Officio Birthday Star: Avril Lavigne

 

    Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer songwriter born Sept. 27, 1984, most memorable for her punk-influenced pop music starting in the early 2000s.  Avril is the French word for April. Hailing from Ontario, the singer has been an inspiration to a number of artists. 

   Her debut album, Let Go, was released June 4, 2002, via Arista Records, debuting at #8 on the Billboard 200, later reaching at its No.2 peak position. In the UK it would climb to number one after 18 weeks following its release. The record went to number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland New Zealand and Scotland. To date, it has been certified Diamond in Canada and 7 x Platinum in the US. The album spawned the singles : "Complicated" which peaked at #2 on the US Hot 100 chart and #3 in the UK, topping charts in Australia, while earning the Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2003; "Sk8er Boi" was successful as well reaching No.3 in Australia and Ireland, No.7 in Scotland, No.8 in the UK and No.10 in the US, while getting a Grammy nod for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 2003; "I'm With You" was another top 10 success hitting the No.4 mark on the Hot 100, No.5 in Ireland, Italy and Poland, No.7 in the UK, topping the US Adult Top 40 (Billboard), and earning the Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2003. 

   Under My Skin, the singer's sophomore record, would be released on May 19, 2004 via Arista & RCA Records, marking her final album with Arista. The set proved to be more successful than her debut, setting in atop the US Billboard 200 chart (selling 381,000 copies in the first week) as well the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was a number-one entry in Australia, Argentina, Austria, the European Albums (Billboard) chart, German, Greece, Ireland, japan, Spain and the UK, reaching No.2 in Scotland, and Sweden. In 2005, the record won the Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. The set featured the singles "Don't Tell Me" (#22 in the US, #10 AUS, #3 SCO, #5 UK), "My Happy Ending" (AUS #6, #7 IRE, #6 NOR, SCO #4, UK #5 and US #9), "Nobody's Home" (IRE #19, UK #24, US #41), "He Wasn't" (AUS #25, IRE #35, SCO #25, UK #23), "Fall to Pieces" and the radio-only single "Take Me Away". Billboard ranked the album at #22 at the end of the year 2004. 

   Avril's third album, The Best Damn Thing, was out April 11, 2007 via RCA Records, debuting atop the US Billboard 200 chart with 289,000 copies sold in the first week, while also debuting atop the charts in Canada, Austria, and the UK, among other places. The pop-punk, post-grunge record featured Lavigne's most successful chart single to-date "Girlfriend" which went on to peak at the number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single "When You're Gone" would peak at No.4 in Australia and Ireland, No. 2 in Scotland, No.3 in the UK and No.24 in the US. The other notable singles were "Hot" and the titular track, "The Best Damn Thing". Billboard ranked the album at #25 at the year-end.

   Goodbye Lullaby, her fourth album was released March 2, 2011, via RCA Records, marking the singer's final with the record label. The record went to number-one in Australia, No.2 in Canada, No.12 in Ireland, No.3 in Mexico, No.7 in New Zealand, No.9 in Scotland and the UK, while peaking at No.4 in the US. It would feature the singles "What the Hell", "Smile" and "Wish You Were Here".

  Her self-titled album Avril Lavigne was out November 1, 2011, via Epic Records, debuting at number 5 on the Billboard 200, with the lead single, "Here's to Never Growing Up" peaking at #20 on the US Hot 100 list. The album peaked at No.4 in Canada, No.7 in Australia, and No.14 in the UK. Head Above Water, was released Feb 15, 2019, via BMG Records. The set missed the top-ten in the US, debuting and peaking at No.13, while reaching No.9 in Australia, No.5 in Canada and No.10 in the UK. The album however topped the US Independent Albums (Billboard).  Her 7th album, Love Sux, was released February 25, 2022 via Elektra Records and DTA Records. It would debut at No.9 in the US, bringing Lavigne back to the top-ten, while peaking at No.3 in Australia, Canada as well as the UK. In the US still it peaked at No.2 on both the Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) and the Top Rock Albums (Billboard).