Yungblud released his self-titled third studio album last month. The chart-topping project was previewed by the singles ‘Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today’, ‘Tissues’ and ‘The Funeral’, and was described by NME as Yungblud’s “most confident, cohesive album yet” in a four-star review.
Last week, Yungblud shared the official trailer for his upcoming short film Mars. The film is based on the Doncaster artist’s 2020 track of the same name, which appears on his second studio album ‘Weird!’.
Set in the north of England, the project is described as “a frank and funny short film of teenage self-discovery”, and stars Heartstopper‘s Yasmin Finney as lead character Charlie Acaster.
Elsewhere, Lavigne was joined by All Time Low for a cover of Blink-182‘s ‘All The Small Things’ at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas on October 23.
The singer teamed up with frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat towards the end of her set for a raucous rendition of the classic track.
Yungblud released his self-titled third studio album last month. The chart-topping project was previewed by the singles ‘Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today’, ‘Tissues’ and ‘The Funeral’, and was described by NME as Yungblud’s “most confident, cohesive album yet” in a four-star review.
Last week, Yungblud shared the official trailer for his upcoming short film Mars. The film is based on the Doncaster artist’s 2020 track of the same name, which appears on his second studio album ‘Weird!’.
Set in the north of England, the project is described as “a frank and funny short film of teenage self-discovery”, and stars Heartstopper‘s Yasmin Finney as lead character Charlie Acaster.
Elsewhere, Lavigne was joined by All Time Low for a cover of Blink-182‘s ‘All The Small Things’ at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas on October 23.
The singer teamed up with frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat towards the end of her set for a raucous rendition of the classic track.
Watch Avril Lavigne and All Time Low cover Blink-182’s ‘All The Small Things’
Avril Lavigne was joined by All Time Low for a cover of Blink-182‘s ‘All The Small Things’ at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas last night (October 23).
The singer teamed up with frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat towards the end of her set for a raucous rendition of the classic track. You can view footage below.
Lavigne’s set also saw her perform a host of her famous hits including ‘Complicated’ and ‘Sk8er Boi’
It came after the original Blink-182 line-up with Tom DeLonge, recently announced that they will headline the Las Vegas bash next year along with Green Day.
Not @AvrilLavigne and @AllTimeLow doing All The Small Things at #WWWY — this crowd will be INSANE for @blink182 next year. pic.twitter.com/fjCa7cYUl9
— Brian Particelli (@BrianParticelli) October 24, 2022
The 2022 festival, described as “an epic line-up of emo and rock bands from the past two decades”, was announced earlier this year with My Chemical Romance and Paramore topping the bill.
It got off to a difficult start over the weekend after the first day was cancelled due to weather warnings and resulting safety fears.
But day two of the bash went ahead without a hitch with both Paramore and My Chemical Romance performing triumphant sets.
The former gave 2009 track ‘All I Wanted’ its live debut as well as performing ‘Here We Go Again’ from their 2005 debut ‘All I Know Is Falling’ and ‘Paramore’ track ‘Last Hope’, both for the first time in four years.
MCR meanwhile, wore ‘old’ style make-up at the festival in an apparent nod to their legacy as emo elders.
When We Were Young Festival continues next weekend, with Paramore, My Chemical Romance and more set to return on October 29. The festival will then return to Las Vegas next October 21, with its 2023 bill headlined by Blink-182 and Green Day alongside 30 Seconds To Mars, The Offspring, Good Charlotte, Rise Against.
Avril Lavigne releases ‘Let Go’ deluxe edition, shares new version of ‘Breakaway’
Avril Lavigne has released a deluxe edition of her debut album ‘Let Go’ to mark its 20th anniversary, including a new version of ‘Breakaway’.
‘Breakaway’ was originally written by Lavigne for the record, but she ended up passing it along to Kelly Clarkson, whose 2004 version became a hit.
Lavigne’s newly recorded rendition sees the singer return to her pop-punk roots, capturing the angsty teenage emotion of feeling out of place and wanting something bigger in life.
- READ MORE: Avril Lavigne – ‘Love Sux’ review: a modern update on early ’00s pop-punk
It arrived alongside an accompanying video, with scrapbook-style images, animations and song lyrics scrawled across the screen. Clips from Lavigne’s ‘Let Go’ era also feature, including snippets from the ‘Losing Grip’ music video. Check it out below.
