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The eternal angsty teen of pop rock.
Tell me, why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
Acting like you're somebody else, gets me frustrated
And life's like this, you
You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get and you turn it into
Honesty, you promised me I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no, no.
— "Complicated"

Avril Ramona Lavigne (born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress credited as one of the most influential artists in the popular rock music of the 2000s, namely through the genres of pop punk and alternative rock.

Lavigne signed a two-album recording contract at 16 years old, and released her debut album Let Go at 17. The album went on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide, becoming the highest-selling album by a Canadian artist of the 21st century. The album's hit singles "Sk8er Boi" and "Complicated" are hailed as some of the most iconic rock songs of their time, and the album as a whole is retrospectively considered a large step in the popularization of the pop punk scene, as well as a great contributor to the rise of female-fronted pop punk.

Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, was her first to top the Billboard 200 chart; her third album, The Best Damn Thing, produced her first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Girlfriend". Her next albums ventured into considerably different genres than her mainstay of pop punkGoodbye Lullaby pursued a subdued and stripped-back pop rock sound, her Self-Titled Album featured more uptempo pop, and Head Above Water leaned into adult contemporary styles. The albums' new directions did not go without divisive reception, as well as diminishing sales. However, her 2022 album Love Sux saw a return to her pop punk sound, with greatly increased critical and commercial success in tow.

As an actress, Lavigne made cameo appearances in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the film Going The Distance, also playing Beatrice Bell in The Flock and Alice in Fast-Food Nation as well as voicing Heather in Over the Hedge.

She also designs the fashion line Abbey Dawn for Kohl's and has one fragrance out (Black Star) out and another on the way (Forbidden Rose).

Lavigne was in relationships with Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 from 2004 to 2010 (marrying in 2006), Chad Kroeger of Nickelback from 2012 to 2015 (marrying in 2013), and MOD SUN from 2021 to 2023 (with the couple getting engaged in 2022 before breaking things off a year later).


Discography:

Albums
  • Let Go (2002)
  • Under My Skin (2004)
  • The Best Damn Thing (2007)
  • Goodbye Lullaby (2011)
  • Avril Lavigne (2013)
  • Head Above Water (2019)
  • Love Sux (2022)

Visual releases

  • My World (2003)
  • The Best Damn Tour (2008)


"Hey, hey, you, you! I don't like your trope page! No way! No way! I think you need a new one!"

  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: She proudly mocks the love interest in "What the Hell" by boasting that he is begging her to stay with him.
  • Album Closure: The final song on Goodbye Lullaby (before the Hidden Track) is a Break Up Song called "Goodbye."
  • Alice Allusion: "Alice", which is part of the soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland (2010).
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: "I Fell in Love with the Devil" seems to be a rather self-conscious take on this trope: "And now I'm in trouble".
  • All Women Are Lustful: Subverted in "Hot". She at first sings about how the thought of the guy gets her so hot and all the sexual things she wants to do to him. Then she quietly reveals how she just wants him to kiss her and hold her as well.
    • "What the Hell" Has the main character singing about how she wants to fulfill her desires with other men than her partner.
  • Alone in a Crowd: The cover of her album "Let Go".
  • Alpha Bitch: In the "Girlfriend" video, she plays one, as well as the frumpy victim of her bitchiness.
  • Attempted Homewrecker: "Girlfriend", in which the singer insults her crush's girlfriend and implores him to date her instead, could count as this depending on whether you believe the singer's assertions that the crush likes her back, or whether she's just deluding herself
  • Attending Your Own Funeral: The video for "I Fell in Love with the Devil" features a Lonely Funeral attended only by the hearse driver, who then proceeded to smash the casket. The dead and the driver are both played by Avril.
  • Bad Girl Song: "Bad Girl" featuring Marilyn Manson.
  • The Bad Guys Win: The "Girlfriend" music video ends with the Villain Protagonist successfully stealing the title character's boyfriend.
