Dressed in skater garb rather than the sexy midriffs worn by her contemporaries, Lavigne was a new brand of female pop star.
Pop’s Rebel Princess Avril Lavigne
Since Under My Skin debuted at No. 1 worldwide [in April, 2004], Avril Lavigne has been busy touring the globe. Recently, we peppered her with questions on everything from her hands-on approach to her career to her opinion on lip-synching and what’s wrong with eating dairy on tour.
It was only a few years ago that Avril Lavigne burst onto the world stage. She walks the line between pop and rock (not candy-coated enough to be Hilary Duff, but not quite as fierce as the Distillers’ Brody Daile), and continually has to defend herself. The press loves to pigeonhole, and Lavigne refh3s to assimilate. She balks at being lumped with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera but also makes it clear that she doesn’t consider herself punk either (though her favorite band is Green Day).
To her millions of fans, it doesn’t matter which category of the moment she’s being dropped into. Her records have a universal appeal that has spanned nations and age groups, and, with a neo-classic rock sound, Lavigne has found a huge audience as pop loses listeners to hip-hop. Inspired by Janis Joplin, Alanis Morissette, and Courtney Love, Lavigne writes positive lyrics that promote individuality and the self-worth culture of grrrl power, and has, in turn, influenced a generation of upcoming female rockers, including Skye Sweetnam and Katy Rose.
Lavigne’s rise as rock star in 2002 was a refreshing alternative to the bubblegum pop that was so pervasive at the turn of the new millennium. In the face of overproduced, prefabricated teen sensations, Lavigne was defiant and in your face. She’s also distinguished herself from her peers by trash-talking. Over the past three years, Lavigne has slammed Hilary Duff, calling the singer a “Goody Two-shoes” and telling her to “go screw herself.” She said Britney Spears danced “like a ho,” and ripped on the way some of her peers dress onstage. She’s been called the “anti-Britney” but has turned out to be far more than just Spears’s antithesis. Her 2002 debut, Let Go, sold 15 million copies and nabbed eight Grammy nominations and an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
Lavigne’s mix of anger and charisma was new for pop, and her punk-inspired tunes made her not only radio-friendly, but radio-dominating. In 2004 Lavigne released Under My Skin and returned to the top of the pop world. The album debuted at No. 1 on charts worldwide. Lavigne is visible everywhere from MTV to top magazines, Leno to Letterman, and is headlining a world tour that will keep her busy till the end of 2005.
Under My Skin reflects an older, more introspective Lavigne (she was only 17 years old when she hit it big with Let Go). Though she is still herself, she has adopted a more feminine look to play off her famed tomboyishness. Now she adds the occasional designer piece to complement her street-smart style; a sexy black tank instead of her wife beater and school tie; a lacy skirt instead of baggy jeans. But with her Sharpie-painted fingernails, black-and-white knee socks, Doc Martens, and jewelry that looks like it could double as a weapon, Lavigne still has that eclectic style and animal intensity for which she’s known.
“I’ve never lip-synched, and I never will. If I mess up I laugh, and my audience laugh, and it’s cool for them to see that.”
Avril Lavigne is now like the world’s biggest rock star!
[Laughs].
How hands-on were you with this album’s production?
With this album I was really involved with the production and picking my own producers. I was involved with that on my first record as well, but I didn’t have that much say over the production with some people. This time around, I knew what I was going for. There’s some darker songs on this one, things like that.
On Let Go, did you feel you didn’t have creative control?
The label originally had people write for me and I said no, no, no, I want to write my own songs. I can write. I ended up writing and working with other people. But as far as production went, I was a kid. I was 16 and I didn’t know what that whole thing was about. I tried to explain to people [to] “make this heavier” or “not so pop.” On the new record, I was able to get it exactly the way I wanted it to be. I’m older now and trust myself more.
Tell us how you create a song.
Basically, I come up with ideas on the road. Usually, [the] music comes first, it triggers something inside me, and I start writing melodies and lyrics. I take out my guitar and start singing.
What’s your favorite?
“He Wasn’t.” But every month I have a different favorite. I open with “He Wasn’t.”
I loved the video for “Nobody’s Home,” with you in that sexy black dress. Does Avril Lavigne get hands-on with the videos?
