Avril Lavigne might be virtually unknown in the UK but don't count on this anonymity lasting much longer.
In the US she's the undisputed No.1 teenage sensation and hot property. Just prior to her UK live debut in front of a few hundred people in a north London pub, dotmusic went to find out what all the fuss has been about.
She's already been featured in one UK tabloid as part of the new Alanis Morissette brigade but that doesn't tell the whole story. While they share some obvious traits (confessional lyrics, anti-male anthems, killer choruses), her guitar pop style has a distinct rough rockier edge than Alanis.
Her magic is clearly working as the 17 year old Canadian has seen her debut album 'Let Go' already spend 12 weeks in the US album chart Top 10 selling in excess of a million copies. This week registering it's highest position at No.3!
Avril returns to the UK to perform at the Mean Fiddler on September 13 but until then check out our interview with Ms Lavigne below where she talks about starting out, record company pressure and her first impressions of the UK.
On the UK:
"It's my first time in the UK, here in London. It's very different from where I'm from. If I fall asleep and wake up I'm like (screaming) we're on the wrong side of the road and freak out. It's cool here. You have good fish and chips."
On MTV saying she was 'born to rock':
"I was born to rock, I was born to roll. Rock n'roll. I see myself as a rock chick and when they refer to me as a pop chick I'm like 'NOOOOO!!!'"
On music as a career:
"Ever since I was really young I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I was determined to get this and have been performing all my life. I started making a name for myself and the right people started to hear about me. Some guys in New York heard about me, came to check me out and they just flipped out."
On starting out:
"I started writing when I was 12. I started teaching myself guitar and what inspires me to write is what I've been through - the relationships I've been in and my opinions. My lyrics are real and honest and I think that's why fans relate to me cos I'm not sat there trying to make a song that has all these rhymes and funky words, I just slurge all my feelings out on to paper and people can relate to that, I think. That allows me to have a better relationship with fans."
On comparisons with Alanis Morissette:
"I don't think I get compared to her because I'm honest because there are so many other bands out there that are honest but I think I get compared to her just cos she's Canadian and she's not some pop chick, she's a rocker and I'm not a pop chick and I'm a rocker. Once someone said I was like her because I had long hair and I was like 'OK!'. We both don't give a "whatever" about people think about us."
On what she listens to:
"Today I was just listening to Blink 182 and I like Sum 41, System Of A Down. I like my rock music."
On 'Let Go':
"'Let Go' is my first album and I wrote on every song. It took me about a year to finish cos it was hard at the beginning to find people who I wanted to work with - writers, producers - people who understood me and what sound I really want to go with. And also showing and proving to the label that I could write cos at the beginning they pitched me songs and wanted me to sing other people's songs and I had to fight to say 'no I can write my own'. I was only 16 at the time and they probably thought I was crazy but LA Reid, the president of Arista, gave me a chance. It was a long process and hopefully the second album won't take that long."
'Let Go' is out now and the first single 'Complicated' is out on Sept 23.
