Biography

FICHE D'IDENTITE :

Last Name: Lavigne
First Name: Avril Ramona
Origin: Franco-Canadienne
Date of birth: 27 Septembre 1984
Place of birth: Belleville, Ontario (Canada)
City of her childhood: Napanee that she moves to for her 5 years old, Ontario (Canada)
Astrological sign: Libra
Eyes color:blue green
Hair color: blonde
Instruments: * Guitar since she is 12 years old that she learns self-taught
* Drums
* Piano
Tatoos:: Let see the "tatoos"
section Piercing: 1 on the navell, 2 at the left ear et 1 at the right ear
Parents: Her father’s name is John and her mother Judy. There are divorced
Brothers and sisters: A big brither Matt who is 3 years older(her bodyguard) and a little sister Michelle who is 3 years younger
Animals: A dog, a schnauzer miniature who is called Sam

KNOCKS OF HEART …

Sport: Ice Hockey, Skate
Song from Let Go: Losing Grip
CSong from Under My Skin: He Wasn't
Song from The Best Damn Thing: I Can Do Better
Bands: Sum 41, System of Down, Radiohead, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, The pixies, Peaches …
Female Singers: Alanis Morissette, Pink ...
TV Show: South Park
Pizza garnish: Olives
Stores: Pacsun, Hot Topic, Tillys, …
Man: Deryck Whibley

HER VOCATION

Her singer vocation, Avril has discovered it a long time ago but the first to realize this was her mother, Judy, who understood very early that Avril has a lot of talent as she was only two years old. Since she was child, Avril has always wanted to do this job and she was standing on her bed, singing all the time and imagining that there were thousands of people in front of her. But when Judy humming « Jesus Love Me » and cleanup the house and that Avril has covered the same lyrics in the same time, she does not believe what she was hearing. At the age of 6, her parents, as deeply Christian, they enter in a church where she sang gospel. It is at this moment that she really develops a liking for singing. Fascinated by music, Avril borrows the guitar of her father until she is offering her own guitar. From this moment she spends hours and hours for learning to play this instrument self-educated, alone in her room and without seeking advice from professionals but constantly repeating the same song, Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz. After that revelation, her composer soul came very quickly discovered: she wrote her first song (whereas previously she only has written short poems) at the of 12, called Can’t Stop Thinking Of You inspiring of her everyday life at school and at the age of 13 she puts these texts on music.

FIRST STAGE

When she has 10 years old, it’s in the church of Napanee, on a Christmas song and dressed up like an angel that Avril will sing for the first time in solo in front of a real audience. Then she will perform in various village festivals and festivals of her region. When she turns 14, she enrolled at a radio support in Ottawa and she won the award of this amateur singing competition consisted on singing a duet with the great star Shania Twain in front of 20,000 people. That was here that Avril realized that she was right when she was dreaming of a musical career. She understood that she had something special that grew her up on stage and that the public loved.

FROM NAPANEE TO NEW YORK

At the age of 14, she is for the first time to sing on a cd : Steve Medd’s album, a singer of her region. The manager Cliff Fabri is present this day in the recording studio. This music professional works with already famous artists. Needless to say that he was impressed by the voice of our young Canadian. He helps Avril to meet people who are working for the showbiz and record company. One of them suggests that Avril go to New York to meet composers and professional musicians. It was the first time for the Napanee young girl, suddenly, she leaves during a few weeks to work with composer Zizzo. There after she does two others round trip New York / Napanee. In each visit to the huge American city she learns a lot. The atmosphere is now very studious ... It was during her third trip to the United States that things are really trigger for Avril. This time she does not compose and make songs with Peter Zizzo. She also gives a small concert in front of some showbiz personalities, including Antonio "LA" Reed, the director of Arista, a very big American record house. The reaction of this great professional player in the world of music is immediate: "I want to sign Avril with Arista, but first she must work with others musicians on new songs ... "The young singer, who has just celebrated her 16 years old, works in full time. But with little success; compositions that are proposed to her at this time do not suit her: too pop, too bad. She refuses to sing the words of others and required to write her own texts.

FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES

At 16, Avril drop studies and moved to Manhattan with her brother, where she began working on her first album. Antonio "LA" Reed have the idea of sending Avril to Los Angeles, the "show city" where living many composers and musicians. Upon her arrival, she made a decisive meeting for her album Let Go : Cliff Magness, who would become his ultimate collaboration. They are closely supported in their work by a production team, the trio of The Matrix composed of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock. Feeling ready, Avril said one time: "Now I have 16 years and I want things to move. "

FIRST ALBUM : LET GO

No sooner said than done Her circle of acquaintances who trusts her, launches the recording of her first album and reserves some studios, notably in Miami, in Hollywood and near New York. She likes the new songs that she records. Complicated which is the first extract of her album Let Go is released during summer 2002 and makes an enormous success in the United States. At its release the album is praised by the press and the American criticism but approved by a large majority of the public, touching boys and girls. Let Go explodes all the records of sales for a first album and it was in the third position on the best sales of CD of the year 2004. Nowadays, Let Go was sold to more than 15 millions copies.