  • Badass Boast:
    • "The Best Damn Thing" has it right in the title.
      I'm a lot to handle
      You don't know trouble, I'm a hell of a scandal
      Me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen
      I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen
    • "Girlfriend":
      I think you know I'm damn precious
      I'm the motherfucking princess
      In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
    • "I Don't Have To Try":
      I'm the one, I'm the one who knows the dance
      I'm the one, I'm the one who's got the prance
      I'm the one, I'm the one who wears the pants
    • "Dumb Blonde" almost entirely consists of this, a fair amount of it being indisputably accurate (she most definitely was making a lot of money).
    • “Déjà Vu”:
    I’ll buy a Range Rover just to run you over
  • Be Yourself: "Complicated", "Freak Out", "Who Knows", "My World", "Anything But Ordinary", "Mobile".
  • Beach Episode: The "Head Above Water" music video was filmed on a beach in Iceland. Yes, it's Scenery Gorn at its finest.
  • Better Partner Assertion: "Girlfriend" is about a girl asserting that she would be a superior girlfriend to the one the guy she likes is currently seeing.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three girls she plays in the "Girlfriend" video. The bitchy girl is brunette, the nerdy girl is redhead and Avril is blonde as herself.
  • Bloodless Carnage: The music video for the acoustic version of "Bite Me" sees Avril pluck her ex-lover's teeth with a giant plier. He is seen motionless for the duration of the music video, implying he died from the procedure, but no blood is visible despite the brutal method.
  • Bowdlerize: The Radio Disney edit of "Here's to Never Growing Up" is very heavily edited for content, often just removing certain lines outright.
  • Break-Up Song: Under My Skin as an album, particularly "My Happy Ending" and "He Wasn't". Many songs on Goodbye Lullaby are about her divorce.
  • Broken Bird: Multiple examples depicted in Avril's music videos, most notably "Nobody's Home", wherein Lavigne plays a homeless teenage girl trying to make money and find shelter, and "Goodbye", with Avril dressed up in all her finery enjoying decadent things such as her nice clothes, makeup, and champagne, despite being on her own and being The Stoic. She then breaks down in tears at the end, sinking to the floor and removing her wig as her makeup runs down her face. The former song is a very good example of the trope as well.
  • Caged Bird Metaphor: "Birdie":
    Like a bird locked up in a cage called love
    He clipped her wings when she was born to fly
    He said, "pretty bird, you can't sing
    But I'll buy you diamonds and ruby rings"
    Like a bird locked up in a cage
  • Call-Back:
    • "Rock N Roll" calls back to "Sk8er Boi" and "Girlfriend"
    • Avril has a habit of doing this. Among others, "Everybody Hurts" calls back to "When You're Gone" and "Take Me Away", "I Love You" to "Complicated", and "Smile" to "One Of Those Girls". ("Girlfriend" and "Hot" both use the lyrical snippet "again and again", but they were on the same album.)
    • The music video of "Here's to Never Growing Up" is a homage to her debut album Let Go. Particularly, she's wearing her Iconic Outfit from the "Complicated" music video and is seen using a skateboard ("Sk8r Boi").
  • Canada, Eh?: She's from Napanee, Ontario. On the MTV series Becoming she was the first Canadian artist to have a video remade, and the fan who became her was also the first Canadian contestant on the show. She's been self-conscious in interviews aboot her pronunciation of certain words.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: "Things I'll Never Say". She wants to tell her Love Interest that she cares and wants a Relationship Upgrade, but she's insecure.
  • Captain Obvious: "Sk8er Boi". "He was a boy, she was a girl,/can I make it any more obvious?"
  • The Casanova: "One of Those Girls" is about a female variation on this trope, aimed at a crush.
  • Child Prodigy: She's been singing since the age of 2.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: The first girl has the Unlucky type in "Sk8er Boi."
  • Cloudcuckoolander: "My World".
