Don't Cry For Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne's Break-Up Album Brought Friends To Tears
Avril Lavigne moved her friends to tears by playing them tracks from her latest album Goodbye Lullaby.
The Complicated singer split from ex-husband Deryck Whibley in 2009 after three years of marriage, while she was working on material for her fourth album, which was released in March (11).
Lavigne admits the project represents "closing a chapter in life" - but even she was stunned by her pals' emotional reactions to her songs.
She tells The Ottawa Citizen, "Throughout this album, there are some real vulnerable moments, where I didn't hold back when it came to writing, just because I wanted it to be real, I wanted it to move somebody.
"Some of the songs I didn't want to put on the record, and my girlfriends made me. They were their favourites. When I played these songs for my friends and family, sometimes they would cry. I've never really had that for my songs before.
"Goodbye Lullaby really just represents closing a chapter in life and opening a new one. Personal growth, moving forward. It's really just about growth and changes, in regards to different emotions we all have in life. Becoming older. The whole message is bittersweet; it's positive. It's about getting through what you have to get through."
Lavigne has since moved on with her life and she's now in a happier place, dating Kim Kardashian's stepbrother Brody Jenner.
The softer side of Avril Lavigne
Vulnerability is new territory for Avril Lavigne, who's normally seen as a feisty pop-punk princess, too cool to let any boy break her heart.
But on her recent single, "Wish You Were Here," the Canadian singer is full of regret and longing for the guy (ex-husband?) who's no longer around, letting it all hang out in a stark acoustic ballad. Although a far cry from the boy-bashing romp of the album's first single, "What the Hell," the new song is a fairly accurate representation of the general songwriting vibe on this year's album, Goodbye Lullaby.
"Throughout this album, there are some real vulnerable moments, where I didn't hold back when it came to writing, just because I wanted it to be real, I wanted it to move somebody," Lavigne said in a recent interview, admitting she had some initial trepidation about baring so much of her soul.
"Some of the songs I didn't want to put on the record, and my girlfriends made me," explains the singer, raised in Napanee, Ont., who was discovered when she was a teenager. "They were their favourites. When I played these songs for my friends and family, sometimes they would cry. I've never really had that for my songs before."
Goodbye Lullaby is Lavigne's fourth studio album over the last 10 years, and the first since her divorce from Sum 41 rocker Deryck Whibley. Although she won't say the album was directly inspired by the demise of her three-year marriage, fans know she rarely strays from her personal life in her songwriting.
"Goodbye Lullaby really just represents closing a chapter in life and opening a new one. Personal growth, moving forward," Lavigne says, neatly evading the breakup details. "It's really just about growth and changes, in regards to different emotions we all have in life. Becoming older. The whole message is bittersweet; it's positive. It's about getting through what you have to get through."
Getting older, going through a divorce and realizing she's been in the music business for a decade all motivated Lavigne, now 27, to take a different approach. She even tried her hand at producing a couple of the album tracks.
"I didn't want to make exactly the same record. There's a side of me, I like to have fun with my music and rock out, and a lot of the lyrics are lighter subjects," she says. "But I'm a woman now, I'm a singer, I'm a songwriter and I wanted to touch on that area a little more."
Still, fans will be happy to hear she plans to show both sides of her musical personality on this fall's tour across Canada, the final leg of a worldwide journey, the Black Star tour, that also included dates in Europe, South America and Asia. "The tour represents me in general as a musician," Lavigne says. "I play all my old songs, all the uptempo pop-rock stuff, but there's also more intimate, stripped-down moments in the show."
Lavigne is looking forward to spending a month on the road in Canada, reconnecting with family, friends and fans, and enjoying weather that's a few degrees cooler than Los Angeles, where she now makes her home. After the tour, she plans to turn her attention to her fashion line, Abbey Dawn, in preparation for a big 2012 launch. The spring line will include footwear, eyewear, men's clothing, swimwear and denim.
"Fashion and music really tie in together, especially with the type of career I've had," says the woman who spawned the short-lived trend of wearing a necktie over a tank top.
"Fashion's a really big part of it, with all the photo shoots, the red carpet, being up on stage. Fashion really becomes part of who you are as a musician, and my fashion resonated with the fans, and a lot of them kinda emulated my style. As I got older, I started really loving fashion and appreciating fashion, and just wanted to make my own pieces. The inspiration comes from my personal style and what I'm going to wear up on stage."
