Avril Lavigne Has Staying Power Over Her Wannabes

Heath McCoy of The Calgary Herald profiled Avril Lavigne and the angry rock-chick sound she dumbed down for a pre-teen audience, and how the singer has influenced Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Lindsay Lohan, and Hilary Duff. “Everybody underestimates Avril, and they shouldn’t,” argued Larry LeBlanc, bureau chief for Billboard magazine in Canada. “Avril didn’t start like (her imitators). She wasn’t a Disney doll. … She’s not up there dancing and doing reality shows. … When she came out, she was positioned differently. She was like the girl in Grade 10 sitting in the back of the class at 3:10, waiting for the bell to ring, going ‘I am so fu**ing bored.’ Every small town has a bunch of Avril Lavignes. She was the quintessential Canadian kid from a small town. I think that was her appeal.” Read more.