    Can't help if I space in a daze
    My eyes tune out the other way
    I may switch off and go in a daydream
  • Conspiracy Theory: She is the subject of one that claims she committed suicide years ago and was replaced by a body double.
  • Covered in Gunge: Happens to her and her band in the music video for "He Wasn't".
  • Cover Version: "Knocking On Heaven's Door", "Mickey", "All The Small Things", "Basket Case", "Bad Reputation", "Tik Tok", "How You Remind Me" and "Hello". Technically subverted with "Breakaway" since she wrote it and it was supposed to be a single on her debut album before she gave it to Kelly Clarkson. Her version of the Spongebob Squarepants theme for The Movie's soundtrack counts, technically.
  • Creepy Souvenir: The music video for the acoustic version of "Bite Me" sees Avril plucking her ex-lover's teeth with a giant plier and then wearing them as a necklace. Her former lover seemingly died from the procedure.
  • Crowd Surfing: Done towards the end of the "Losing Grip" music video.
    • Also done in the video for "What the Hell".
  • Cute Little Fangs: Her famous "vampire teeth", which reportedly made her so self-conscious, she allegedly had them shaved at some point circa-2008.
  • Curse Cut Short: A few exist in "Here's to Never Growing Up".
  • Daddy's Girl: Her father got special mention in her liner notes for Under My Skin because he brought her some gear when she was young, encouraging her music lessons and allowing her to get as noisy as she wanted growing up.
  • Darker and Edgier: Downplayed but present in Under My Skin. Mostly full of more angsty break-up songs. She went Lighter and Softer for The Best Damn Thing.
  • Dead to Begin With: The "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music video opens with Avril's burial service.
  • Deliberately Monochrome:
    • The album covers of both Under My Skin and Head Above Water are in Sepia.
    • "Nobody's Home" music video is intercut with colored scenes of Avril as a Homeless Hero and scenes in pink sepia with Avril in a Pimped-Out Dress.
  • Despair Event Horizon:
    • The entire Under My Skin album is about depression and loss of a loved one (from either death or Breakups).
    • "Head Above Water" is about Avril's recent battle with her Chronic Lyme Disease that nearly killed her.
  • Determinator: "Keep Holding On" encourages listeners to be optimistic.
    Keep holding on
    'Cause I know you'll make it through, you'll make it through
  • "Double, Double" Title: "Hush Hush."
  • Did You Think I Can't Feel?: There's a song aptly titled "How Does It Feel" on Under My Skin.
  • Drama Queen: Mentioned in "The Best Damn Thing".
    Me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen
  • Dumb Blonde: Referenced in a song of the same name.
    I ain't no dumb blonde
    I ain't no stupid Barbie doll
    I got my game on
  • Emo Teen: Under My Skin, anyone?
  • Evil Brunette Twin: In relation to Blonde, Brunette, Redhead above, the brunette Avril is the Villain Protagonist of the "Girlfriend" music video.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Her hair turning blonde marked her music becoming more upbeat too.
  • Fanservice Pack: Started in Under My Skin with the "He Wasn't" video but really escalated with her third album.
  • Fiery Redhead: The titular "Girlfriend" in the music video will not go down to the Villain Protagonist without a fight.
  • Flash Mob: The "Sk8er Boi" video is about Avril taking over an intersection in Los Angeles and holding a flash concert. A street team of skaters and BMXers spread the word the morning of the concert through graffiti, posters, text messages, coffee cups, and anything else they can get their hands on. The resulting concert gets so massive that the LAPD shows up and starts arresting people.
  • Follow Your Heart: "Freak Out", "Who Knows", "My World", "Anything But Ordinary", "Mobile", "Keep Holdin' On".
  • Genki Girl: Her behind the scenes of the Under My Skin album making of and promo tour indicate this.
  • The Ghost: The First Love of the titular "Sk8er Boi" doesn't appear in the music video despite being the Deuteragonist.
  • Girliness Upgrade: Starting with The Best Damn Thing, although she claims she was faking the look of her previous albums.
