Avril Lavigne is on the mend following an attack in L.A. early Sunday (Nov. 6). Lavigne's boyfriend, Brody Jenner (of MTV's "The Hills" fame) reported to police that he was hit with a smashed bottle outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, while Lavigne detailed her injuries on her Twitter account.  Los Angeles police Sgt. Keith Green said Monday (Nov. 7) that Jenner filed a police report of assault with a deadly weapon after being hit.

According to Lavigne's Twitter, she was "attacked by five people last night out of nowhere... My face is f*cked." She added: "As in, black eye, bloody nose, hair ripped out, scratches, bruises and cuts. So not OK to be abusive to others. Violence is NEVER the answer."Jenner tweeted his own experience, saying: "Interesting Saturday night... Just got of the hospital with a new scar on my face.. Charges/chargers!!!"

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Celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that five people attacked Lavigne and "The Hills" star Brody Jenner outside of the iconic Hollywood hotel. Lavigne, 27, whose hit singles include "Sk8er Boi" and "Girlfriend," addressed the incident on Twitter.

"I don't fight. I don't believe in it. To clear things up I got attacked by 5 people last night out of nowhere. Not cool..." Lavigne posted, adding that she had suffered a black eye, bloody nose, hair ripped out, scratches, bruises and cuts. "So not ok to be abusive to others. Violence is NEVER the answer," the singer said.

Jenner, 28, the step-brother of the celebrity Kardashian siblings, also posted about the incident on Twitter, saying "Just got of the hospital with a new scar on my face."No arrests have been made, although a spokesman for Los Angeles Police Department told Reuters they were aware of a "skirmish outside in that area on Sunday morning."

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Music shows are crowding the airwaves these days, with a roster on young unknown singers scrambling to compete for a dream recording contract and a shot at ultra stardom.

“Majors & Minors” is one of those shows. It’s about discovering voices which may otherwise not be heard, but there is a twist on this show: there is no elimination. It follows the growth of twelve young singers who, each week, are given mentoring by recording artist. Tonight, that someone is Avril Lavigne. Speakeasy chatted with her about her appearance on the show and whether or not she could relate to the kids, since she also got her start at a young age.

“I had the opportunity to talk to them and answer questions about how I got my start and what to expect, what its like for me today,” Lavigne said. “It was a nice, humbling and refreshing experience for me.”

She said she tried to describe for them what life as a performer could be like for them. “I always tell people, if you have a dream go for it. Believe in yourself. It requires a lot of dedication and hard work. Depending on the lever you want to get to, you have to travel a lot, you don’t see your friends and family a lot. You have to be prepared for that.

She also worked with them on their music. For tonight’s show, they singers learned one of her songs and performed it. As a mentor, she was able to talk to the kids about their vocal chords, and explained to them that it’s a muscle, that needs to be warmed up and taken care of and trained.

The Canadian rocker spent much of October at home in Canada, which she said has a “whole different vibe” than LA does. Her new single “Wish You Were Here” releases on November 1.  “Majors & Minors” airs Sunday, October 30 at 7 p.m. ET on the Hub.

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TORONTO — Midway through a sparsely attended arena gig in Toronto this week, Avril Lavigne paused between songs to express her joy at playing "so close to home," in her "beautiful" native country.

She had just finished singing "Alice," and it was the first time in the evening she unleashed the full power of her vocal instrument, allowing her voice to billow and soar into every corner of the Air Canada Centre.
 
And it couldn't have been easy to fill all that empty space. See, it's not just the Canadian weather that might have felt chilly to Lavigne, who grew up in Napanee, Ont., but moved to Los Angeles years ago. To hear her tell it, this cross-country trek was a triumphant homecoming, the first since her latest album dropped in March, so where were the adoring crowds to cheer her on?

A reported audience of 6,800 fans showed up to her gig at the Air Canada Centre, which can hold 15,800 fans for a concert. Her shows across the country reported similarly anemic turnouts, while the reviews varied from tepid to scathing -- a representative notice from the Winnipeg Free Press compared her lifeless performance to that of a zombie.