I came up with the concept of the last two videos, “My Happy Ending” and “Nobody’s Home.” I express what I want to do to my record label. They give my ideas to directors, who work with that and make it happen. For the performance part in “Nobody’s Home,” I wanted to be dressed up in this black gown in a gothic setting with this orchestra around me, and I wanted to act the whole video playing the part of a runaway. I told the director, and then she added her stuff. Now I’m at the point where they’re my songs. I’m so close to them, I know how I want the video to be. With “My Happy Ending,” I wanted to act with a guy. [At first,] we were happy and walking in the park hand in hand, then toward the end of the video we fight, we yell at each other. That was my whole idea, and the director made all the other stuff happen.
Very cool. Why are you calling this the Bonez Tour?
Because that’s what’s “under my skin.”
“There’s a bunch of girls who are extremely popular today. Myself, Christina, and Britney are some of those girls, but that doesn’t put me in that category.”
How long does it run?
An hour and a half. When you sing an hour and a half every night, it’s very physical. You risk getting sick. You fight chronic sore throats and stuff.
What instruments do you play on the tour?
Guitar, keyboards, and drums. I like to jump around and play different instruments.
What are your feelings on lip-synching? Ashlee Simpson received a giant backlash for what happened on Saturday Night Live.
It taught people a lesson. There are a lot of people out there who lip-synch. Personally, I think it is a disgrace to music becah3 there are a lot of talented people who don’t even get a chance, and then there are people at this top level who can’t sing live, and [it’s] just not fair.
Have you ever lip-synched?
I’ve never lip-synched and I never will. That’s the whole thing — you go up onstage and perform live. If I mess up I laugh, and my audience laughs, and it’s cool for them to see that.
What’s your take on musicians who play with recordings of their band when the band isn’t there?
I think that’s fine if you have strings on your record and you don’t want to bring a whole orchestra with you. I sing my fucking ass off every night for an hour and a half, and it is hard. My throat is so sore right now becah3 I’ve been touring for so long. I had to change my lifestyle. I can’t sleep with the air [or] the heater on, becah3 they dry up my throat. I try not to talk during the day besides my interviews. The key is not talking. Talking is worse on your voice than singing. Celine Dion won’t talk the whole day.
How do you stay healthy on the road?
I feed myself vitamin C, and I’m pushing it every night. …It’s a hard thing to sing that long. It’s something I want to do and something I’m proud of, but I thank God I’m healthy. I don’t believe in taking antibiotics. I’m a total health freak, and take a lot of vitamins. I had to change the food I eat. I can’t eat dairy.
Why is dairy bad?
It cah3s the human body to build up mucus, and that can get in the way of your vocal cords and your singing.
Is there anything else you do?
Ninety percent of the time I eat a vegan diet. The other key is staying hydrated, especially in this kind of environment. You get really tired traveling, and I’m doing meet-and-greets all the time. I’m always around people with germs.
Do you work out besides what you do onstage?
If I had more time, I’d like to do something like go out for a nice morning run. But I don’t have much time on tour.
Understandable. And the press has been keeping up with you on this tour. Speaking of, what’s your opinion on other young stars like Britney, who you’ve been continually grouped with?
I don’t really care. It’s not the music I listen to. [Plus,] it’s not really fair to say I’m in that group. There’s a bunch of girls who are extremely popular today. Myself, Christina, and Britney are some of those girls, but that doesn’t put me in that category. That just means we are all selling tons of records and are popular right now.
Like Britney, a lot of younger Avril Lavigne fans see you as a role model. What advice do you give them?
I’m always just saying, “Be a strong person.” I have a lot of positive messages in my songs, like in “Don’t Tell Me.” Be your own person. [“Don’t Tell Me,” The first single off Under My Skin, is a first-person narrative about a girl refusing to have sex with a manipulative boy.]
Speaking of “Don’t Tell Me” I was heartbroken to hear you say, “Guys are so hard to trust.” I thought it was girls that were so hard to trust!
It goes both ways.
Fair enough. Finally, any thoughts on the perfect guy?
Mmm. …I don’t know. [Laughs]
For a performer, obviously YouTube would be a fine place to start putting some sound to the words, where as of now over 13 million people would agree with your interest. Then of course you can find all the other social links at the bottom of the official Avril Lavigne site (after you scroll through a lot of really fun areas). For our part, though, we liked her store, possibly more than anything. Now this was probably due to our conversation about who could contact someone to see about buying “Young & Dumb” attire in bulk, but that could be more of a personal thing.
