The Pop Punk Princess Avril Lavigne defines an entire generation of rebel pop punk rock. Her music story started with her singing in church choirs in her youth, encouraged by her devoutly religious parents. At age 14, Avril participated in a radio contest winning the prize of singing on stage with Shania Twain. This would end up leading to an amazing full circle moment, as years later she would end up presenting Shania Twain with the ACM Poet’s Award after a powerful tribute performance of her song “No One Needs To Know.” In 1999, her first manager found her playing an open mic at a bookstore in her hometown of Belleville, Canada. That would lead to her dropping out of high school, after auditioning in front of L.A. Reid and immediately getting signed to a $1.25 million two album contract with Arista Records at just 15 years old. Taking control of her own sound at a young age, Avril complained that the initial production of her first record Let Go was “too pop and had too many programmed drums.” She ended up flying to L.A. to force her producers to make the album more punk rock. This led to the sassy skate punk persona she’s known for. Her debut release Let Go featured smash singles “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi”, with “Complicated” going to No.1. The massive hit earned her the Best New Artist award at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Let Go remains the best-selling album of the 21st Century by a Canadian artist. This release launched her into icon status as she led the style for a generation of fans as the Pop Punk Princess. Avril became a symbol of rebellion and courage to be different, her signature tank top and tie is an example of this attitude in fashion. This also led to her first headlining tour, the Try to Shut Me Up Tour. 2004 would see the release of her second album Under My Skin with tracks “Don’t Tell Me”, “Nobody’s Home” and “My Happy Ending” making the top 10 for singles. In 2006 Lavigne married musician Deryck Whibley of Canadian pop-punk band Sum 41 and the following year she released her next album, The Best Damn Thing. The record featured the ‘hypercatchy’ Top 10 single “Girlfriend.” The hit song would be ranked as the most downloaded track worldwide in 2007, with 7.3 million downloads in eight different languages. Her next project Goodbye Lullaby featured tracks produced with her then-husband Whibley before they amicably divorced prior to the album release. The songs capture the different stages of a romantic relationship from honeymoon to break up. The record’s first single “What the Hell”' highlights Avril’s vocal gymnastics with the impressive hook. Goodbye Lullaby also had great success abroad, topping the charts in Australia, Korea and Japan. Avril then leveraged her platform to venture into fashion with her own perfume fragrance Forbidden Rose and clothing line Abbey Dawn, inspired by her father’s childhood nickname for her. Amid great success, Lavigne found a way to give back when she established the Avril Lavigne Foundation in 2010 which aims to help people with Lyme disease, disabilities and other serious illnesses. Through programs and grants, the group provides prevention resources, funds treatment grants and accelerates scientific research. On the foundation’s website Avril says, “I have always looked for ways to give back because I think it’s a responsibility we all share.” This cause hits very close to home for her as she herself struggled with a serious condition caused by Lyme disease which left her bedridden for five months. In 2013 Lavigne married Chad Kroeger, frontman of Nickelback. They began dating after co-writing the song “Let Me Go” for her next album Avril Lavigne, which came out that same year. The record also featured the popular track “Rock N Roll.” The couple would end up splitting after two years of marriage. She released her next project, Head Above Water, in 2016. The title track single of the album, was inspired by Lavigne’s difficult battle with Lyme disease. She describes times when she felt she was barely treading water, nearly drowning, and feeling like she was about to die. Fortunately, Avril made a full recovery and her serious struggle with Lyme disease is now in the past for her. The album reached the top ten in eight countries and hit number 13 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Capitalizing on the global success, Avril started touring in support of the album in September of 2019, she was forced to postpone the global tour due to pandemic lockdowns. In the beginning of 2021 Avril released the single “Flames” with Mod Sun after being introduced to him through mutual friend Machine Gun Kelly. The two found they shared chemistry and have been a happy match since. Helping usher in the new generation of leaders in the genre, Avril teamed up with Travis Barker to feature on the track G R O W on Willow Smith’s fourth album, Lately I Feel Everything. Releasing the track in February and an accompanying music video in October 2021. After signing with Barker’s label DTA Records, Lavigne released her new single “Bite Me.” February 2022 saw her release her seventh studio album Love Sux, featuring “Bois Lie” with Machine Gun Kelly and “Love It When You Hate Me” with Blackbear. The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 chart. June 2022 was the anniversary of her first release Let Go. To honor the occasion, Avril released a new edition with previously unreleased bonus tracks, including “Breakaway”, the song made famous by Kelly Clarkson but originally written by Lavigne. Staying busy still leading the scene, Avril also released a new single, “I’m a Mess”, with Yungblud in November 2022. She confirmed she is currently working on her eighth studio album. Avril Lavigne continues to inspire the genre after 20 years, evidently ascending from pop-punk princess to Queen Lavigne.