In addition to the new version of ‘Breakaway’, Lavigne’s 20th-anniversary edition of ‘Let Go’ features five B-sides and other rare material. These include ‘Falling Down’ and ‘I Don’t Give’ — from the Sweet Home Alabama and American Wedding soundtracks, respectively — ‘Why’, ‘Get Over It’ and ‘Make Up’, with the latter two unavailable on streaming services until now.
A special edition double-LP vinyl of ‘Let Go’ is also set for release. It’s available for pre-order now and is set to arrive on January 27 next year.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Lavigne reflected on breaking into the industry and carving out space for her own sound, saying: “I was getting out of high school and I just wanted to rock out.”
“I was very clear on what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do. I wanted to be angsty and to sound more like a band; I didn’t want to be all bubblegum pop. I wanted to turn my emotions into lyrics. I was honestly just very, very pure.”
Tracks from Lavigne’s ‘Let Go’ have maintained longevity in the music world, and she joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage to perform ‘Complicated’ in April. Elsewhere, K-pop idol Hueningkai of Tomorrow X Together (TXT) recently covered ‘Sk8er Boi’, with Lavigne calling it “amazing”.
Her latest LP ‘Luv Sux’ arrived in February, marking the singer’s seventh studio album. Speaking about the record in a three-star review, NME‘s Ali Shutler wrote: “‘Love Sux’ is a progressive pop-punk album that eschews the old rules – but not at the expense of maximalist, joyful guitar anthems.”
Avril Lavigne reflects on early career: “I didn’t want to be all bubblegum pop”
Avril Lavigne has reflected on her early career in a new interview and has spoken of the challenges of going against the pop norms of the day.
- READ MORE: Avril Lavigne – ‘Love Sux’ review: a modern update on early ’00s pop-punk
Speaking to The Guardian, Lavigne discussed being a grungy, alternative musician in an early noughties landscape where “bubblegum pop” dominated.
“I was getting out of high school and I just wanted to rock out,” Lavigne told the publication. “I want loud guitars, I want live drums … I want to write about the crazy stuff, the insane emotions, the good and the bad.”
“I was very clear on what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do. I wanted to be angsty and to sound more like a band; I didn’t want to be all bubblegum pop. I wanted to turn my emotions into lyrics. I was honestly just very, very pure.”
Lavigne additionally spoke about the challenges of doing this at the time, saying it was not easy to speak out as a young woman in the music industry. “They didn’t care what I had to say,” she said of industry bosses. “They had their own style and didn’t bother to look at me and try to let me lead.”
Lavigne is currently on tour in support of her Green Day-inspired seventh album, ‘Love Sux’, which landed back in February via DTA / Elektra.
In a three-star review of it, NME’s Ali Shutler wrote that “like Willow Smith’s ‘Lately I Feel Everything’ and everything Cleveland’s Kennyhoopla has put his name to, ‘Love Sux’ is a progressive pop-punk album that eschews the old rules – but not at the expense of maximalist, joyful guitar anthems.”
Recently, Lavigne joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage to perform her debut single ‘Complicated’, which the latter has been performing on every night of her ‘Sour’ world tour. It was also revealed last week that ‘Love Sux’ is doing impressively well on cassette, being the year’s third-highest selling release on the format thus far.
Later this year, Lavigne will release a 20th anniversary edition of her acclaimed debut album, 2002’s ‘Let Go’.
Tomorrow X Together’s Hueningkai opens up about Avril Lavigne’s response to his cover
Tomorrow X Together’s Hueningkai Kai has opened up about Avril Lavigne’s response to his cover of her song.
- READ MORE: Tomorrow X Together: “Our fans are always there by our side. That’s why they’re our heroes”
Back in February, Hueningkai covered Lavigne’s ‘Sk8er Boi’ song – something that attracted the attention of Lavigne herself. Hueningkai’s cover had come shortly after Lavigne responded to a tweet by Hueningkai, where he had referenced the Canadian singer’s early noughties hit song.
“Hope you like my cover!! You are an icon,” Hueningkai wrote to Lavigne on Twitter. She soon shared a link to the cover from the boyband’s official Twitter account, where she praised the cover as “amazing”.