And considering that Lavigne's latest -- "Goodbye Lullaby" -- has failed to generate a fraction of the interest as her previous disc, there's no shortage of speculation that the pop-punk princess's reign could be coming to an end.

"She's having a difficult time making the transition from being a skater girl to being a 27-year-old woman," said Alan Cross, music blogger and host of the syndicated radio show "The Secret History of Rock."

"It's very tough to grow with your audience. ... The next year is going to be very important if she's going to be able to make the transition.""I mean, she's far from dead. But it may take a little time for the new Avril to take root."And at this point, it's not exactly clear who the new Avril is.

She burst onto the scene less than a decade ago with 2002's hit-laden "Let Go," providing a so-called edgy alternative to the dolled-up pop strumpets who were shifting the bar of good taste ever-lower and climbing ever-higher on the charts in the process (Lavigne's first album arrived in the one-year period between two video hallmarks for lowest-common-denominator pop pandering: Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" and Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty.")

A then-17-year-old Lavigne had a stylistic hook (ties and tank-tops), a strong voice and a bundle of super-catchy pop tunes stained by just a speck of punk grime -- Ramona imitating the Ramones. Given the vapid and increasingly tawdry direction of pop at the time, Lavigne really did offer an alternative to young music fans, even if critics snidely derided the young singer's punk posturing.

And Lavigne herself, meanwhile, easily forged a connection with fans. She seemed as sassy, confused and occasionally petulant as real teenagers, whether she was chewing gum and staring at her shoes through television interviews or mooning cameras at the MuchMusic Video Awards.

On the strength of singles "Complicated," "I'm With You" and "Sk8er Boi," "Let Go" attained diamond certification in Canada and went six times platinum in the U.S. Her next two albums -- 2004's "Under My Skin" and 2007's "The Best Damn Thing" -- brought diminishing returns commercially but still went platinum a combined seven times over in Canada.

And that, perhaps, is when Lavigne's career started to slide. There was a lengthy four-year break between albums, during which time Lavigne divorced husband (and Sum 41 frontman) Deryck Whibley and changed her management, switching from Vancouver-based Nettwerk to a representation based closer to home in L.A.

When it did eventually come time to make "Goodbye Lullaby," it wasn't an easy process. In interviews, she talked about being frustrated by delays and record-company interference, and that creative fracture seemed to bear an effect on an album that pulls in different directions at once.

First single "What the Hell" is a typically frivolous, high-energy pop-rock song that would have fit in nicely on "Let Go." Elsewhere on the record, Lavigne explores a more mature sound. Ultimately, the disc almost seems split down the middle between spit-shined, pink-streaked party starters and glumly introspective material.

"Avril's mellow new album is, in effect, an attempt at reinvention and so far it hasn't worked," said Jeff Burlingame, the author of "Avril Lavigne: Celebrity With Heart."

"But how many teen stars, in any entertainment field, move on to become stars as adults? There are very few and there are reasons for that. Fans grow up and move on. Have you ever seen a 30-year-old mother of two sing 'Sk8er Boi?' It isn't flattering."Burlingame points out that Lavigne might have had a particularly difficult time retaining her audience because, as those fans aged, they began to see how contrived her "punk" image really was.

"Many people believe Avril was sort of a creation from the get-go. I wouldn't call her manufactured, as many of today's pop stars are, because she does have more talent than most, but she is an artist who auditioned as a country singer, and then all of a sudden became a rock 'n' roll rebel.

"Many people have called her on that. There's a logistical gap there that teens usually don't see through but older fans do. And her fans are older now."But others point out that Lavigne isn't alone in struggling to retain her fans. In the evolving music business, where artists seem to slide from view in the time it takes to read a tweet, no one can take anything for granted.

"Things have changed. Fan loyalty has shifted," said Steve Waxman, director of national publicity for Warner Music Canada, a label that isn't associated with Lavigne. "Now, when we release, we can't necessarily count on a large fanbase to follow an artist from one record to the next. Artists need to basically re-establish themselves on every new release.

