Avril Lavigne: The Best Damn Tour

Remember when Canadian princess Avril Lavigne first appeared on our radar in the early millennium? In the midst of saccharine sweet and virginal pop stars like Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore, Lavigne was marketed as the opposite with her “punk” image. While many had a hard time buying that applying loads of eyeliner equaled punk, it was hard to deny the sheer pop appeal that Lavigne had. First single “Complicated” was a straight-forward guitar pop ditty that made a huge impact on the charts, and subsequent singles “Sk8ter Boi” and “I’m With You” were mainstream hits as well. No surprise then that Lavigne’s debut Let Go has sold over 16 million copies worldwide as of December 2007. Keep in mind that when all this was going on, Lavigne was only 17-years-old! Since then, Lavigne has released two other albums (Under My Skin and The Best Damn Thing), collected numerous awards along the way, launched her own clothing line (Abbey Dawn) and got herself hitched to Deryck Whibley of the band Sum 41. Musically, Lavigne remains an artiste that many either love or hate. Some celebrate her for tenacity and pop sensibilities, while others scorn her for exploiting her image and producing tracks they deemed too childish for a married woman to perform. Regardless of which side of the fence you prefer, Lavigne remains a compelling entertainer because of her ability to get a rise out of people. She’s never boring that’s for sure and the 30 million people who bought her albums would agree. As part of the The Best Damn Tour, Kuala Lumpur will be the only Southeast Asian stop for Miss Lavigne. With the rabid fans that she has, we’re pretty sure it’ll be a concert anticipated by many around the region with many making the trip from neighbouring countries to watch her live. And we lucky KL-ites get to have her in our own backyard! Score!

Text Sarah Chan