Avril would often sing in front of her mirror, using her hairbrush as a microphone and pretend to be singing in front of a large crowd. Outside the home, she sang in the church choir until she was 10 years old. Then she began to sing in country music regional competitions. Also, she taught herself how to play the guitar when she was 12. At the age of 16, she dropped out of high school and went with her older brother to New York. Things didn’t work out as Avril Lavigne had hoped they would in Manhattan. She wanted to be an “artist” involved in the songwriting process. She also wanted to be herself. She wasn’t interested in an image makeover.
Make up and high heels were never part of Avril’s personality and she certainly didn’t want them to become part of her image. “I’m gonna dress what’s me, I’m gonna act what’s me and I’m gonna sing what’s me.” Avril’s personality and image has been described as high energy, self-assured “celebrating her tomboy skater-punk individuality and her love for rock music”.
This clearly comes across in her music. Her first single Complicated, along with several other songs on the album deal with the issue of honesty, being true to yourself and not acting like someone that you’re not.
Avril admits to being a tomboy. “I was always a tomboy and I guess I still am. I played hockey during the fall/winter and baseball in the summer. I loved playing with the boys.” Of course, anyone who has heard of