Sitting cross-legged on the floor, slouched3 over a plate of Chinese food, Avril Lavigne looks like the little girl that she is. She is wearing a white tank top,4 an oversize men's tie, a pair of baggy5 Dixies, and as she puts it, “shit on my wrists”-studded6 wrist cuffs and black rubber bracelets stacked7 in messy piles. In the four months since the release of her debut8 disc, Let Go, the eighteen-year-old has sold 3 million albums and won MTV's Best New Artist award. She is, you could say, superfamous. So, why is she so freaked out9? “There's me, Avril Lavigne, this girl who likes to be herself, write her own music,” she says. “So many people are like, 'Oh, she's cool. She's just herself, wears different clothes' and whatever. And then there's all these other people who are like, 'Oh, my God, she's just a product of the record company.' This is all new to me, and I don't know how to deal with it. Lately I've been thinking about this kind of stuff a lot.”
Anything but ordinary． That＇s one way to describe Avril．
What＇s Her Deal10:
Avril has become an MTV staple11. The singer-songwriter has been credited with12 the revival13 of pop punk and is known for speaking her mind. She's gone off14 in interviews on everyone from Britney Spears to O-Town. Never will you catch this rebel biting her tongue15. Avril prides herself on being real.
A Star Is Born:
Avril was born in Napanee, Ontario, in 1985. His hometown has only 5000 residents so you can be sure that Avril really stood out in that small town. The 18-year-old girl claims she was “born musical.” When she was only two years old, her mom Judy believed that she would be a singer, referrring to her as "my little songbird." When Avril started performing regularly in church and landed her first solo16 at 10, Judy knew her daughter would one day be a superstar. Eventually, the rowdy rocker caught the eye and ear of Arista's head L.A. Reid.
Attitude Adjustment:
Sometimes, Avril's “tell it like it is” straight-forwardness can be perceived as bitter sarcasm, but here's the bottom line: “I just don't like letting people push me around or tell me how to dress, how to act or what to think,” she says. “When I open my mouth, what comes out is what I feel.”
Anger Management:
“If there's something that's bugging17 me, it just comes out in my music automatically. It's not something I can control. It just comes out. If I'm upset, I'll just go to my guitar and start writing about it. I'll feel better after because I got it out of me.”
Let the Music Go:
Many of the songs on her first album reflect her unique18 sentiment19. “Anything But Ordinary” is all about being yourself and being proud, while “Complicated” is a rocking song that leaves all other pop songs in the dust. All of Avril's songs are set apart from other pop singer's because they are backed by Avril's rocking guitar riffs.20
Quote:
“I'm just coming out and I'm going to clearly be myself—I write what I feel, and I never worry what others think. I'm gonna21 dress what's me, I'm gonna act what's me and I'm gonna sing what's me.”
盘着腿坐在地板上，懒洋洋地俯视着一盘中国菜，艾薇尔看上去就是一个名副其实的小女生。她穿着一件紧身短背心，系一条超大号的男式领带，着一双宽松的迪西牌旅游鞋，还有，手腕上戴着镶满袖扣的东西和黑色橡胶手镯，乱七八糟一大堆。她自己称之为“手腕上的狗屁玩意儿”。自她的首张个人大碟“Let Go”发行4个月以来，这个18岁的少女已销售专辑300万张，还获得了MTV最佳新人大奖。你当然会说，她已经大红大紫了。那么，为什么她这么不同寻常呢？“我——艾薇尔，就是这样的女孩子，喜欢表现自我，喜欢写自己的音乐。”她说道，“有不少的人总是这样说，‘噢，她好酷啊，她就是她，穿的衣服还有别的什么总是与众不同。还有些人总是这样说，‘噢，天哪！她是唱片公司一手打造出来的。’这还真是我头一遭听说，我不知道怎么样去应对。最近一段时间，我一直在想这些鬼事情。”
“与众不同”，大家都用这样的词语来描述艾薇尔。
告诉你一个真实的她
艾薇尔已成为MTV节目的老主顾了。这个创作型歌手被公认为流行朋克的“复活”，且以敢怒敢言著称。她在作访谈时数落过不少的人，从布兰妮到奥城男孩都“难逃其咎”。你绝对不可能碰上这个“叛逆者”说话有打哽的时候。艾薇尔为自己的率直真我而自豪！
明星自有天相
艾薇尔于1985年出生于加拿大安大略省的纳帕里镇，她的家乡只有5000个人，所以她能在那个小镇脱颖而出也是自然的事了。这个18岁的少女自称天生是做音乐的料。她两岁时，她妈妈朱蒂就断定她会成为歌星，称之为“我的小歌女”。自打艾薇尔开始在教堂经常表演、10岁首次登台独唱起，朱蒂就清楚自己的女儿有朝一日会成为超级巨星。终于，这个闹哄哄的摇滚手吸引住了ARISTA唱片公司老板L.A.雷德的眼球、打动了他的耳膜。
心中自有一杆秤
有时，艾薇尔那种率直、敢说真话容易被理解为冷嘲热讽，不过，她自有一套基本原则：“我只是不喜欢别人对我颐指气使，对我的穿着、我的行为、我的思想指手划脚。”她说，“我一张嘴，蹦出来的都是我的真情实感。”
何以泄火？惟有音乐
“如果有什么东西把我惹火了，我的音乐中自会真情流露。这些东西我是控制不住的，是自然流露出来的。如果我心烦了，我就会把吉他找来，开始写歌了。不久以后我觉得舒服多了，因为我把它表达出来了。”
放飞音乐
她的首张专辑中的许多歌曲是她个人独特情感的真实写照。“与众不同”就是讲要有个性，要以此为豪；“复杂”是首摇滚歌曲，这首歌令其他的通俗歌曲望尘莫及！艾薇尔所有的歌都与其他流行歌手的音乐截然不同，因为她的歌都有自己的摇滚吉他乐段作支撑。
直接引语
“我正在破茧而出，我只想保持真我——我怎么想就怎么写，别人怎么想，那是别人的事。我只穿自己的衣服，做自己想做的事，唱自己想唱的歌！”
1. punk n． 朋克摇摆乐
2． chart n． (pl)流行音乐排行榜
3． slouch v． 懒散
4． tank top紧身短背心
5． baggy adj． 松弛下垂的
6． stud v． 用饰纽装饰
7． stack v． 堆，叠
8． debut n． 初次登场，开张
9． freaked out 行为怪异的
10． deal n．（口）情况，局面
11． staple n． 主题
12． credit with 相信（认为）
13． revival n． 苏醒，复兴，复活
14． go off 不再喜欢，对……不再感兴趣
15． bite one＇s tongue 强忍住不说
16． solo n． (音)独奏(唱)
17． bug v． 打扰
18． unique adj． 惟一的， 独特的
19． sentiment n． 情感， 情绪
20． riff [rif] n． 即兴演奏中不断重复的句子
21． gonna （口语）即将