MY WORLD

Bolstered by her recent success, Avril dashes in 2003 into an immense world tour, The Try To shut me Up Tour. Canada, United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, will welcome with the same passion and the excitement Avril and her band. But Avril does not content with giving full shows, she is also present in broadcast shows, on the waves radios, and for particular events (as the MTVicon Metallica, either her visit to the sick children of the Mater Hospital in Australia). At the end of the year and for the pleasure of her fans the DVD " MY WORLD " stemming from her live in Buffalo, New York is released. Every fan was able to appreciate 68 mn of this show but also pictures of the live, the documentary on the backstage and the videos clips of her 4 tubes (complicated, sk8er boi, I' m with you and losing grip) and of Knockin' on heaven’s door. It will be nominated in Juno Award in 2004 as better musical DVD of the year.

SECOND ALBUM : UNDER MY SKIN

In May, 2004, Avril has only 19 years old, but releases already her 2nd album, Under My Skin. Always with the label Arista / BMG Records. In the production, we find Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte), Butch Walker , Raine Maida and Marvelous 3. As the preceding album, Avril participated in the writing of all the titles with help of his guitarist and better friend Evan Taubenfeld and with the Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk. This album is darker, more mature, closer to Avril and how she feels in front of various moments of her girl's life, such as "Slipped Away", moving ballad dedicated to her grandfather who passed away during her previous tour, or still " How Does It Feel? " Question that many young person settles. We shall find some different style, pop romantic as « Don’t Tell me " or a Californian rock as Blink as « Freak Out ». Under My Skin begins at once on the first position of the chart in the United States, Canadian and English. It is disc of platinum in numerous countries. So: Argentina (twice), Australia, Brazil, Canada (5 times), the United States (3 times) , France, Japan (4 times), Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. So it second CD will be selling more than 8 millions of copies, and as the previous, it is even sold today.

MALL TOUR

Avril who likes to be on stage and the contact with the public dashes into one "live and by surprise” to promote the album Under My Skin. From March 4th till April 16th (44 days), Avril gives 26 performances in 21 cities in the United States and 5 in Canada. Called also Mall tour, these lives are exclusively acoustic, she appears with her guitarist Evan. Mall Tour begins March 4th 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and as each of its passages, they are announced only 48 hours before the show. The live of Indianapolis of March 25th 2004 (including He wasn' t, My happy ending, don’t tell me, Take me away, Nobody’s Home, Sk8er boi and Complicated) will give one CD "Avril Lavigne live acoustic EP" (Extented Play: Cd containing more than a single but not enough songs to be qualified as album) only distributed in the United States. Avril knows the stage, the TV show, and radio stations, and in spite of a busy schedule, she gets acquainted with the world of the cinema. So if the first appearance of Avril in a sitcom with place in 2002 in "Sabrina, the teenage witch " where she sings " sk8er Boi ; it is in 2004 when she makes her very first appearance for the cinema in the Canadian film "Going The Distance " where she interprets her own character. Inside this film she sings also "Losing Grip". The scene during less of 3mn , but which would dare to say that this is not 3 mn of pleasure?!

BONEZ TOUR

It is on September 26th 2004 that Avril starts her new Worldwide Tour, called « Bonez Tour ». It will spread out over one year and will finish on September 25th 2005. Avril will give 103 performances "all around the world" (small wink to Avril who had thanked all her fans (all around the world) during her awards delivery for the World Music Awards on September 15th 2004. As for the Try To Shut Me Up Tour, Avril cross continents for the pleasure of her impatient and enthusiastic fans to see again their energetic singer. And energy, Avril has it to resell! The multidisciplinary artist dashes into a challenge, to play guitar, but also piano and drum. Challenges made a success; the fans are amazed by the concert. Besides her own titles, Avril interprets songs of another artists, so certain fan were able to hear, "American Idiot" of Green Day, "Song2" of Blur, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of Nirvana, "Hey Ya" of Outcast or "All The Small Things" of Blink182. As for its previous tour, a DVD is realized on December 7th 2005 : "Live at Budokan". It is the only DVD of Bonez Tour that is official; regrettably it is a Japanese version. It does not matter, the fans do not stop to this kind of detail.

Biography in photos