Responding to that in this week’s NME Big Read, Hueningkai Kai said: “I’ve always liked ‘Sk8er Boi’ and, since our last release was influenced by rock music, I thought it was the perfect time to record and share my version of the song.
“I was really surprised by her positive feedback – I still feel honoured.”
??? https://t.co/SzdGwXUSzK
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) February 18, 2022
Elsewhere in their NME interview, TXT opened up about how the band work together.
The group’s Beomgyu explained: “We’ve bonded over the same dream of making music and performing in front of people since we were young boys, and we’ve realised this dream together.
“We’re constantly spending time together. We share the same experiences, which means we see a lot of big things in the same way now, even if we didn’t always before.
“And in situations where we don’t see eye-to-eye, we know how to navigate and find middle ground. Now, we’re still working towards realising even more dreams together, which strengthens our camaraderie even more.”
Earlier this year, the band won Hero Of The Year at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 in March, after receiving 40 per cent of the public vote.
Avril Lavigne puts Canadian shows on ice over positive COVID-19 case “within the tour”
Avril Lavigne has alerted fans that three of her upcoming gigs in Canada won’t go ahead as scheduled, after a member of her touring crew tested positive for COVID-19.
- READ MORE: Avril Lavigne – ‘Love Sux’ review: a modern update on early ’00s pop-punk
The affected dates include one at Place Bell in Laval – initially slated for tonight (May 2), but now set to go down on Saturday (May 7) – one at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, and one at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. Those last two gigs – which were booked in for tomorrow (May 3) and on Wednesday May 4, respectively – are yet to receive new dates, but in a statement posted on social media, Lavigne assured ticketholders that new details “will be announced shortly”.
At the time of writing, Lavigne’s show at the Centre Vidéotron in Quebec City is still scheduled to ahead on Friday (May 6). In her post, the artist explained that she put the first three of this week’s shows on ice because of “a positive COVID case within the tour and subsequent exposures”. She did not confirm who in her touring party caught the virus, nor whether herself or any of her bandmates were among those exposed to it.
“I/we sincerely apologize and want you to know that this was not a decision we made lightly,” Lavigne continued. “We remain focused on everyone’s safety and can’t wait to see you all very soon.”
pic.twitter.com/88obaWnt1y
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) May 1, 2022
Lavigne is currently on tour in support of her Green Day-inspired seventh album, ‘Love Sux’, which landed back in February via DTA / Elektra. In a three-star review of it, NME’s Ali Shutler wrote that “like Willow Smith’s ‘Lately I Feel Everything’ and everything Cleveland’s Kennyhoopla has put his name to, ‘Love Sux’ is a progressive pop-punk album that eschews the old rules – but not at the expense of maximalist, joyful guitar anthems.”
Last week, Lavigne joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage to perform her debut single ‘Complicated’, which the latter has been performing on every night of her ‘Sour’ world tour. It was also revealed last week that ‘Love Sux’ is doing impressively well on cassette, being the year’s third-highest selling release on the format thus far.
Later in the year, Lavigne will release a 20th anniversary edition of her acclaimed debut album, 2002’s ‘Let Go’.
Watch Avril Lavigne perform ‘Complicated’ with Olivia Rodrigo
Avril Lavigne joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage last night (April 29) to perform her debut single ‘Complicated’ – watch footage below
- READ MORE: Avril Lavigne – ‘Love Sux’ review: a modern update on early ’00s pop-punk
Rodrigo has been performing ‘Complicated’ at every night of her ‘Sour’ World Tour since it kicked off at the start of the month, alongside a cover of ‘Seether’ by Verruca Salt.
Last night in Toronto, she was joined onstage by Lavigne to perform the pop-punk classic. Rodrigo introduced the singer as someone “who broke down so many barriers, and opened so many doors for girls like me. I’m so, so, so lucky that she came here tonight to sing with me.”
