Song:Complicated
Album:Let Go
For a few years, Canadian singer songwriter Avril Lavigne was one of the biggest stars in music. Now she's on the comeback trail after health problems. Complicated was her first big hit in 2002 and it really paved the way for her success. She was born Sept. 26, 1984 in Belleville, ON and she grew up in Napanee. Her dad played bass in the local church choir. He saw that Avril had talent so he brought her to sing in church. She performed country music covers at local fairs. In 1999, Avril won a radio contest to appear on stage with Shania Twain in Ottawa. She then worked with local singer Stephen Medd. She was spotted by a local manager and that led to Avril going to New York to audition for Arista Records president LA Reid. He signed her immediately. Then they had to figure out what to do with her. She worked with several different producers and Arista wasn't happy with the results. They brought in Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock AKA The Matrix. After a modest singing career, Lauren formed The Matrix with ex-husband and session musician Edwards and recording engineer Spock. They had worked with Cristina Aguilera and O-Town. But Avril was their first big project. They wrote and produced six of the songs on Let Go including Complicated. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 6XPlatinum. Complicated had the skater punk edge that allowed Arista to sell Avril as the "anti-Britney", the opposite of processed pop music. Of course this was nonsense but music fans bought it at the time. Avril blamed the media for the false impression but Arista was behind it. For her 2004 album Under My Skin, Avril worked with singer songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk and husband Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace. They produced a mature harder sound. Don't Tell Me and Nobody's Home were hits but the album wasn't as successful as Let Go. By the time Avril recorded her 2007 album The Best Damn Thing, she was married to Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley. So his influence was felt. The single Girlfriend was Avril's only number one hit and the album was successful. It took her three years to record her next album. And she also divorced Whibley. So by the time Goodbye Lullaby was released in 2011, fans forgot about Avril. And that's where she's at today. She married Nickelback leader Chad Kroeger and they are now divorcing. Avril suffers from Lyme's Disease but she is recovering. Last year she announced plans to record a Christmas album but there has been no release date set. Sony hasn't released an Avril Lavigne comp but Let Go is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for Complicated by Avril Lavigne.
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