  • Girl Next Door Turned Superstar: "Sk8er Boi" tells the story of a woman who had a crush on a guy since high school, but wouldn't admit to it because he was unpopular. Now, he's a celebrity, and she's still pining for him, but he's out of her reach.
  • Girl on Girl Is Hot: The music video for "Rock n Roll" features Lavigne kissing a female cohort played by Danica McKellar. Unlike most instances of lesbian action in pop videos, however, this kiss is Played for Laughs.
  • Godiva Hair: The Head Above Water album has a naked Avril placing her hair in her front to cover her breasts while also holding a guitar to cover her lower body.
  • Good Girl Gone Bad: Pretty much said verbatim in "What the Hell"
    All my life I've been good, but now, I'm thinking what the hell!
  • Gratuitous Japanese: In the beginning of "Hello Kitty".
    "Min'na saikō arigatō! K-K-K-KAWAII!!!!"
  • Green-Eyed Monster
    Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend! No way, no way, I think you need a new one...
  • Green-Eyed Epiphany: "Sk8er Boi" is a song about a girl who is in denial about her love for a boy she knows until he's already been claimed by another.
  • Grief Song: "I'm with You", virtually every song in the Under My Skin album, "When You're Gone", "Let Me Go", "Head Above Water".
  • Growing Up Sucks: "Here's to Never Growing Up" is all about gleefully defying this trope and having your youthful energy and love of fun as long as you want to.
  • Hand-or-Object Underwear: The Head Above Water album has a naked Avril holding a guitar in front of her, in addition of Godiva Hair, for modesty.
  • Homeless Hero: Avril in the "Nobody's Home" music video.
  • Hong Kong Dub: Among the other issues people have had with the "Hello Kitty" video, when she says "Someone chuck a cupcake at me", her lips don't seem to be saying that at all.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: "Anything But Ordinary".
  • I'm Standing Right Here: The "Girlfriend" music video has the Villain Protagonist singing while the titular girl is in earshot.
  • Iconic Outfit: In her early years, it was a tank top paired with a necktie and cargo pants. When she moved away from this look later on, she said that she felt it had become more like wearing a costume than anything.
  • Imaginary Friend: The music video for the regular version of "Bite Me" sees Avril with them, one played by Travis Barker and the rest by men in tutus.
  • Important Haircut: Went blonde at the end of Under My Skin and just in time for her new positive outlook.
  • Insecure Love Interest: Shows up in her gentler songs such as "Things I'll Never Say."
    (Cause) I’m feeling nervous
    Trying to be so perfect
    Cause I know you’re worth it
  • Intercourse with You: "Give You What You Like".
    Please wrap your drunken arms around me
    And I'll let you call me yours tonight
    'Cause slightly broken's just what I need
    And if you give me what I want
    Then I'll give you what you like

    • "Hot" from The Best Damn Thing is all about the main character's sexual desires.
  • Ironic Episode Title:
    • "My Happy Ending" is a sad Break-Up Song.
      You were everything, everything that I wanted
      We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
      All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
      All this time you were pretending
      So much for my happy ending
    • "Girlfriend" is about wanting someone's boyfriend.
  • It Meant Something to Me: "Losing Grip" is this trope in song.
  • It's All About Me: Stated word for word in "I Don't Have to Try".
    Don't you disagree
    Cause you know it's all about me
  • The Lad-ette: As any good Anti-Britney Spears would be. "My World" is all the proof you need.
  • Lady in Red: Avril is wearing four pimped-out dresses in the "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music video and the red one is one of the most sensual, and she is wearing them in scenes where she's being intimate with a man (who may or may not be the titular Devil).
  • Last Disrespects: The "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music video has Avril smashing the casket of other Avril with a sledgehammer.
  • Lighter and Softer: Her Lullaby and Best Damn albums have almost bordered on romantic and loving and just based upon fun, instead of heartbreak as its bitter center and sadness. She actually spoke about this when she was recording The Best Damn Thing saying she just wanted to have fun in music again.
