artist:  Avril Lavigne

songwriters:  Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards)

date released:  2002 by Avril Lavigne

Born to Franco-Ontarian parents in Belleville, Ontario, in 1984, Avril Lavigne developed her musical talent and entered Canada's New Guard of singer-songwriters, fashion designers and actors.  Lavigne's mother was the first to spot talent in her young daughter and arranged to have two-year-old  Avril sing songs with her in the local Catholic church.  The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Avril was five years old.

In 1998, Lavigne won a competition that enabled her to sing alongside country star, Shania Twain, in her first major concert in Ottawa.  In a serendipitous moment, she was discovered by a professional agent while he was performing in a Chapters Bookstore. It was onward and upwards for Avril.

"Complicated" went right up to the Number Two position in the U.S. music charts.  "Sk8terboy: and "I'm With You" followed soon after to continue her early success.   

Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.  She won four Juno Awards in 2003 and was nominated eight times for Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Song of the Year for Complicated.

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