Music career

In November 2000,[a][18] Lavigne was signed by Ken Krongard, an A&R representative to Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the Manhattan studio of producer Peter Zizzo.[16][19] Signed as a singer, Lavigne was pitched with songs written by others. However, she dismissed them, insisting she wanted to write herself. For a year, Lavigne and Arista had conflicts in musical direction. She collaborated with the production team The Matrix, and the ensuing album is called Let Go.[20]

Links:
Wikipedia - Avril Lavigne

Let Go (2002–2003)

Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go, on June 4, 2002 in the United States, where it reached number two. It peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne, at seventeen, the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the United Kingdom until that time.[21] By the end of 2002, the album was certified four-time platinum by the RIAA, making her the best-selling female artist of 2002 and Let Go as the top-selling debut of the year.[22] By May 2003, Let Go had accumulated over 1,000,000 sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association.[23] As of 2009, the album has sold over 16 million worldwide.[24] RIAA has certified the album six-time platinum, denoting shipments of over six million.[25]

Lavigne's debut single and the album's lead single, "Complicated", went to number one in Australia and number two in the United States. "Complicated" was one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. Subsequent singles "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You" reached the top ten in the United States.[26] Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 out of six nominations, received a World Music Award for "World's Best-Selling Canadian Singer", and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for "Complicated" and Best New Artist.[27][28][29]

Lavigne appeared in the video to "Hundred Million" by the pop-punk band Treble Charger and "Bethamphetamine (Pretty, Pretty)" by the hard rock singer Butch Walker. Lavigne covered Green Day's "Basket Case", which she performed at the Try To Shut Me Up Tour.

Lavigne co-wrote "Breakaway" with Matthew Gerard, and was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.[30] "Breakaway" was later included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, and released as the album's lead single. Lavigne has also covered The Goo Goo Dolls' mega-hit "Iris", produced by Eric Book, and performed with the band's lead singer John Rzeznik at the Fashion Rocks concert in 2004.[31] She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.[32]
Lavigne in Vancouver, Canada during the "Live and by Surprise" mall tour

Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, debuting at number one in several countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan,the United Kingdom, and the United States.[33] Lavigne wrote most of the album's tracks with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. Kreviazuk's husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lavigne went on a "Live and by Surprise" twenty-one city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 4, 2004, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote Under My Skin. Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld.

Lead single "Don't Tell Me" went to number one in Argentina and Mexico, the top five in the UK and Canada, and the top ten in Australia and Brazil. "My Happy Ending" went to number one in Mexico and it reached the top ten in the U.S. making it her third-biggest hit there, but third single "Nobody's Home" did not make the top forty in the U.S., and it only went to number one in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, "He Wasn't", reached top forty positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S.[34] "Fall to Pieces" was released as the final single from the album, but did not do as well as previous singles.

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for "World's Best Pop/Rock Artist" and "World's Best-Selling Canadian Artist". She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three, including "Fan Choice Award", "Artist of the Year", and "Pop Album of the Year". She won the award for "Favorite Female Singer" at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.[35]

The Best Damn Thing (2006–2008)

Lavigne represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song "Who Knows" during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion.[36]
Lavigne promoting The Best Damn Thing in Hong Kong, 2007

While Lavigne was in the studio in 2006 for her third studio album, Fox Entertainment Group approached her to write a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 fantasy-adventure film Eragon. She wrote and recorded two "ballad-type" songs, one of which "Keep Holding On" ended up being used for the film. Lavigne admitted that writing the song was challenging, making sure it flows along with the film. She, however, noted that "Keep Holding On" was not indicative of what the next album would be.[37] The song, which later appeared on the album, debuted on radio on November 20, 2006, and later released for digital download on November 28.[38][39]

Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne went into a small tour to promote The Best Damn Thing. The album's lead single, "Girlfriend", topped the Billboard Hot 100, the week The Best Damn Thing debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. "Girlfriend" is Lavigne's first single to have reached number one in the United States.[40] The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ranked "Girlfriend" as 2007's most-downloaded track, selling 7.3 million copies in eight different languages.[b][11] In December 2007, Lavigne, with annual earnings of $12 million, was ranked number eight in the Forbes "Top 20 Earners Under 25".[41]

In March 2008, Lavigne undertook a world tour named The Best Damn Tour 2008 to support the album. In mid August 2008, Malaysia's Islamic opposition party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, attempted to ban Lavigne's show in Kuala Lumpur, judging her stage moves "too sexy". Her concert slated August 29 was deemed promoting wrong values ahead of Malaysia's independence day on August 31.[42] On August 21, 2008, MTV reported that the concert had been approved by the Malaysian government.[43] Lavigne was reported to be featured on Lil Wayne's seventh studio album Rebirth, which will be released in July 2009.[44]