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Musical style and songwriting

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Themes in Lavigne's music are usually self-empowerment messages from a female or adolescent point of view.[2] Lavigne has stated "my songs are about being yourself no matter what and going after your dreams even if your dreams are crazy and even if people tell you they're never going to come true."[1] On her debut album, Let Go, Lavigne prefered the less-mainstream songs, such as "Losing Grip", instead of her more radio-friendly singles, such as "Complicated", stating "the songs I did with The Matrix, yeah, they were good for my first record, but I don't want to be that pop anymore."[3] Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, had more personal themes, with Lavigne stating "I've gone through so much, so that's what I talk about....Like boys, like dating or relationships".[4] In contrast, her third album, The Best Damn Thing, was not very personal to her, "Some of the songs I wrote didn't even mean that much to me. It's not like some personal thing I'm going through. They're just songs."[5] Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne's fourth album, is expected to be much more personal than her earlier records,[6] with her describing it as "mellow" and "deep".[7]

Lavigne has an alto vocal range.[2] Growing up Lavigne listened to Blink-182, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty and Shania Twain.[3] Her influences include Courtney Love and Janis Joplin.[4] Due to Lavigne’s influences, musical genre and personal style, the media frequently referred to Lavigne as a punk, something she denied. Lavigne’s close friend and guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld, stated "Its a very touchy subject to a lot of people, but the point is that Avril isn't punk, but she never really pretended to claim to come from that scene. She had pop punk music and the media ended up doing the rest". [8] Lavigne stated "I have been labeled like I'm this angry girl, [a] rebel... punk, and I am so not any of them."[9]

While Lavigne denied being angry, her interviews were still passionate about the media's lack of respect for her songwriting. "I am a writer, and I won't accept people trying to take that away from me", adding that she'd been writing "full-structured songs" since she was 14.[9] Despite this, Lavigne’s songwriting has been questioned throughout her career; The songwriting trio, The Matrix, who Lavigne wrote with for her debut album, stated that they were the main songwriters of Lavigne’s singles "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You". Lavigne denied this, implying she was the primary songwriter for every song on the album, stating "none of those songs aren't from me".[3] In 2007, Chantal Kreviazuk, who wrote with Lavigne on her second album, accused Lavigne of plagiarism[10] and criticised her songwriting, "I mean, Avril, songwriter? Avril doesn't really sit and write songs by herself or anything".[11] Lavigne denied this and stated that she was considering taking legal action due to a "clear defamation of my character".[11] Kreviazuk then apologised, stating "Avril is an accomplished songwriter and it has been my privilege to work with her".[10] Shortly after Kreviazuk apologised, Tommy Dunbar, the founder of the 1970s band the Rubinoos, sued Lavigne, her publishing company and Lukasz "Dr.Luke" Gottwald for allegedly stealing parts of her song "Girlfriend" from the Rubinoos’ "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend".[12] Gottwald defended Lavigne, stating "me and Avril wrote the song together….It has the same chord progressions as 10 different Blink-182 songs, the standard changes you'd find in a Sum 41 song. It's the Sex Pistols, not the Rubinoos."[11] In January 2008, the lawsuit was closed after a confidential settlement had been reached.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Flynn, Gaynor. "Avril Lavigne Over the Hedge Interview". Girl.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b Kot, Greg (13 November 2004). "Avril Lavigne blossoming". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Eliscu, Jenny (7 March 2003). "Smells like teen spirit". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b Soghomonian, Talia (September 2004). "Interview: Avril Lavigne". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  5. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (28 February 2007). "Don't Know How To Spell 'Avril Lavigne'? Prepare To Be Scolded". MTV. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  6. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (24 July 2009). "Avril Lavigne in the studio: An EW exclusive!". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  7. ^ Montgomery, James (22 November 2010). "Avril Lavigne Says Her New Album 'Is A Departure'". MTV.com. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ "Evan Taubenfeld: 'Avril Isn't Punk'". Ultimate Guitar Archive. 2 July 2004. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ a b Moody, Nekesa Mumbi (1 June 2004). "Lavigne's Not Really Angry: The shy Canadian singer shuns the rebel, punk labeling that many people have given her". The Ledger. Florida. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Avril Lavigne: songwriter retracts songwriting claims". NME. 11 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  11. ^ a b c ""Girlfriend" Power for Avril, Chantal". E!. Yahoo! Music. 11 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  12. ^ "Seventies Band Sues Lavigne Over 'Girlfriend'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Avril Lavigne Settles With Rubinoos Over Copyright Lawsuit". ChartAttack.com. 10 January 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
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