After the performance, she said Lavigne was “so fucking cool.” Check out the footage below:
olivia rodrigo and avril lavinge performing ‘complicated’ together for the FIRST time EVER ? pic.twitter.com/jytPieYTr6
— best of olivia rodrigo (@hqrodrigo) April 30, 2022
olivia rodrigo and avril lavinge are the duo the world needs right now pic.twitter.com/Z7KJwBfcOI
— best of olivia rodrigo (@hqrodrigo) April 30, 2022
OLIVIA RODRIGO AND AVRIL LAVIGNE SINGING TOGETHER OMG THE COLLAPSE pic.twitter.com/7i8yGEYlfO
— sar loves camila (@bippitycabello) April 30, 2022
Olivia Rodrigo dedicated some words to her special guest Avril Lavigne pic.twitter.com/ZYSDWd1nYD
— AvrilsArchives SP (@AvrilArchivesSP) April 30, 2022
Olivia and Avril performing ‘complicated’ at the #SOURTourToronto (? livieshq) pic.twitter.com/cOjX3KzUug
— SOUR T♡UR PROM Updates ? (@oliviastour) April 30, 2022
Taking to Instagram after the show, Lavigne wrote: “Jumped up to sing ‘Complicated’ on stage with Olivia Rodrigo in Toronto tonight. It was very sweet to perform with you tonight on your SOUR tour!! Have an incredible tour gurl. Keep killing it. Sending you so much love.”
View this post on InstagramLast year, Lavigne celebrated Rodrigo for helping to revive “rock-and-roll in the charts” and praised her for being “an honest voice” to young women
“I think it’s important for people like Olivia to give an honest voice to so many young women who are still discovering themselves,” Lavigne said. “Her songs are her truth, and you can really feel that. You can tell it’s real by the way all of her fans grab onto every single word she says.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s tour for ‘Sour’ continues across North America throughout May with Holly Humberstone opening every show. The tour then heads to the UK and Europe, where Rodrigo will be supported by Baby Queen.
Check out dates below:
MAY 2022
03 – Boston, Roadrunner!
04 – Washington DC, Anthem!
06 – Philadelphia, The Met!
07 – Philadelphia, The Met!
09 – Atlanta, Coca-Cola Roxy!
10 – Nashville, Grand Ole Opry House!
13 – Austin, Moody Amphitheater!
14 – Irving, Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory!
17 – Phoenix, Arizona Federal Theatre!
18 – San Diego, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park!
20 – Las Vegas, The Chelsea!
21 – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Bowl!
24 – Los Angeles, Greek Theatre!
25 – Los Angeles, Greek Theatre!JUNE 2022
11 – Hamburg, Stadtpark^
13 – Berlin, Verti Music Hall^
15 – Zurich, Halle 622^
16 – Milan, Fabrique^
18 – Cologne, Palladium^
19 – Brussels, Forest National^
21 – Paris, Zénith^
22 – Amsterdam, AFAS Live^
29 – Cork, Live At The Marquee^
30 – Dublin, Fairview Park^JULY 2022
02 – Glasgow, O2 Academy^
03 – Manchester, O2 Apollo^
04 – Birmingham, O2 Academy^
06 – London, Eventim Apollo^
07 – London, Eventim Apollo^! with Holly Humberstone
^ with Baby QueenCentral Cee, Machine Gun Kelly and Avril Lavigne among best-selling cassettes of 2022 so far
Central Cee, Machine Gun Kelly and Avril Lavigne have been named among the artists who have the best-selling cassettes of 2022 so far.
- READ MORE: Who the hell is buying cassettes today? NME investigates
The near-obsolete format has been enjoying a revival in recent years; last year sales of cassettes increased by 13 per cent to its highest total since 2003.
While it’s yet to be seen how well the format will perform in 2022 in comparison to previous years, the Official Charts Company has revealed the best-selling cassettes of the year so far.
AdvertisementCentral Cee boasts the best-selling cassette of 2022 so far with his second mixtape ’23’. The project, which topped the UK Album Chart back in March, has shifted the most first quarter cassettes, helped on by a now-sold-out, special edition yellow cassette, made available alongside its standard edition.
The second best-selling cassette of the year is Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Mainstream Sellout’, who managed to sell enough copies to make the chart in just one week of chart sales. Close behind MGK is Avril Lavigne with her seventh studio LP ‘Love Sux’.
The fourth biggest-selling cassette of the year is The Weeknd‘s ‘Dawn FM’, which is also the biggest new release album of 2022 so far overall.
Elsewhere on the list are Yard Act with their debut ‘The Overload’, plus albums by Don Broco, Charli XCX, Frank Turner and Years & Years.