"It goes for everybody."And Lavigne isn't exactly in a crisis. She's built a solid international following in Europe and Japan that can help to offset disappointing returns in North America. She's also kept herself busy with her own fashion line (Abbey Dawn) and two perfumes (Black Star and Forbidden Rose), business pursuits that some have speculated blurred her musical focus -- Burlingame, for instance, mused whether her music had become "somewhat of an afterthought."

Well, the spotlight was on her music at the Air Canada Centre, in part because there wasn't much else to focus on. Lavigne's live show features none of the frilly thrills (or costume changes) of the big-budget pop extravaganzas that Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have steered around the continent this summer. Instead, Lavigne just performs with her band and a stark, bare stage (and yet, tickets for Lavigne's tour-closing show in Montreal began at $53, while Perry's tickets will run US$37.50-$47.50 when she opens her next tour in Hartford).

And Lavigne has never seemed the most engaged performer. During her Toronto show, she displayed the unfortunate habit of occasionally sitting down and resting on an amplifier onstage while singing. Even when she performed at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, she carried the slumping, bored demeanour of a teen being forced to sit through a family dinner.

Yet the young fans who were present at this week's Air Canada Centre gig -- clad in Lavigne merchandise and waving neon green glowing stars in the air -- hung on her every syllable anyway. "I just want to take the time to say thank you so much," Lavigne told the crowd at one point. "It's so humbling and I'm so grateful."The key word there might be "humbling." But given the way the relatively small but devoted crowd shrieked its affection back, Lavigne still has her fair share of devoted disciples waiting to see what she does next.

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What rock 'n' roll show starts off with a song selling perfume? Avril Lavigne's first fragrance was Black Star, and the throwaway ditty that ushered it into the marketplace was the underwhelming kickoff for the final show of her Black Star Tour at the Bell Centre Tuesday night. "A rock star, rock star you will always be," the girl from Napanee, Ont., sang to an audience of 5,400 fans - mostly girls in their teens and 20s, patches of them waving green glow sticks. Ol' raccoon eyes was back.

But no real rock star - even one bearing a tattoo with an unprintable word on the left side of her rib cage - starts off with a word from her sponsor. Those who have always suspected that Lavigne is more a triumph of marketing than of musical worth would most likely not have been convinced otherwise at Tuesday's show.

Lavigne remains, at best, an ersatz rocker, a power-pop icon imparting to teenyboppers of all ages the admittedly admirable message that young women should be as powerful and assertive as they want to be. But unfortunately, she mostly does it via generic rockers like He Wasn't and big hit Sk8er Boi, played early in her 90-minute set, and forgettable-as-they-come ballads like I Love You, a recent song oddly placed in the middle of the encores. As for the lyrics, the less said, the better.

When you can't get a crowd in such a youthful demographic out of the seats, something is wrong. The standing-room audience on the floor had no choice, but it was telling that only intermittent patches of young fans stood up in the arena's seated sections. In spite of all the fist-raising, classic-rock poses, obligatory singalongs and endless crowd-and-city hyping, this was, ultimately, a strangely lifeless concert. And the unusual lack of a video screen and barelythere staging made everything seem puny.

There were moments. I Always Get What I Want is framed on a driving, irresistible chord run and Lavigne's powerful wailing at the end proved the tour had not taken a toll on her voice. She might not have the songs, but she does have the pipes, showing them off to most impressive effect on Alice. During that song, delivered from atop the piano, she glided forcefully, but gracefully, into a strong falsetto.

And there was something touching and anthemic about the way she turned over the chorus of I'm With You, one of her earliest songs and the last pre-encore selection, to the fans. The audience singalong might be a rock-concert cliché, but the way the crowd threw itself into the "it's a damn cold night" bit and breathed new life into this plea for companionship was undeniably sweet.

The concert could - and probably should - have ended there. The three encores - the pedestrian power ballads Best Years of Our Lives, sung with former guitarist and longstanding friend Evan Taubenfeld, and I Love You, plus show-closer Complicated - seemed anticlimactic. The uncontrived moment had come and gone.

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MONTREAL - What rock 'n’ roll show starts off with a song selling perfume? Avril Lavigne’s first fragrance was Black Star, and the throwaway ditty that ushered it onto the marketplace was the underwhelming kickoff for the final show of her Black Star Tour at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. “A rock star, rock star you will always be,” the girl from Napanee, Ont., sang to an audience of 5,400 fans – mostly girls in their teens and 20s, patches of them waving green glow sticks. Ol’ Raccoon Eyes was back.

