Though she’s become a genuine superstar since her hit “Complicated”ruled the radio in 2002, life for Avril Lavigne still isn’t simple. For the past five years, she’s been dogged2 by claims that she’s all sour3 attitude, no talent. But it has made Avril, 23, more determined than ever to throw her critics the middle finger4—only this time, it’s with a smile.
She happily spent the last year making The Best Damn Thing, her playful third album inspired in part by the love of her life, fellow Canadian rocker Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 (whom she married a year ago). She’s also a certified5 actress, having made her film debut in last year’s Fast Food Nation and the animated Over the Hedge.
Avril is a girl who knows what she wants. And when it came to writing her third album, she had one very clear goal in mind: To make it fun. The process turned out to be a blast6. “I didn’t know making a record could be so fun,” she says. Avril’s laughter rings out7 in “I Can Do Better”, and in “Girlfriend.” You can hear her “playing a beer bottle” (by blowing into it) in the last few choruses.
She may be a bit more sophisticated8 these days, but she’s still peerless, and still fearless. The Best Damn Thing is Avril at a new stage in her life; she’s passed through the shadows of teen angst9 and emerged in a spotlight, ready to have fun and rock out and yes, even dance. It is, just as she intended, the best damn thing she’s ever done.
Q: It’s been a while since your last album. Why the break?
Avril Lavigne: ...I just wanted to kind of take a break and live my life. I worked on a couple of movies, got married, and then I went into the studio and because I write my songs it takes much longer for me to work on my album. I wanted to make sure it was really good... I want to make sure I have time for myself to enjoy life, because I’ve worked so much in my life.
Q: Your new music seems much more fun than your last album. What does it say about your life now?
AL: I’ve always been really fun and energetic, and I love being playful. Like my last record, I was in a darker spot in my life. But on this one I don’t even wanna go there. I’m so over that. I’m in this great spot now.
Q: A lot of people slammed11 you when you first came out. Did that add to your “dark”attitude?
AL: I mean, I was an innocent 17-year-old, and people would say negative things because I was so big. I was the biggest-selling female artist that year. And when someone gets so big, people wanna rip them apart12. That was really hard for me to deal with at first. It just made me really sad to hear people say things about me—that I was fake or made up by the record company, which is completely untrue.
Q: What do you mean?
AL: The record company let me do whatever I wanted, which was unheard of. But I had to fight with people at every single photo shoot ’cause they wanted to put me in pink and lace and frills13. I was like, “I’m not wearing that.” I wore my own clothes for a lot of them. Some people called me difficult, but I was just me being me. I guess my whole career has been about me fighting, like, “I’m not gonna do that. I think it’s cheesy14.”
Q：We saw your hair and clothing get a lot more glamorous15 last year. What brought that about?
AL: When I first came out on the scene, I acted like a kid and dressed like a kid—and now I’m a woman. As you get older you start dressing differently and doing things differently with your hair. I was such a tomboy. I wore my hair the same every day. Barely wore makeup. And now I love clothes. I love shoes, I love purses. I’m so girly, it’s not even funny.
Q: But you still have that confrontational16 attitude toward the paparazzi17. What’s the story behind you spitting on some photographers last year?
AL: I was at [the nightclub] Hyde, and there were a million paparazzi guys. They follow you around with clipboards18 and your pictures and a blue Sharpie19. They shove it in your face when you walk out of a club, then sell it on eBay, so I went “F***you, f***you” on mine. [Laughs.] Then I spit on them. And they love it. They’re all laughing—“Avril spit on me!”But I’d been spitting on them for two years and that one time it became a story.
Q: Why do you think they cared this time?
AL: Because there was nothing else going on. They always need a story. At that particular time there was nothing to talk about, so they made it into a story about me saying “F***you!” to my fans who were waiting for autographs. But it was outside at Hyde at one o’clock in the morning! And these were men—not my fans. I would never in a million years... So I put out a statement and said, “Sorry about my behavior—that was not toward my fans.”
Q: What was dating like before Deryck?
AL: I mean, you know what it’s like when you’re in high school and you have a new boyfriend every week. It’s all confusing. I’ve only had a couple of serious relationships. I haven’t gone through the whole dating thing. I mean, I’ve been with Deryck since I was 19.
前你的恋爱史吗？
艾艾：我想，你知道，上中学那时是怎么回事，每周都换一个男朋友。全是瞎闹着玩。我只有过几次比较正式的关系，但是没有进入实质性阶段。我是说，从19岁起。我就和德瑞克在一起了。
Q: You say you plan to start a clothing line—so many stars have one. Why did you decide to do one now?
AL: Now I love clothes and I feel like I have all these really cool ideas. It’s something creative to do. It would be how I dress.
Being a girl is awesome. There’s so much—bags, shoes, makeup, accessories. It’s a lot of fun, and I think the older you get, the more you get into it.
It’s funny because everyone’s like, ‘Oh, your new look!’ but it’s not really like that. When you go from 17 to 23, you change a lot. Every girl does. I’m just growing up. And when you’re a girl, you can get into new things.
