No, Avril Lavigne is technically not dead but she might as well be. When I first pitched this article to my coworkers they immediately asked me if she is still making music (she is, unfortunately), which is exactly my point. Avril started off strong in the music industry at the ripe age of 17 with her breakout album “Let Go”. Her tomboy fashion choices and rebellious attitude was something quite uncommon in the pop music scene and her popularity immediately soared. She continued to be a relevant staple in pop culture for two whole albums after her first one, but after that things started to get complicated (see what I did there?).
I myself had almost completely forgotten about Avril until Miley Cyrus posted a video on Instagram featuring the Canadian has-been. For sake of nostalgia and curiosity I decided to visit Avril’s Instagram page where I discovered her sad state of existence. Her bio simply says “Professional Rocker / New album out NOW!!!” followed by a link to buy the atrocity on iTunes. If you’re a (previously) well-known celebrity and you have to desperately promote the release of your latest album in the first portion of your social media profile, I think it’s safe to say things aren’t going so well for you career-wise.
Prior to the release of her current album she did put out a record that didn’t receive much media attention or radio play but I personally believe she could have bounced back from that. What really put the nail in her metaphorical coffin was her relationship with Nickelback frontman, Chad Kroeger. While Kroeger’s music is well known, it’s far more infamous than revered; Nickelback is often referred to as one of the worst bands of all time. By intimately associating herself with Kroeger, Avril has ensured that nobody will ever take her music seriously again. When the pair’s engagement was announced, humor site CollegeHumor created a fake leaked wedding invitation featuring widely mocked objects and designs such as “Crocs” and the font “Comic Sans.”
Though I tried to keep an open mind while listening to clips from her latest album I couldn’t help but imagine Avril serenading Kroeger at every mention of sex or love that she crooned. She even went as far as to including her husband on one of her tracks, which sounds just about as appalling as one would imagine it to. I strongly believe that if Avril ever wants to get her music career back on track she needs to say, “See you later, boy” to Chad Kroeger ‘cause he isn’t good enough for her.