    • "Who Knows" is this for her Under My Skin album.
  • Little Black Dress: Avril is wearing them in the "Hot" and "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music videos.
  • Lonely Funeral: "I Fell in Love with the Devil" features a funeral march attended only by the hearse driver, who proceeded to smash the casket. Since Avril is playing both the deceased and the driver, this also counts as Attending Your Own Funeral.
  • Love Nostalgia Song:
    • "My Happy Ending" is a bitter Break-Up Song but during the bridge, she reminisces about the good times she had with her ex:
      It's nice to know that you were there
      Thanks for acting like you cared
      And making me feel like I was the only one
      It's nice to know we had it all
    • "I Love You" sounds like a wholesome ode to a significant other, until it's revealed in the bridge that their relationship didn't make it through, so it turns into this.
  • Love Triangle:
    • "Sk8r Boi" combines this with Unrequited Love Switcheroo (detailed in the entry below).
    • The entire premise of "Girlfriend" is wanting to steal someone's boyfriend.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: Listen to "He Wasn't" or "Anything But Ordinary".
    • "What the Hell" is an upbeat pop song about the main character's marriage falling apart and she serial cheats to deal with it.
  • Lyrics/Video Mismatch: "Complicated" is a rather sad song about the relationship being, well, complicated. The video is about Avril and her band having fun in a mall.
  • Male Gaze:
    • The "Girlfriend" music video has lingering shots of Avril's legs.
    • One of Avril's dresses in the "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music video has a prominent cleavage which the camera never fails to notice.
  • The Mall: The video for "Complicated" features Avril and her band wreaking havoc in one.
  • Manchild: Lampshaded in "Here's to Never Growing Up", which is all about defying Growing Up Sucks.
  • The Masochism Tango: "Together".
    Together doesn't feel right at all
    Together, together we build a wall
    Together, holding hands will fall
    Hands will fall
  • Mirror Match: The "Girlfriend" music video has Avril as both the Villain Protagonist and the Secondary Character Title.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: Downplayed and Played for Laughs in the "Girlfriend" music video. It shows the narrator repeatedly harming the titular girl so she could steal her boyfriend. Specifically; the Villain Protagonist intentionally made repeated attempts at bumping her rival's go kart until she crashes then later deliberately hitting a golf ball towards her head.
  • My Beloved Smother: The "When You're Gone" music video has teenage Star-Crossed Lovers being separated by the girl's Control Freak mother.
  • Narrator All Along: "Sk8er Boi" seemingly starts off as a third-person story about a girl who is pressured into rejecting a punk boy's advances, then later finds out he's become a rock star. After the second verse, the song suddenly switches to a first-person perspective, with Avril taunting the girl, saying she missed her chance and he's with her now.
  • Never My Fault: "I Don't Have to Try" features the following lines:
    I'm a know-it-all
    And it's all your fault
  • New Sound Album: Let Go is very upbeat compared to its follow-up, Under My Skin, which has more rock elements.
    • Goodbye Lullaby has less rock/punk elements than her 3 previous albums. The songs are mainly ballads.
    • Head Above Water leans even further into the ballad direction. And then Love Sux takes a hard left turn back into pop punk, and is arguably her most upbeat album.
  • Non-Indicative Name: "Hello Kitty" is not about the popular Sanrio character.
  • Not Like Other Girls: "Anything but Ordinary" and "My World" from Let Go.
  • Obsession Song: "Hot", "Girlfriend", "Things I'll Never Say", "Contagious", "Fall to Pieces".
  • Occidental Otaku: The entire premise of the "Hello Kitty" music video. Avril Lavigne herself is also a fan of One Piece
  • Older Than They Look: She looks the same...or younger...than she did when her first album came out. The general conclusion is that she acts, looks, and behaves like a teenager, but she'll be 40 in a few years.
    • Lampshaded in "Here's to Never Growing Up".
    • Not so true following her battle with Lyme disease.