You can see the full list below:
Advertisement1 ’23’ – Central Cee
2 ‘Mainstream Sellout’ – Machine Gun Kelly
3 ‘Love Sux’ – Avril Lavigne
4 ‘Dawn FM’ – The Weeknd
5 ‘The Overload’ – Yard Act
6 ‘Amazing Things’ – Don Broco
7 ‘Never Let Me Go’ – Placebo
8 ‘Give Me The Future’ – Bastille
9 ‘Night Call’ – Years & Years
10 ‘Fix Yourself Not The World’ – Wombats
11 ‘The Number Of The Beast’ – Iron Maiden
12 ‘Crash’ – Charli XCX
13 ‘FTHC’ – Frank Turner
14 ‘Who Cares’ – Rex Orange County
15 ‘Blue Banisters’ – Lana Del Rey
16 ‘The Gods We Can Touch’ – Aurora
17 ‘Homesick’ – Sea Girls
18 ‘World I Understand’ – Sherlocks
19 ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’ – Johnny Marr
20 ‘The Dream’ – Alt-J
21 ‘Who Do You Pray To’ – Sam Tompkins
22 ‘Now Or Whenever’ – Spector
23 ‘Pier Pressure’ – Arrdee
24 ‘The Boy Named If’ – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
25 ‘Greatest Hits’ – Queen
26 ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy – Awesome Mix 1’ Original Soundtrack
27 ‘Torpedo – Feeder
28 ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy – Awesome Mix 2’ Original Soundtrack
29 ‘Happy Place’ – Saint Phnx
30 ‘Impera’ – Ghost
31 ‘Music Of The Spheres’ – Coldplay
32 ‘Disrespectful’ – Bad Boy Chiller Crew
33 ‘Toy (Toy Box)’ – David Bowie
34 ‘Hits To The Head’ – Franz Ferdinand
35 ‘Change The Show’ – Miles Kane
36 ‘Are We Gonna Be Alright’ – Fickle Friends
37 ‘Small World’ – Metronomy
38 ‘Reeling’ – Mysterines
39 ‘Reason To Smile’ – Kojey Radical
40 ‘Better With You’ – Kawala
Meanwhile, Yard Act, Frank Turner and Tears For Fears have scored the biggest selling vinyl albums and singles so far in 2022 – check them out on NME here.
Avril Lavigne wants Kristen Stewart to play her in a biopic
Avril Lavigne has said she wants Kristen Stewart to play her in a biopic.
While on the red carpet at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards, the singer was asked about who she’d want to play her in a movie about her life.
- READ MORE: Avril Lavigne – ‘Love Sux’ review: a modern update on early ‘00s pop-punk
After a pause, Lavigne said: “Like Kristen Stewart would be cool to play me in a film. She’s dope.”
AdvertisementLavigne released her seventh studio album, ‘Love Sux’, last month, which features collaborations with Machine Gun Kelly, Blackbear and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182.
Avril Lavigne says she would like Kristen Stewart to play her in a potential biopicpic.twitter.com/i3hBxCXWCX
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 23, 2022
In NME’s three-star review, the album is described as a “progressive pop-punk album that eschews the old rules – but not at the expense of maximalist, joyful guitar themes.”
Stewart is going up against Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz in the race for Best Actress at the Oscars on Sunday (March 27). She’s nominated for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer.
In NME’s five-star review, it reads: “Spencer won’t please staunch royalists, but [director Pablo] Larrain and Stewart have succeeded in presenting a fresh and perhaps enlightening impression of one of the 20th century’s most dissected figures.
Advertisement“This Diana isn’t “England’s rose” or a “queen of hearts”, but a traumatised, cornered animal, desperately trying to claw her way out of a gilded cage.”
The actor’s next film is horror film Crimes Of The Future from director David Cronenberg, starring alongside Viggo Mortensen, Scott Speedman and Léa Seydoux.
Meet Me @ The Altar’s debut album is dedicated to Pink, Avril Lavigne and Demi Lovato
Meet Me @ The Altar vocalist Edith Johnson has said that the band’s upcoming debut album is dedicated to Pink, Avril Lavigne and Demi Lovato.
- READ MORE: Meet Me @ The Altar: Energetic trio putting the positivity back into pop-punk
Taking to Twitter, the singer wrote that the group are bringing back “2000’s radio rock” with the record.