But no real rock star – even one bearing a tattoo with an unprintable word on the left side of her rib cage – starts off with a word from her sponsor. Those who have always suspected that Lavigne is a triumph more of marketing than of musical worth would most likely not have been convinced otherwise at Tuesday’s show.

Lavigne remains, at best, an ersatz rocker, a power-pop icon imparting to teenyboppers of all ages the admittedly admirable message that young women should be as powerful and assertive as they want to be. But, unfortunately, she mostly does it via generic rockers like He Wasn’t and big hit Sk8er Boi, played early in her 90-minute set, and forgettable-as-they-come ballads like I Love You, a recent song oddly placed in the middle of the encores. As for the lyrics, the less said, the better.

When you can’t get a crowd in such a youthful demographic out of the seats, something is wrong. The standing-room audience on the floor had no choice, but it was telling that only intermittent patches of young fans stood up in the arena’s seated sections. In spite of all the fist-raising, classic-rock poses, obligatory singalongs and endless crowd-and-city hyping, this was, ultimately, a strangely lifeless concert. And the unusual lack of a video screen and barely-there staging made everything seem puny.

There were moments. I Always Get What I Want is framed on a driving, irresistible chord run and Lavigne’s powerful waling at the end proved the tour had not taken a toll on her voice. She might not have the songs, but she does have the pipes, showing them off to most impressive effect on Alice. During that song, delivered from atop the piano, she glided forcefully, but gracefully, into a strong falsetto.

And there was something touching and anthemic about the way she turned over the chorus of I’m With You, one of her earliest songs and the last pre-encore selection, to the fans. The audience singalong might be a rock-concert cliche, but the way the crowd threw itself into the “It’s a damn cold night” bit and breathed new life into this plea for companionship was undeniably sweet.

The concert could – and probably should – have ended there. The three encores – the pedestrian power ballads Best Years of Our Lives, sung with former guitarist and longstanding friend Evan Taubenfeld, and I Love You, plus show-closer Complicated – seemed anticlimactic.

Read the rest of this entry »

Avril Lavigne’s first fragrance was Black Star, and the throwaway ditty that ushered it onto the marketplace was the underwhelming kickoff for the final show of her Black Star Tour at the Bell Centre Tuesday night. “A rock star, rock star you will always be,” the girl from Napanee, Ont., sang to an audience of 5,400 fans – mostly girls in their teens and 20s, patches of them waving green glow sticks. Ol’ raccoon eyes was back.

But no real rock star – even one bearing a tattoo with an unprintable word on the left side of her rib cage – starts off with a word from her sponsor. Those who have always suspected that Lavigne is a triumph more of marketing than of musical worth would most likely not have been convinced otherwise at Tuesday’s show.

Lavigne remains, at best, an ersatz rocker, a power-pop icon imparting to teenyboppers of all ages the admittedly admirable message that young women should be as powerful and assertive as they want to be. But unfortunately, she mostly does it via generic rockers like He Wasn’t and big hit Sk8er Boi, played early in her 90-minute set, and forgettable-as-they-come ballads like I Love You, a recent song oddly placed in the middle of the encores. As for the lyrics, the less said, the better.

When you can’t get a crowd in such a youthful demographic out of the seats, something is wrong. The standing-room audience on the floor had no choice, but it was telling that only intermittent patches of young fans stood up in the arena’s seated sections. In spite of all the fist-raising, classic-rock poses, obligatory singalongs and endless crowd-and-city hyping, this was, ultimately, a strangely lifeless concert. And the unusual lack of a video screen and barely-there staging made everything seem puny.

There were moments. I Always Get What I Want is framed on a driving, irresistible chord run and Lavigne’s powerful waling at the end proved the tour had not taken a toll on her voice. She might not have the songs, but she does have the pipes, showing them off to most impressive effect on Alice. During that song, delivered from atop the piano, she glided forcefully, but gracefully, into a strong falsetto.

