Avril Lavigne

Avril Ramona Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian pop/rock singer, songwriter and actress. Her two albums to date, Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004) have topped the charts in numerous countries. Her third album, The Best Damn Thing, is due this year.

Although her name is of French origin, she herself does not speak French and her name is pronounced in an anglicized way, more or less as "La-veen". Her first name, Avril, means "April" in French and is pronounced "Av-rill".

Avril became famous thanks to her first hit single Complicated which was later followed by Sk8er Boi, Losing Grip and I'm With You. In the beginning of her career, Avril's image (especially the t-shirt and tie combo) attracted almost as much interest as her music.

Her second album Under My Skin was a more personal album, with songs such as Don't Tell Me and My Happy Ending. The album sold millions of copies worldwide but Avril was criticized for the drastic change in her image. Avril fervently defended her new, more mature image, saying "Someday you gotta grow up".

Avril sings the title song of the 2006 movie 'Eragon'. The song, Keep Holding On, written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, is the first song on the 'Eragon' soundtrack. It has been confirmed that this song will be on the forthcoming third album, but that an alternative version will be used. Avril also recently released the single Girlfriend, which is to be included on this album (The Best Damn Thing).

Avril is married to Deryck Whibley, frontman to punk-rock band Sum 41.

Slipped Away was written by Avril for her grandfather who passed away while she was on tour.