“I cannot wait to share this album with you. We are bringing back radio rock. Rock tf on,” she wrote. “Demi, Avril, & P!nk this is for u. Bring 2000’s radio rock BACK! It’s that good rockin’ shit. Don’t worry, MM@TA is on it.”
i cannot wait to share this album with you. we are bringing back radio rock. rock tf on. demi, avril, & p!nk this is for u. bring 2000’s radio rock BACK! it’s that GOOD rockin shit. don’t worry, MM@TA is on it ???
— edith – victoria ? (@_edithvictoria_) March 10, 2022
AdvertisementIn January, the band confirmed that their untitled debut album would be released in 2022, though release details are still unknown.
Yesterday (March 11) Meet Me @ The Altar released an acoustic reworking of 2021’s ‘Model Citizen’ EP.
Sharing the record on Twitter, the band wrote “We wanted to give ‘Model Citizen’ a new life and hopefully it comes across in these tracks. Hope you enjoy”. Check it out below.
‘Model Citizen’ was originally released in August 2021. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “The pop-punk revival so far may have platformed big-budget solo artists – including Willow, Machine Gun Kelly, and Olivia Rodrigo – but with ‘Model Citizen’, Meet Me @ The Altar prove there is still nothing quite like rocking out with your best mates, and confronted with the burden that they are what so many needed as younger fans, the weight on their shoulders could have been too heavy to bare.”
AdvertisementMeet Me @ The Altar were due to tour the UK this May in support of State Champs but have had to drop off that run of shows due to “scheduling conflicts”. The band will still be playing Slam Dunk and Download Festival though.
Meet Me @ The Altar will also be appearing at When We Were Young Festival in October alongside My Chemical Romance and Paramore. Bring Me The Horizon, Bright Eyes and Wolf Alice will also be playing at the Las Vegas bash.
Avril Lavigne Spanned The Worlds Of Pop And Rock, Just Like The Artist Herself
By Aliya Chaudhry
An eponymous album marks a major moment in an artist's career. For women, owning one's work, body, and artistry can be especially powerful, even political. Throughout Women's History Month, MTV News is highlighting some of these iconic statements from some of the biggest artists on the globe. This is Self-Titled.
“Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs,” Avril Lavigne belts at the start of "Here's to Never Growing Up," the lead single off her self-titled album, expressing both her love of the band and her devotion to rock music. The Radiohead song in question, Lavigne revealed to Billboard in 2013, was “Creep.” Later in the same track, she sings, “We live like rock stars / Dance on every bar / This is who we are / I don't think we'll ever change” — a promise to stay young, but also to keep true to Lavigne’s alternative roots. Ironically, it’s a pop song, accentuated by acoustic guitar strumming and bright percussion, but the evidence shows Lavigne can be both a pop artist and a rock star. Her eponymous album takes that stance proudly.
Lavigne makes her case on album opener “Rock N Roll,” a love letter to the genre. An energetic pop-rock stomp reminiscent of her early material, it boasts a crunchy electric guitar solo and a chorus beat calling back to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” The lines “Don't care about a reputation / Must be living in the wrong generation” reference Joan Jett, and Lavigne’s cover of “Bad Reputation” appeared on the extended editions of this album and 2011’s Goodbye Lullaby. The music video for “Rock N Roll” shows Lavigne playing her guitar solo in front of a church in the desert, the same way Slash did in the music video for Guns N’ Roses’s “November Rain.” These nods place the singer in the lineage of classic rock, which bolsters the collection’s argument that her peers aren’t solely the pop stars of the 2010s or the pop-punk bands of the 2000s, but the stadium rockers of previous generations, and that her influence may very well stretch for decades to come. Spoiler alert: It definitely did.
Released in November 2013, 11 years after her debut and 9 years before her most recent album Love Sux, Avril Lavigne arrived at the midpoint of her now 20-year career. It took the artist’s name, since Lavigne felt it was so varied that there was no unifying theme or style to tie it together. “The record is so diverse and it’s all over the map stylistically and lyrically,” she told Rolling Stone around the time of the drop. “I couldn’t really find something to really sum it up. It just felt right with it being a decade and my fifth record. I think it was just time for a self-titled record.”
