New Interview -- Not so Complicated

李奧

Not so complicated

Pop sensation Avril Lavigne talks about her latest album Goodbye Lullaby

Kevin Lobo
Posted On Monday, March 21, 2011 at 03:19:59 AM


At the age of 27, Avril Lavigne has already been in the music business for a decade. And unlike most pop stars that have the shelf life of milk left out in the summer, Lavigne has been consistent with her record sales.



Her last album, The Best Damn Thing topped the UK charts (which made it three in a row). Her latest release Goodbye Lullaby has not yet replicated her earlier albums success.

But Lavigne has hardly anything to worry about. The Girlfriend and Sk8erboy hit singer has secured her future with her own clothing line. She talks to Mumbai Mirror about Goodbye Lullaby and the qualities that make her unique in the crowded world of pop.

► Your last release was three years ago. Why did Goodbye Lullaby take so long?

I don’t feel like I was away. I spent two years on the road with my last album. Most people don’t go out for that long. I’ve started the Avril Lavigne foundation and my clothing line and of course have been working on this new record.

►You’ve consistently had radio and chart hits yet you haven’t been swayed with the current house beats trend that has swept pop music. Isn’t that risky?

I had a different approach. I don’t really care if my songs are on the radio. They are for me. Obviously I want to be on the radio. I thought I should be true to the song. Not think about ‘okay it needs to have this like this pop hook and this big huge pop chorus or this kind of drumbeat’. You know, I was going for a raw and real feel.

We are in a very rhythmic time in music. There is a lot of urban and rap and stuff on the radio and the charts. Me, kind of coming with this album, not really being so much in this world; my record company were kind of like ummmm. They wanted me to do something like what’s playing on the radio. But like I am a musician and an artist and I have to believe in what I do.

►You are one few remaining pop artistes who are still writing their own tracks. Does it add a different dynamic to your music?

I’ve always written my music. I have never just covered or never just sang a song that some wrote for me. This is the first time I have done half an album on my own. They have always meant something to me. It is important for me to write. I started out very young.

In the beginning people thought that they were going to write songs for me, and I was like, no no no. I started writing songs when I was 14. When I was 16 making my first album was writing my first album, I had to find my groove there.

►What was the most difficult track on the album?

The most vulnerable, special and meaningful track to me on this album is my song Goodbye. It is the most emotional song I have ever written in my career. That song stands out on this album and I named the album based on that song.

►How do you manage to juggle your new clothing line, your foundation and music?

I like to be busy. It’s nice to have these other projects. The key is being passionate about what you do and it all ties with the music in the end.