  • Once More, with Clarity: The music video for the regular version of "Bite Me" sees Avril along with Travis Barker and some men in tutus harass her ex-lover. The Stinger then shows they're just imaginary.
  • One of the Boys: Mentions this in "My World"; her earlier performances had her dressed in very tomboyish attire too. Reportedly, the first time she met Sum 41's Deryck Whibley (her then-future husband) and Steve Jocz, she was trying to pants him, before being stopped by Steve giving her a wedgie. That should tell you all you need to know.
  • Parental Neglect: The "Nobody's Home" music video has Avril as a Homelesshero while her mother is busy getting herself wasted than looking for her daughter.
  • Perky Goth: During her Under My Skin era she tread this line very closely, and her Love Sux era is right on the line as well. Most of the time she's a perky punk.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: She's wearing one in the album cover for Goodbye Lullaby. She's also wearing them in both the "Nobody's Home" and "Head Above Water" music videos. She wears four different ones in "I Fell in Love with the Devil".
  • Pint Sized Power House: She's only 5'1", and has a powerful set of pipes.
  • Piss-Take Rap: "Nobody's Fool"
  • Please, Don't Leave Me: Said mockingly to the love interest in "What the Hell"
    You're on your knees, begging "please stay with me"
  • Please Wake Up: "Slipped Away"
  • Portmanteau Couple Name: invoked Chavril with her at the time fiance Chad Croger.
  • Post-Grunge: Her early works contains shades of this.
  • The Power of Lust: "Girlfriend", "Hot", and "Give You What You Like".
  • Precision F-Strike: Though the effect was somewhat diminished in the album The Best Damn Thing
    • Most prominent in "Girlfriend".
    Oh yeah, I'm the mother fucking princess!
    • Love Sux is certainly her most F-bomb laden album since then, but still manages to sneak a couple of good strikes in, such as the “Motherfuckers let’s go!” in “Cannonball.”
  • Present Absence: The entire premise of "When You're Gone".
    When you're gone. The pieces of my heart are missin' you. When you're gone. The face I came to know is missin', too. When you're gone. The words I need to hear. To always get me through the day. And make it okay. I miss you
  • Product Placement:
    • The "What the Hell" video was released by Sony, filmed in 3D and also made available as online 3D content for Sony TVs and Blu-ray players. Prominently displayed in the video are a Sony Bravia TV with 3D glasses, a Sony Vaio computer, a Sony Ericsson cellphone, and Avril's own perfume and clothing lines.
    • And again in the video for "Rock N Roll", when Avril explicitly mentions her "new Sony phone" in the most forced way possible.
    • Yet again in the "Let Me Go" music video, which prominently features a Sony tablet.
    • All the way back in the "Complicated" video, Avril crashes into a pile of Reebok shoeboxes.
    • The music video for the regular version of "Bite Me" sees Avril riding a Jeep Wrangler.
  • Progressively Prettier: She had a very tomboyish image in her first album, and the image of Avril wearing a t-shirt, baggy jeans, a Tomboyish Baseball Cap and a tie was iconic. Starting with the second album, she would occasionally be in skirts. For the third album, she got a full Girliness Upgrade to blonde hair and more attractive clothes.
  • Rage Against the Reflection: In the video for "Don't Tell Me".
  • Real Men Wear Pink: The music video for the regular version of "Bite Me" sees Avril teaming up with Travis Barker and some burly men in tutus.
  • Really Gets Around: The main premise of "What the Hell".
  • Record Producer:
    • Let Go was mostly produced by Clif Magness and production team The Matrix (not that one)
    • Under My Skin was produced by the trio of Butch Walker, Don Gilmore and Raine Maida.
    • The Best Damn Thing was produced by Walker, Dr Luke, Rob Cavallo and her then-husband Deryck Whibley.
    • Goodbye Lullaby was produced by Walker, Dr Luke, Max Martin, Shellback and Avril herself.
    • Avril Lavigne has an assortment of producers including L.A. Reid, Peter Svensson, David Hodges, and her then-husband Chad Kroeger.
