Lavigne: The new Canadian pop diva

One of the things people will remember about this year is the arrival of the new female artist of a decidedly anti-Britney mold. Young, pretty and extremely talented, these girls introduced themselves as skilled and sensitive artists who couldn’t care less about the color of their nail polish or the curve of their belly-button. They instead chose to show that they could make hit albums on the sheer strength of their music.

The mood they create is more Tori Amos then Madonna. The music they make are reminders of the great, uncomplicated pop songs created by the likes of Carole King, Carly Simon and Pat Benatar’s sassy rocking style. They did not really present anything new or earthshaking but the fact that they are markedly different from today’s usual hitmaking divas makes them some kind of an event. First came the guitar-toting Michelle Branch, whose latest outing is a single with the revered Santana. Then there was the piano-playing Vanessa Carlton and recently the 17-year-old punk rocker from Canada who also plays the guitar, Avril Lavigne.

Avril is heir to a Canadian pop music tradition that runs the gamut of a diverse lot that includes Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain and Sarah McLachlan. She is a synthesis of all of them and more. Her clarity of tone, wide vocal range and innocent approach are made for melodic ballads but her devil-may-care attitude belongs to rock and this is the niche she has chosen for her music. Pert, saucy and very candid, Avril’s songs are dramatic soliloquies of little girls expected to be sweet but who would much rather thumb their noses at grown-ups.

Avril’s first album is titled Let Go, which can be construed as what she wants to say to restrictions holding her down or conventions she wants to get rid of. The philosophical Complicated, a take on life and relationships, is the very hot first single. It was in the top ten rungs of Billboard’s Hot 100 and is the song that sent the album skyrocketing to the top. Losing Grip and Unwanted are her broken-hearted songs. The title track and Anything But Ordinary are the hardest rockers of all. And I’m With You is the soft, folksy ballad.

The production is unfortunately uneven and Avril’s poetry is often juvenile and pretentious. These give rise to serious questions that keep on popping everywhere. How much of her is real? How much of this attitude is merely a pose she adopted to launch her music career? How much of a punk is she? How good a songwriter? The doubts clear up though as Avril’s vocals resound and send a positive reply. Her singing is earnest and filled with conviction. They may not be real but she believes what the lyrics are saying and she wants her listeners to do likewise. This is the best thing about the album.

That and her youth. Take note that this girl is only 17 and probably 16 when she did the whole of Let Go. Can you imagine what she might be capable of three or more years from now?

Hit albums in the US

The top selling albums in the US of A as per the latest Billboard survey are: 8 Mile the soundtrack to Eminem’s movie of the same title; Stripped, the very revealing album by the also stripped Christina Aguilera; Nirvana, a collection of unreleased materials by the late Kurt Cobain’s group Nirvana; Shaman by Santana; Melt by Rascal Flatts; Cry by Faith Hill; Scarlet’s Walk by Tori Amos; The Eminem Show by Eminem; Let Go by Avril Lavigne; Home by Dixie Chicks.

The top ten singles are: Lose Yourself by Eminem from the 8 Mile soundtrack; Work It by Missy Misdemeanor Elliott; Dilemma by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland; Luv U Better by LL Cool J; Hey Ma by Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey and Toya; Underneath It All by No Doubt featuring Lady Saw; The Game of Love by Santana featuring Michelle Branch; Die Another Day by Madonna from the soundtrack of the new James Bond movie of the same title; A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson; and Gimme The Light by Sean Paul. Avril’s Complicated is at No. 12. The song has been in the top berths of the Hot 100 list for 25 weeks.