I was fresh out of high school—I didn’t finish high school—when I got a record deal and my first record exploded. My skater look was what I looked like in high school. Now I’m older. I’m a woman—and I’m married.
Before, I was like, ‘Oh, I would never curl my hair!’ I used to wear my hair in my face and thought I’d never want to wear it in a ponytail because I’d feel like everyone was looking at me. Believe it or not, I’m really shy. So I always liked wearing my hair down. Now I wear it back a little bit. Sometimes I put it up.
I think dark, short hair would look really cool on me, because I have small features, and with my blue eyes. But I like long blonde hair right now. I like black, and I mostly only ever wear black. I would still wear my old stuff, but I would probably wear the pants with a sexier top. I feel like a kid when I wear a T-shirt and baggy pants now.
It’s funny: The past four years of my life have been on-camera, so you see the changes. I look back at pictures and I laugh. I don’t think it’s bad. I think it’s funny how I used to wear baggy clothes all the time.
I used to be naturally athletic20 when I was younger, but now that I’m 23, I know I need to start working out. I’ve been eating really healthy and consciously working out21 and keeping active. I’ve got to get in shape for a certain event22 coming up!
When people hear me on the radio, they’ll still know it’s me, because I have my own thing. My last record, I was breaking up with somebody or wanting to break up with somebody—that’s why my songs were really dark. But I think my new record will be at a different place. It will just reflect on what my life is like right now. It’s still me—that little rock flavor and fun, spunky23 energy girl. But, let me be honest, there’s some love songs on there. That’s what I feel, so that’s what I end up writing.
When you’re in this world, when you’re a celebrity, you have people talking about everything you do, everything you wear, and judging you. You’re under a microscope. But I’m confident. I’ve always been confident.
自从2002年她的畅销单曲《超复杂》在电台持续热播后，艾薇儿就成了真正的巨星。但对于艾薇儿，生活并非就此变得简单。在过去的五年里，她一直是负面报道缠身：媒体说她态度恶劣，毫无才能。但是，这些只不过让23岁的艾薇儿更加坚定地对那些评论竖起中指——不过这次，她面带微笑。
去年一整年她都在开开心心地制作专辑《美丽坏东西》，这是她的第三张专辑，风格轻松活泼。她的挚爱——加拿大摇滚歌手、Sum 41的主唱德瑞克·威柏利——给了她制作这张专辑的部分灵感（他们已于去年喜结连理）。在去年电影《快餐帝国》和动画片《篱笆墙外》崭露头角之后，她已经得到演艺界的认可。
艾薇儿是个很清楚自己想要什么的女孩。在创作第三张专辑时，她的脑海中已经有了非常明确的目标：要让这张专辑很有趣。结果证明，制作过程是一场欢乐盛事，“我根本没想到制作唱片会这么好玩儿，”她说。你可以在单曲《没你我更好》和《女朋友》中听到艾薇儿的开怀大笑，你可以听见她在最后几个和声中“吹奏啤酒瓶”（对着酒瓶吹气）。
这些日子以来，她也许显得有点世故，但她还是那么出类拔萃、无畏无惧。《美丽坏东西》展现出艾薇儿的生活进入了一个新阶段。她已度过愤世嫉俗的青春期，现身聚光灯下，准备好尽情欢乐、尽情摇滚、甚至尽情舞蹈。这就是——正如她想的那样——她所做过最棒的“坏”事情。
