May 31: Avril Wanted To Cuddle In Australia
Avril revealed that her mission was to "cuddle a koala bear" while in Australia. "I love them and also kangaroos. I always watch them on television wildlife shows back home when I can," she said. "One of the things I asked for when I knew I was coming here was a meeting with a koala."
May 31: Avril Performs For Fans in Japan
About 50 lucky Japanese fans got to sing along with American grunge princess Avril Lavigne at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Thursday, in an impromptu performance of her smash hit Complicated. Just two hours before her live performance on her first-ever concert tour in Japan, Lavigne came outside of the hall to greet impatient Japanese fans, who had gathered in front of the hall. Lavigne, who is hugely popular among young Japanese people, played three concerts in Japan as a part of her Avril Lavgne Try to Shut me up Tour. Officials said more than twelve thousand Japanese fans attended Lavigne's concerts over the three days.
May 31: Hilary Duff Called the "Real Avril"
In an article recently posted in the Village Voice, Disney Channel star Hilary Duff was pegged the "real/unreal/surreal Avril," calling her song ten-times better than Avril's second single, "Sk8er Boi." Read more.
May 30: Avril's Backstage List
Usually when stars come in to town to perform, they often provide a list of food, drinks, and other goodies that they'd like backstage before and after the performance. However, Avril's list for her trip to Melbourne, Australia, was anything but complicated. The singer had a small list of demands, including regular tea, hot water, ginger, lemon, honey, a small tray of vegetables, mixed berries and cranberry juice.
May 30: Concert For SARS Sells Out in 3 Hours
An amazing seventy-thousand tickets were sold in three hours yesterday afternoon for the Concert for Toronto, which will take place on June 21, and will feature performances from Avril, Sarah McLachlan, Sum 41, and others. The event was conceptualized as a means to battle the city's tourism and economic problems in the wake of SARS, which has caused 29 deaths in the Toronto area.
May 30: Shania Talks About Avril
Recording artist, Shania Twain, recently shared her thoughts on Avril. Avril had the chance to perform on stage with Shania before she got her record deal as part of a prize for winning a local radio station's contest. "After Avril came up onstage with me and did her thing, a relative of mine who knows her family kept in touch with me on her progress," says Shania. "It's been extraordinary to follow all the record-breaking that she's achieved over the last few years. It's just been great watching her succeed. She's a real Canadian girl, and I sincerely wish her well."
May 28: Avril To Help Fight SARS
It was recently announced that Avril will be performing at a benefit concert to help raise money to fight the new disease SARS, which has recently been affecting Toronto in her native Canada. The concert will take place on June 21 and other performers include Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan.
May 28: "Sk8r Boi:" The Film?
MTV.com is reporting Avril's second single, "Sk8r Boi" is the basis for a new film about two teenagers who fall in love, but are torn by their cultural divide.The song's lyrics will be turned into a full-length movie also called "Sk8er Boi", and MTV Films and Alphaville will produce the film. Songwriting trio The Matrix, who co-wrote many of Avril's songs will be on hand to help produce the movie's soundtrack.
May 21: "Knocking on Heaven's Door" Helps Raise $100,000 for Iraqi Children
Avril's cover of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" is slated to be the first single released from the War Child Canada album, "Peace Songs" and should be making its debut on the radio this week. Since its release, the album has raised over $100,000 to help children in Iraqi hospitals and schools.
May 21: Avril On "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
As you probably remember, Avril recorded her own cover of the Bob Dylan classic, "Knocking on Heaven's Door" to benefit the War Child Canada album "Peace Songs." Eric Hoskins, producer of the album, said that convincing Avril to record the song wasn't difficult at all. "She told me it was fitting because it was the first song she learned how to play on guitar when she was a kid," he remembered. Since then, Avril has been performing the song at her concerts to help promote the Peace Songs album.
May 21: Coldplay Sings "Sk8r Boi"
UK band, Coldplay, recently performed their own version of "Sk8r Boi" during a concert. The lead singer tackled a quick and humorous rendition of Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi in the middle of the song, "Everything's Not Lost," and then joked "There's only one chance to sing along before one of us gets shot."
May 21: Avril Plays Free Concert
Avril played a free concert at Dunkirk High School in Dunkirk, N.Y., on Monday (5/20). The high school's students--who collected nearly a million index cards with messages for U.S. troops in the Middle East--won a contest sponsored by Buffalo radio station Kiss 98.5.
May 21: Fred Durst Performs With Avril
Rocker Fred Durst, who recently met Avril at MTV's tribute to Metallica, was recently in attendence at one of Avril's concerts, showing up in an "I Heart Avril" T-shirt. Fred was brought up on stage during Avril's hit "Complicated" and Avril hopped onto his back. The two then sang the rest of the song together.
May 17: Avril One Of The Music Video Era's Greatest Women
VH1 recently counted down what they believed were the 50 greatest women of the music video era. Surprisingly, Avril made the countdown even though she is a relatively new artist, coming in at #50. The top spot went to (big surprise) Madonna.
May 17: Lillix Says They Aren't Like Avril
Because they're young musicians like Avril, critics may be quick to peg Canada's latest export, girl band Lillix, a band of mini-Avrils, but the girls of Lillix explained that they don't agree with that idea at all. "Everyone's going to judge you right off the bat but we're ready for that. It's going to happen anyway. I just hope people are going to see that we're actually musicians and respect that. Everyone's going to compare everyone to Avril Lavigne because she's hot right now," lead-singer Tasha said, "So of course people are going to compare us to her. It's just a natural thing."
May 10: Weird Al Parodies Avril
You can add Avril Lavigne to the list of musicians Weird Al Yankovic has poked fun at. A parody of one of Avril's song, "Complicated." is included on his 11th album, "Poodle Hat," which will be released May 20th. Al's parody is called "A Complicated Song," however it's not yet known what any of the lyrics to this parody are. On the album, Weird Al also parodies rappers Nelly and Eminem and the Backstreet Boys.
May 10: Kelly Osbourne Thinks Avril is A Good Role Model
Fellow musician, Kelly Osbourne has recently said that she believe Avril is a good role model for young girls. "It's important that girls should stick up for what they believe in, and I think that Pink and Avril Lavigne are good role models for that." she explained. "If I had a daughter I'd rather that she was listening to their music than Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera."
May 10: Avril Releasing Special Tour Edition of "Let Go"
To celebrate the success she's had in Australia, Avril is releasing a special tour edition of her debut album, "Let Go." The special edition will include live performances, music videos, and behind-the-scenes footage. It's set to be released in Australia on May 19th. Fortunately, for those of us living outside of Australia, the import is available for preorder here.
May 10: Pre-Order the "Losing Grip" Single
The single for "Losing Grip," the fourth cut off Avril's album, is set to be released on May 13th. The single will include the title track, live performances of "Unwanted" and "I'm With You" and an enhanced portion with the video for "Losing Grip." You can preorder it here.