    • Head Above Water's producers include Avril herself, Kroeger, J.R. Rotem and Lauren Christy (formerly 1/3 of The Matrix).
    • Love Sux was produced collaboratively by the three-person team of Travis Barker, John Feldmann and her then-boyfriend MOD SUN.
  • Relationship Revolving Door: "Complicated".
  • Rockumentary: Avril Lavigne has three video albums.
  • Rock Star Song: "How Does It Feel".
  • Rockers Smash Guitars:
    • The "Complicated" music video has her doing this towards the end.
    • At the end of the "Sk8er Boi" video, Avril uses her guitar to smash in a car's front window, but only gets partway through before a helicopter starts hovering over her.
  • Rule of Symbolism: Avril smashing a casket containing herself in the "I Fell in Love with the Devil" music video is a two-fold; first is that the song is part of her Head Above Water album which was her comeback album after her near fatal bout with Chronic Lyme Disease, second is a Take That! on the infamous Conspiracy Theory that she actually died early in her career and was supposedly replaced by a Body Double since.
  • Sanity Slippage Song: Under My Skin is a sanity slippage album (minus "Who Knows"), "Runaway", "Goodbye", "Anything But Ordinary", "My World", "Mobile" and "I'm with You".
  • Scenery Gorn: The "Head Above Water" music video shows breathtaking shots of an Icelandic beach.
  • Second Love: "Sk8r Boi" is sang from the point of view of one, culminating with the first girl the titular boy loved receiving "The Reason You Suck" Speech for not giving him a chance.
  • Secondary Character Title: "Girlfriend" is sang from the Villain Protagonist's point of view.
  • Self-Titled Album: Her fifth album.
  • Sex for Solace: "Give You What You Like".
    I've got a brand new cure for lonely
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Any of her music videos with her in a Pimped-Out Dress.
  • Silly Love Songs: "Things I'll Never Say", "Fall to Pieces", "Naked", "Contagious".
  • Sleeps with Everyone but You: Implied in "What the Hell"
    So what, if I go out on a million dates? You never call or listen to me anyway'
  • Song of Many Emotions: "My Happy Ending" is a sad and angry Break-Up Song with a bit of love nostalgia thrown in.
  • Spelling Song: The bridge to "The Best Damn Thing" spells out Avril's name like a cheerleader chant:
    Give me an A (always give me what I want)
    Give me a V (be very, very good to me)
    R (are you gonna treat me right?)
    I (I can put up a fight)
    Give me an L (let me hear you scream loud)
  • Spiritual Antithesis: She was branded the "Anti-Britney Spears" due to her rejection of the heavy sexualization and "manufactured" pop Britney was known for.
  • Supporting Protagonist: "Sk8r Boi" is sang from the point of view of the eponymous character's Second Love, with his First Love being the Deuteragonist.
  • Tank-Top Tomboy: Back in the day. She dresses entirely in midriff-exposing tanktops and excessive baggy pants that sagged enough to show off her underwear.
  • Thriving Ex-Crush: "S K8er Boi" tells the story of a girl who, in high school, rejected the eponymous boy because he was unpopular, only to learn that he has become a popular musician, and is currently in a relationship with the narrator of the song.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Avril loves showing this contrast in her music songs and videos. Notable examples are; "Sk8er Boi" (snobby ballerina vs. punk rock chic), "Nobody's Home" (a Homeless Hero dressed in a hoodie intercut with a woman in a Pimped-Out Dress) and "Girlfriend" (suburban Bespectacled Cutie vs. punk chic).
  • Tomboyish Baseball Cap: Wears a sideways one in the first part of the "Sk8er Boi" video.
  • Tomboy with a Girly Streak: During her transition from skater-inspired Pop Punk to more mainstream pop, she briefly fell as this. Nowadays she seems to be a tomboy with a heavy girly streak.
