashioned her own grungy emo-punk style – first with her black wardrobe and heavy eye make-up and then with her signature tie, tank top and cargo trousers – as she rose to become one of Canada’s most popular singer-songwriters.

Growing up in Napanee, Ontario, Lavigne’s vocal ability was evident by the age of two. As a child she developed her talent by singing in church choirs and at local events like county fairs and festivals. As she got older, Lavigne taught herself to play guitar and penned her first song by the time she was 12.

Initially focused on country music, she contributed vocals and collaborated with local folk musician Stephen Medd, who wrote a song for her on his debut CD called Touch The Sky, which would become Lavigne’s first studio recording.

Her big break came when she was 14 and won a radio contest to sing a duet with fellow Canadian Shania Twain. Their teaming up on the song What Made You Say That proved to be a success, and Lavigne soon left high school to pursue music full-time.

In 2000, shortly after her 16th birthday, she moved to New York to work with several songwriters there and signed a deal with Arista Records. Although primarily recording country songs, Lavigne’s interest in rock was on the rise – especially after relocating to Los Angeles to fine-tune her sound and the music for her debut.

Lavigne would then go on to score an incredible three straight No.1s in the UK with the release of her first three albums. First off, there was 2002’s Let Go. The critically acclaimed album featuring the smash singles Sk8r Boi and Complicated saw her not only burst onto the music scene, but also start solidly down the path to pop-punk royalty, with her skater image contrasting greatly with the traditional glamour of pop. Lavigne earned five Grammy nominations for Let Go, plus it reached multi-platinum status in the UK, where she became the youngest female solo artist – at the age of 17 – to score a No.1 album.

Her 2004 sophomore effort, Under My Skin, followed suit, debuting at No.1 in countries around the world. To promote it, Lavigne embarked on a series of shows at malls in the US and Canada, followed by her extensive worldwide Bonez Tour that ran through most of 2005.

To kick off the next year, she represented Canada during the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics. When her much anticipated third album, The Best Damn Thing, arrived that spring, it also charted at No.1, raked in similar accolades (including three more Grammy nominations) and was supported with The Best Damn World Tour.

During these years, Lavigne met Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley and they officially started dating. After a whirlwind romance, she wed the Canadian rocker in a ceremony in California in 2006. However, it wasn’t meant to be and three years later the pair decided to split up.

Also in 2006, Lavigne began to make a name for herself in the acting world, with a role in the Richard Linklater-directed Fast Food Nation and by voicing the character of Heather, a Virginia opossum, in the the animated film Over The Hedge.

Although she began recording her fourth and most introspective album, Goodbye Lullaby, in 2008, the release date was delayed several times. Finally arriving in 2011, its songs dealt with themes of heartbreak following her divorce and were stripped down, with the main instrumentation being piano and acoustic guitar.

In early 2013, Lavigne unveiled her hit lead single Here’s To Never Growing Up, and her eponymous fifth album came out a few months later.

Lavigne disappeared from the limelight in the coming years. After experiencing chronic fatigue and anxiety, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which kept the singer home sick and bedridden while fighting the physical and emotional battles of recovery.

Her comeback album, Head Above Water, was released in early 2019. Its lyrical content won critical acclaim for delving into her battle with Lyme disease.

In April 2020, Lavigne released the single We Are Warriors. The re-recorded and renamed version of her 2019 song Warriors raised money for Project Hope during the coronavirus pandemic.

​About the track, she said, “I felt the need to do something to honour all of the frontline workers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.”

In 2021, Lavigne collaborated with Mod Sun on the song Flames. She also teamed up with WILLOW and Travis Barker on the anthemic single G R O W. Its music video was released in October, featuring Lavigne and WILLOW as super-sized versions of themselves towering over a city skyline.