问：从上张专辑到如今已有一段时间了，为什么你中间停了下来呢？
艾薇儿：……我只是想休息一段时间，享受生活。我演了几部电影，结了婚，然后进了录音棚。因为这次我来写歌，专辑制作的时间就长了些。我要确保专辑真正做得不错……我也要确保有时间享受生活，因为过去工作得太疯狂了。
问：你的新歌似乎比上张专辑更有趣。是否反映了你现在的生活状态呢？
艾艾：其实我一直爱闹、精力充沛，我喜欢轻松快乐的生活。出上张专辑的时候，我的生活处于黑暗期。在制作这张专辑的时候，我再也不想处于那样的境地。我已经摆脱了黑暗，现在状态极好。
问：你刚出道时有很多人抨击你，是否更加重了你的“阴暗面”？
艾艾：那个时候，我才17岁，天真无知。因为我太出名，人们才会抨击我。我是那年专辑销量最好的女艺人。当有人名气太大时，人们就想毁掉他们。刚开始听到那些中伤，确实让我很难应对。听到人们那样谈论我，真叫我很难过——说我徒有虚名，全由唱片公司包装出来的，这完全在颠倒是非。
问：你的意思是……？
艾艾：我想怎样，唱片公司就让我怎样，这在以前可是没听说过的。但是每拍一张照片，我都要和工作人员抗争，因为他们总想让我穿上带蕾丝和褶边的粉红色衣服。我就说“我不穿那个”。拍摄的时候我大都穿自己的衣服。有人说我难缠，可我只想做我自己。我估计我的整个职业生涯都在抗争，就像在说：“我不想那样做，我觉得那样好俗。”
问：去年你的发型和着装变得更加迷人了。是什么让你改变了穿衣风格？
艾艾：刚出道的时候，我的衣着举止都很孩子气——现在我成熟了。随着年龄的增长，你会改变着装、变换发型。以前我是个假小子，发型一成不变，不怎么化妆。而现在我喜欢时装、鞋子、钱包。我越来越像个女孩了，这没什么好笑的。
问：但是对狗仔队，你的态度还是那么强硬。去年你朝摄影记者吐口水，这到底是怎么回事？
艾艾：我当时在海德（夜总会），外面有无数个狗仔。他们拿着写字板，举着你的照片，握着一支蓝色荧光笔，到处跟着你。你走出一家俱乐部，他们就把东西推到你面前(要你签名)，然后拿到易趣去卖。于是我在自己的照片上写上“你X的，你X的”。（笑）然后我朝他们吐口水，他们喜欢这样。他们都笑起来——“艾薇儿朝我吐口水耶！”不过我已经朝他们吐了两年口水，这次却成了一则新闻。
问：你觉得他们为什么这次很介意？
艾艾：因为没什么事情发生。他们总要报道点什么。在那阵儿又没什么可报道的，于是他们把这事炮制成一条新闻，说我朝等待签名的歌迷们大骂“你X的”。那时正是凌晨一点，在海德外面的都是些男人，不是我的歌迷。我永远不会骂我的歌迷……所以后来我就声明“我为我的行为感到抱歉，但那并不是针对我的歌迷的。”
问：能谈谈和德瑞克交往
问：你说你打算进军服装业——很多明星都这样做。为什么现在有了这个想法呢？
艾艾：我喜欢时装，我觉得自己有些非常酷的念头，这是件很有创造性的事。我会根据我的穿衣风格来设计。
做女孩真是棒极了。可以拥有很多东西——包包，鞋子，化妆品还有各样小饰物。这真有趣，而且我觉得年龄越大，你对它们就越着迷。
很有意思的是每个人都对我说：“哦，你变样了！”，但事实并不是那样。从17岁到23岁，你会改变很多。每个女孩都如此，我也是啊。当你成了个大姑娘的时候，自然会有新样子。
我和唱片公司签约的时候，刚从学校出来——高中还没毕业——我的第一张专辑一炮而红。滑雪装是我上中学的风格。现在我成熟了，成了女人，还结婚了。
以前我会说：“哦，我决不会把头发烫卷的！”我过去常常让头发披下来，垂在脸上。我觉得我永远都不会扎马尾。因为我觉得如果扎起马尾，别人好像都在看我。不管你信不信，我真的很害羞。所以我总喜欢把头发披下来。现在我会把头发往后梳一些，有时候还会扎起来。
我觉得留着黑色短发会很酷，因为我五官小，眼睛是蓝色。不过眼下我喜欢长长的金发了。我喜欢黑色，以前几乎只穿黑色衣服。我依然会经常穿以前的旧衣服，不过会给裤子配一个较性感的上衣。现在我穿上松垮垮的裤子和T恤，觉得自己像个小孩。
真的很有意思：我过去的四年生活全在镜头上了，你能看到我的变化。当我回头看那些照片的时候，我忍不住会笑，并不是觉得那样难看，只是想起过去我总是穿松松垮垮的衣服，觉得确实好笑。
小的时候，我体格强健。可现在我21岁了，我知道我得开始锻炼身体了。我一直注意饮食健康，并且注意健身、保持活力。我得让身体状态良好，以迎接某个必然要发生的事！
当人们在收音机里听到我的歌，他们仍会知道那就是我，因为我有自己的特色。出上张专辑的时候，我正和某人闹分手或者说是准备要分手，所以我的歌风很灰暗。但这张新专辑截然不同。它将是我新生活的写照。那仍然是我——带点儿摇滚腔儿、爱闹、无所畏惧、精力旺盛的女孩。不过，老实说，新专辑中有几首情歌，那是我这一阵子的感受，所以我放在了最后。
生活在这个世界上，一旦你成了名人，人们就会谈论你做的一切，你的着装，对你品头论足。你就像生活在显微镜下。但是我很自信，而且一直都是。
1. brooding adj. 焦虑的
2. dog v. 紧随
3. sour adj. 脾气坏的
4. throw the middle finger: 骂人的手势，表达对某事的极度不屑与蔑视。
5. certified adj. 被承认的
6. blast n. （俚语）狂欢会
7. ring out 发出大的声音
8. sophisticated adj. 世故的
9. angst n. 焦虑，担心
10. scowl v. 怒目而视
11. slam v. 抨击
12. rip apart 撕开；扯破
13. frill [fril] n. 褶边
14. cheesy adj. 俗气的，愚蠢的
15. glamorous adj. 迷人的
16. confrontational adj. 对立的；对抗的
17. paparazzi n. 狗仔队
18. clipboard n. 带纸夹的写字板
19. 美国Sharpie牌记号笔
20. athletic adj. 运动的；健美的
21. work out 健身
22. certain event 必然事件
23. spunky adj. 充满勇气的