  • "Too Young to Die" Lamentation: In "Head Above Water", she says, "I'm too young to fall asleep." She started writing this song while bedridden with Lyme Disease and thought she was going to die.
  • Trash the Set: The music video for the regular version of "Bite Me" sees Avril as a Woman Scorned breaking into her ex-lover's house and destroying everything inside.
  • Tsundere: In some songs, she is independent and playful ("The Best Damn Thing", "What the Hell", "Smile") or even jerkish ("Girlfriend"), in other songs, she is tender and vulnerable ("Naked", "Wish You Were Here", "Things I'll Never Say", "Fall to Pieces"), so she comes off as this.
  • Turn of the Millennium: She's heavily identified with this era, debuting in 2002 and having her heyday until roughly 2008.
  • Uncertain Doom: The music video for the acoustic version of "Bite Me" sees Avril pluck her ex-lover's teeth with a giant plier. He is then seen motionless for the duration of the music video.
  • Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Alluded in "Sk8er Boi".
    Sorry girl but you missed out. Well tough luck that boy's mine now
  • Uptown Girl: Heavily implied in "Sk8er Boi".
    He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say? He wanted her, she'd never tell. Secretly, she wanted him as well. And all of her friends stuck up their nose. They got a problem with his baggy clothes.
  • Villain Protagonist:
    • "Girlfriend" is about wanting to steal someone's boyfriend for themselves. The music video shows the singer (along with her Girl Posse) being blatantly juvenile to the titular character (both played by Avril).
    • The music video for both versions of of "Bite Me" sees Avril as a Woman Scorned harassing her former lover through extreme methods. The regular version has her breaking and entering in his home, detaining him, then destroying his possessions. The acoustic version has her sneaking in the hospital where he's having his teeth fixed and Avril plucks all of them when the dentist leaves to tend to something, seemingly killing the ex, then proceeds to wear the teeth as a necklace.
  • Visual Pun:
    • The "Nobody's Home" music video has Avril as a Homeless Hero
    • The "Head Above Water" music video is a Beach Episode.
    • The music video for the acoustic version of "Bite Me" sees Avril plucking her ex-lover's teeth and wearing them as a necklace.
  • Wedgie: An amusing interview with Sum 41 (her ex-husband Deryck Whibley's band) claims this was how they met; Avril tried to pants Deryck, only for the drummer Steveo to give her a wedgie to 'save' him. Apparently it was still a point of embarrassment for her as she claimed later that it was her who gave the wedgie to him.
  • Wham Line:
    • "Sk8er Boi" seems to be telling the story of two people in 3rd person until it reaches the bridge
      "Sorry, girl, but you missed out,
      Well, tough luck, that boy's mine now,
      We are more than just good friends,
      And this is how the story ends."
    • "I Love You" sounds like a wholesome ode to a significant other, until it's revealed in the bridge that their relationship didn't make it through.
      "Even though we didn't make it through,
      I am always here for you
      Yeah, yeah, oh"
  • What Did I Do Last Night?: Mentioned In "Smile".
  • What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: "Give You What You Like" uses several examples in the verse and chorus.
    Emotions aren't that hard to borrow, when love's a word you've never learned
    When you turn off the lights I get stars in my eyes Is this love?
  • White Male Lead: The infamous "Hello Kitty" music video is a Gender-Inverted Trope, showing Avril's adventures in Japan.
  • With or Without You: In "Nobody's Fool":
    If it's with or without you, I don't need you doubtin' me.
  • Woman Scorned: Avril in the "Bite Me" music videos, to criminal levels. The regular version sees her breaking and entering his home, detaining him, and destroying nearly all his possessions. The acoustic version sees her seemingly killing him and then wearing his teeth as a necklace.
  • Working with the Ex: Her divorce from Deryck Whibley in 2009 didn't stop his major contributions to her fourth album.
  • Xtreme Kool Letterz: Love Sux, it's title track and "Bois Lie".
  • You Are Not Alone: I'm With You, Keep Holding On and Listen, the song she did with One Ok Rock.


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