And there was something touching and anthemic about the way she turned over the chorus of I’m With You, one of her earliest songs and the last pre-encore selection, to the fans. The audience singalong might be a rock-concert cliche, but the way the crowd threw itself into the “It’s a damn cold night” bit and breathed new life into this plea for companionship was undeniably sweet.

The concert could – and probably should – have ended there.  The three encores – the pedestrian power ballads Best Years of Our Lives, sung with former guitarist and longstanding friend Evan Taubenfeld, and I Love You, plus show-closer Complicated – seemed anticlimactic.

Read the rest of this entry »

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An offer from Canadian pop princess Avril Lavigne for 300 Canadian military family members to see her London show free became mired in confusion — and most of the families were shut out Saturday night.

Canadian military families in southern Ontario were told about 10 days ago a block of tickets to the show at the John Labatt Centre were available.

The families were asked to let organizers know how many they needed. But Friday, the day before the concert, families received e-mails saying the offer was cancelled. “This opportunity has been cancelled and there will not be any tickets available for the concert,” states the message from Capt. Brad Whipple of the 31st Brigade Group in London.

“The Avril Lavigne Foundation was unable to get the tickets to us for the concert at the JLC this Saturday, (Oct. 22, 2011) . . .We regret the short notice, but please pass this along to all your members,” his message stated.

But that was not the case, said JLC manager Brian Ohl. “There are 300 tickets sitting there for Capt. Whipple,” Ohl said. “If the offer was withdrawn, no one told us. We have them and they (were) sitting here.”

Ohl did hear from some military family members Saturday and gave them tickets . . .at the box office. They managed to give away about a dozen tickets, he said. “We had a number of people call in. It’s unfortunate and I still am not sure what happened.”

The mix-up left military families fuming and confused. “It’s really disappointing,” said Sarah Harley, a soldier’s wife and mother of five. “I am very upset. My daughters were screaming ‘What do you mean?’ The kids love (Lavigne) and to now find out the tickets are there, it does not look good on the military . . .”The tickets were available through the Military Family Resource Centre at Wolseley Barracks. Harley was told there were six tickets for her family before the cancellation e-mail from Whipple.

Harley’s children are 14, 12, 10, two and seven weeks old. Her husband Curtis served seven months in Afghanistan. Whipple, officials with the Military Family Resource Centre and a spokesperson for Lavigne couldn’t be reached Sunday.

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An offer from Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne for Canadian military families to see her Saturday concert in London, Ont., free of charge, has become mired in confusion after 300 veterans’ families have been shut out of the show.

Canadian military families throughout Southern Ontario were told about 10 days ago that a block of tickets to the Oct. 22 show at the John Labatt Centre would be available to them. They were asked to let organizers know how many tickets interested families would need. But Friday, the day before the concert, they got an e-mail message saying the offer was cancelled.

“This opportunity has been cancelled and there will not be any tickets available for the concert,” said the message from Capt. Brad Whipple of the Military Family Resource Centre in London. “The Avril Lavigne Foundation was unable to get the tickets to us for the concert at the JLC this Saturday.”But that’s not the case, said John Labatt Centre manager Brian Ohl.

“There are 300 tickets sitting there for Capt. Whipple,” said Ohl. “If the offer was withdrawn, no one told us. We have them and they are sitting here.”That left military families fuming and confused, and wondering if the military screwed up.

“We are a military family, living on a military salary and we do not get the chance to do this very often. It is really disappointing,” said Sarah Harley, a veteran’s wife and mother of five in Petawawa, Ont., hours away from London by car.

“I am very upset. My daughters were screaming, ‘What do you mean?’ The kids love her, and to now find out the tickets are there, it does not look good on the military, especially since they blame the foundation.”

Harley was originally told there were six tickets put aside for her before the cancellation e-mail from Whipple. Whipple and officials with the Military Family Resource Centre couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Saturday. “I am not sure where the disconnect is?,” said Ohl. “I have been told to pull tickets and process them for the military who will pick them up.”

Harley’s children are 14, 12, 10, and two, with another only seven weeks old. Her husband, Curtis, a corporal, served seven months in Afghanistan.

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