Avril Lavigne moved her friends to tears by playing them tracks from her latest album Goodbye Lullaby.
The Complicated singer split from ex-husband Deryck Whibley in 2009 after three years of marriage, while she was working on material for her fourth album, which was released in March (11).
Lavigne admits the project represents "closing a chapter in life" - but even she was stunned by her pals' emotional reactions to her songs.
She tells The Ottawa Citizen, "Throughout this album, there are some real vulnerable moments, where I didn't hold back when it came to writing, just because I wanted it to be real, I wanted it to move somebody.
"Some of the songs I didn't want to put on the record, and my girlfriends made me. They were their favourites. When I played these songs for my friends and family, sometimes they would cry. I've never really had that for my songs before.
"Goodbye Lullaby really just represents closing a chapter in life and opening a new one. Personal growth, moving forward. It's really just about growth and changes, in regards to different emotions we all have in life. Becoming older. The whole message is bittersweet; it's positive. It's about getting through what you have to get through."
Lavigne has since moved on with her life and she's now in a happier place, dating Kim Kardashian's stepbrother Brody Jenner.
The softer side of Avril Lavigne
Vulnerability is new territory for Avril Lavigne, who's normally seen as a feisty pop-punk princess, too cool to let any boy break her heart.
But on her recent single, "Wish You Were Here," the Canadian singer is full of regret and longing for the guy (ex-husband?) who's no longer around, letting it all hang out in a stark acoustic ballad. Although a far cry from the boy-bashing romp of the album's first single, "What the Hell," the new song is a fairly accurate representation of the general songwriting vibe on this year's album, Goodbye Lullaby.
"Throughout this album, there are some real vulnerable moments, where I didn't hold back when it came to writing, just because I wanted it to be real, I wanted it to move somebody," Lavigne said in a recent interview, admitting she had some initial trepidation about baring so much of her soul.
"Some of the songs I didn't want to put on the record, and my girlfriends made me," explains the singer, raised in Napanee, Ont., who was discovered when she was a teenager. "They were their favourites. When I played these songs for my friends and family, sometimes they would cry. I've never really had that for my songs before."
Goodbye Lullaby is Lavigne's fourth studio album over the last 10 years, and the first since her divorce from Sum 41 rocker Deryck Whibley. Although she won't say the album was directly inspired by the demise of her three-year marriage, fans know she rarely strays from her personal life in her songwriting.
"Goodbye Lullaby really just represents closing a chapter in life and opening a new one. Personal growth, moving forward," Lavigne says, neatly evading the breakup details. "It's really just about growth and changes, in regards to different emotions we all have in life. Becoming older. The whole message is bittersweet; it's positive. It's about getting through what you have to get through."
Getting older, going through a divorce and realizing she's been in the music business for a decade all motivated Lavigne, now 27, to take a different approach. She even tried her hand at producing a couple of the album tracks.
"I didn't want to make exactly the same record. There's a side of me, I like to have fun with my music and rock out, and a lot of the lyrics are lighter subjects," she says. "But I'm a woman now, I'm a singer, I'm a songwriter and I wanted to touch on that area a little more."
Still, fans will be happy to hear she plans to show both sides of her musical personality on this fall's tour across Canada, the final leg of a worldwide journey, the Black Star tour, that also included dates in Europe, South America and Asia. "The tour represents me in general as a musician," Lavigne says. "I play all my old songs, all the uptempo pop-rock stuff, but there's also more intimate, stripped-down moments in the show."
Lavigne is looking forward to spending a month on the road in Canada, reconnecting with family, friends and fans, and enjoying weather that's a few degrees cooler than Los Angeles, where she now makes her home. After the tour, she plans to turn her attention to her fashion line, Abbey Dawn, in preparation for a big 2012 launch. The spring line will include footwear, eyewear, men's clothing, swimwear and denim.
"Fashion and music really tie in together, especially with the type of career I've had," says the woman who spawned the short-lived trend of wearing a necktie over a tank top.
"Fashion's a really big part of it, with all the photo shoots, the red carpet, being up on stage. Fashion really becomes part of who you are as a musician, and my fashion resonated with the fans, and a lot of them kinda emulated my style. As I got older, I started really loving fashion and appreciating fashion, and just wanted to make my own pieces. The inspiration comes from my personal style and what I'm going to wear up on stage."