Avril Lavigne Biography Real Name: Avril Lavigne Birthplace: Napanee, Ontario, Canada Birthday: September 27, 1984 Instruments played: Guitar, piano Anything but ordinary. That's putting it slightly when explaining Avril Lavigne. A skater-punk, a active  soul, an exact mad child. One of those extraordinary beings who started wowing people with her voice and nature at around age 2. A village kid who couldn't sit still in class but had the self-belief and willpower to take off, virtually on her own, to hone her songwriting skills in Los Angeles and New York City. A startlingly up-front and extreme 17-year-old with everything it takes to reach fame-entirely on her own terms. "I'm just coming out and I'm going to plainly be myself-I write what I experience, I never fear what others think, " Avril affirms. "I'm gonna dress what's me, I'm gonna do what's me and I'm gonna sing what's me." Avril does just that on her debut CD, Let Go, flaunting sassy vocals, a crystal clear voice with real-girl lyrical technique. "Anything But Ordinary" is a rockin' ode to individualism, while guitar-driven first single, "Complicated," is a plain song that kicks pretenders to the curb. The string-inflected "I'm With You" reaches out for correlation to indicate Avril's more mellower side, but tracks like "Losing Grip" and "Unwanted" bravely confront rejection and betrayal with all the heaviness such themes demand. Then there's "My World" and the metaphoric "Mobile," which flawlessly express the Avril experience. "I have this amazing chance to realize my dream. I am all over the place, flying here and there, going through various stuff every day," she describes. "This is my way of life, but I wouldn't want a usual life or I'd get bored." It seems that, Avril was born for such madness. A middle child who "always wanted to be the center of attention," she was bound to bust out of Napanee, Ontario, population 5,000. "I always knew this was what I had to do," she says. "I remember when I was really young, standing on my bed like it was a stage, singing at the top of my lungs and visualizing thousands of people surrounding me." She segued from her bedroom to singing, well, whenever and wherever she could-starting in church singing gospel music, and on to events, then singing country music at fairs and talent competitions-until she was discovered by Arista Records. On a writing trip to NYC, Avril caught the attention of Antonio "LA" Reid, who snapped her up and signed her to Arista. At 16, she went to Manhattan and began work on her debut CD. Avril plunged into the ingenious progression. "I love writing," she describes. "When I get upset and certainly need to get it out of me I go to my guitar. Sometimes I think my guitar is my psychotherapist." Although Avril virtually lived in the studio during that New York stint, her efforts didn't pay off at first. "I started working with these really capable people, but I just wasn't feeling it; the songs weren't representative of me," she admits. "Then they started talking about having people write for me, but I had to write myself. I had to do my music. It was a really worrying time, but I never considered giving up." Instead, she flipped coasts. Los Angeles gave Avril the new start she needed. It was there that she hooked up with producer and songwriter Clif Magness, and "I was like, 'Yeah! I've found my guy!'" she enthuses. "We totally clicked, because he just let me guide; he really understood me and let me do my thing." The songs for Let Go began pouring out, with Magness at the helm as well as up-and-coming production team the Matrix. Shortly Avril hooked up with Nettwerk Management who've steered the careers of Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Coldplay, Barenaked Ladies and Sum 41. Avril couldn't be pleased with the way the album turned out. "In this past year I've really grown as a writer. 'Complicated' wasn't written about anyone in particular. It is principally about life, people being fake and relationships." As to one of her favorite tracks, "Losing Grip," she says, "That is absolutely one of my ex-boys-he didn't give me what I needed emotionally." Avril laughs, "It doesn't matter now, and plus I got a good song out of it." Now that her album is done, Avril can't wait to get out and play. She jokes, pointing out that touring with her own sk8er punk band of rocker boys probably won't be all that different from her childhood, "I was always a tomboy and I guess I still am. I played hockey during the fall /winter and baseball in the summer. I loved playing with the boys. But Avril's music is capable of reaching the girls and the guys, and more than a few courageous adults too-and she's chomping at the bit to bring it to 'em. "I can't wait to be out there; I want to rock the world! I want folks to know that my music is real and truthful -it came from my heart. I was just being true to myself." Avril's real, all right. And ordinary? Anything but.