Singer Avril Lavigne honoured with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Canadian singer-songwriter began her music career at the age of 16
Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday and expressed her pleasure at the event.
The Canadian singer-songwriter revealed to Fox News Digital that when she began her music career at the age of 16, she never anticipated she would be given this accolade. When she was a teenager and had just dropped out of high school in order to pursue a career as a singer, she recalled making her first trip to the famous boulevard.
In the same sweatshirt she was wearing during the ceremony, Lavigne brought a photo of herself from that trip.
“I mean to get a star today on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is an absolute dream come true, I can’t believe it. I visited LA, Hollywood, for the first time when I was 16, and this is me here photographed on that trip. I was wearing this hoodie, which was my favourite hoodie in high school,” she said. “Never in a million years did I think I would have a star, and I feel very blessed and grateful and I’m happy to be making music still today.”
When chatting about the ceremony, her friend and fellow singer Machine Gun Kelly couldn’t help but applaud her. He said he still has the goal of creating music that has the same impact on listeners as her songs do.
He also complimented Lavigne’s dedication to keeping it real with her fans, saying she never puts on a show and is just always her authentic self. “[She is] so far beyond an image and really is a rock star,” he shared.
“Those songs have been in my life since before I even had arm hair. Just thinking about the fact that she wrote those songs at 17 years old, that are songs that me now at 30 is, like, striving to write,” he said. “It’s so appropriate. That’s who you want to envision getting stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is someone who comes to the town of dreams and makes it happen.”
Lavigne also talked about how meaningful it was to be able to recognise Shania Twain, a legend of country music, at the recent ACM Honors. When she was just 14 years old, she reflected on how great it was to perform alongside Mark Twain and how that performance aided her in advancing in her profession.
“I was just at the ACM Honors. I just honoured Shania Twain with the Poet Award and performed her song ‘No One Needs to Know,’” Lavigne said. “I sang on stage with her when I was 14 years old. I won a contest through a local radio station to sing with her. Of course, that was super helpful and created buzz around me.”
At the age of 16, Lavigne earned a recording deal with Arista Records for two albums. The best-selling record of the 21st century by a Canadian artist is ‘Let Go’, her debut studio album, released in 2002.