Hello and welcome to Music Map, I am Zhong Qiu and standing in for Damin.

This week we've been covering some neo-pop punk bands, and I think we'll carry on doing that.

So, today's featured artist is Avril Lavigne, and what you've just heard was her hit single "Girlfriend".

Avril was born in Belleville, Canada, where she first showed off her talents belting out tunes as part of her local church choir. When she was 14, she won a competition to sing backup on stage for fellow Canadian and country-pop star Shania Twain. She was then spotted by folk singer Steve Medd and asked to sing backup vocals for his studio albums. And thus Avril's profile in the professional music industry began to rise.

2000年的时候,艾薇儿和一家叫做Arista Records的唱片公司签了歌手合约,但她在公司接到的已经为她写好的歌曲都难以让她满意,于是她执意自己创作她第一张专辑里的歌曲.在2002年的时候她的第一张专辑"LET GO" 发行了,众多的以我们现在听到的"complicated"为首的单曲在专辑上市后便风靡了全球的流行音乐市场.那张大卖的专辑同时也让年仅17岁的艾薇儿成为了历史上最年轻的达到英国流行音乐排行版第一的歌手.

After that, Avril released her second and third albums in 2004 and 2007, receiving positive reviews from mainstream media, but her debut album "let go" is still considered her most legendary work. It had sold over 400 thousand copies within its first week of release in the US and sold nearly 12 million copies world wide. The album made her the youngest but also the best selling female artist in 2002.

Music – Happy Ending

但是艾薇儿不仅仅把自己局限在一个流行歌手的位置上,她在2006年还进入演艺界,先是出现在Richard Linklater的电影"Fast Food Nation"中,后又为梦工厂的动画片"Over the Hedge"配音.除此之外,她着装打扮的方式也随着她的名誉成为流行的时尚.2003年之前,她着装上的标志一直是不断变换的领带,当时她随身带的包里往往装着至少30条领带.

But her "image-focused" behavior has been criticised by media as "trying to cover up her unsatisfying music" and "leading her blindfolded fans to march in a single fashion". She stopped wearing ties in protest of these comments.

In 2006, she married her boyfriend Deryck Whibley, also a musician, who's part of punk band "Sum 41". But only three years later, the couple filed for divorce, Avril says they entered into marriage far too early, and she is still at the age when private space is a necessity.
Music – don't tell me.

And that's Avril Lavigne, a singer with an attitude. She could give the impression of being cool and sexy on stage, but be provoked into a fight at a pub. She would get a tattoo of a boy she loves and marry him, but jump right back out of marriage if she's decides she's not happy. And maybe that's why the public loves her, not just for her music but for her take-no-prisoners personality.

I am Zhong Qiu, from Music Map.