AvrilLavigne

Anything but ordinary. That's putting it mildly when describing Avril Lavigne. A skater-punk, a dynamic spirit, a true wild child. One of those rare creatures who started wowing people with her voice and character at around age 2. A small-town kid who couldn't sit still in class but had the confidence and determination to take off, virtually on her own, to hone her songwriting skills in New York City and Los Angeles.

Apparently, Avril was born for such insanity. A middle child who "always wanted to be the center of attention," she was bound to bust out of Napanee, Ontario, population 5,000. "I always knew this was what I had to do," she says. "I remember when I was really young, standing on my bed like it was a stage, singing at the top of my lungs and visualizing thousands of people surrounding me." She segued from her bedroom to singing, well, whenever and wherever she could-starting in church singing gospel music, and on to festivals, then singing country music at fairs and talent contests until she was discovered by Arista Records.

On a writing trip to NYC, Avril caught the attention of Antonio "LA" Reid, who snapped her up and signed her to Arista. At 16, she moved to Manhattan and began work on her debut CD. Avril plunged into the creative process. "I love writing," she explains. "When I get upset and really need to get it out of me I go to my guitar. Sometimes I feel like my guitar is my therapist."

Her most current album (her 3rd) is titled "Best Damn Thing," and that also happens to be the name of her current tour. Her previous album, released in 2004, sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. Her song "Keep Holding On" was featured in the Fox Film "Eragon." Also adding to her list of accomplishments is the fact that her first album "Let Go," which was released in 2002, when she was only 17, got 8 Grammy nominations and 4 Juno Awards. She is originally from Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Some of her other hits include "Sk8er Boi," "Complicated," "Girlfriend," and "My Happy Ending."