Avril Lavigne joins Zane Lowe in the studio on Apple Music 1 to discuss her new album ‘Love Sux’, how a breakup inspired the album, songwriting, gratitude for her fans the longevity of her career, collaborating with Mark Hoppus, pursuing hobbies outside of music, and more.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About "Finding Her People" Making Her New Album ‘Love Sux’...
The best vibes, such good vibes. I had so much fun. It just all came together. We're all in the pandemic, no one's on tour. My Head Above Water tour was cancelled. So I moved to Malibu. I linked up with Mod Sun, we got together. He introduced me to John Feldman. I was talking to Travis Barker. I was just hanging out with cool people. And then MGK came by the studio, wrote a song, Mark Hoppus, blackberry. It was just the easiest, the most fun. When John Feldman and I started working together, I was like, dude, where have you been the last 10 years? This is so easy. You play guitar. I'm in love with every part, all the production, everything you're doing. I really found my people. We are super great friends. I kind of made this record in two weeks, I'm not kidding you. And I was like, this is way too much fun. And this would be so sad if it was over. Can we keep going? Everyone was having such a blast. Also I didn't even have a label and managers at the time. And I was like, okay, no holding back. I was like, I want to make a pop punk record. I want to rock, pop rock, whatever, emo. Just go all the way through.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Songwriting & How Songs Come To Her…
It happens when it happens. I get vibes. If I write a song that ends up doing really... I have intense vibes where I'm like this is a really special song. I get feeling. I've had that for my whole career, just with certain songs. I will write a chorus in my sleep and just wake up and record it on my phone. That happened to me twice last month. But verses are a pain in the butt.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About A Breakup Inspiring Her Album…
I've been there done that a few times. And I think that it was just like, at this point I can laugh about it. And I just, I've lived, I know what to expect and love puts us through crazy things. And I was able to go into this album just getting out of a breakup and wrote about it and stuff and told the guys like, "Yeah." So I sit down with the guys in the studio, I'm like, "Here's where I'm at. I'm over love. I feel like it just knocked the wind out of me." And I'm like that serious telling them this, all deep and stuff. Right. Yeah. And then like, "NA, NA, NA, not another breakup, when I think of you I just want to throw up." Because I literally was like, "Oh, not another breakup.” And I'll say that, I'll say something in real life and be like, "Oh my God, it's a song." So yeah, I was feeling like love sucked. And I was like, "I'm going to focus on myself right now for the first time." And I was like, "I'm just going to do me." That lasted two days.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Collaborating With Mark Hoppus & Her Love of Blink-182…
I love Blink 182. I listened to them in high school and I feel like they were super... I fell in love with pop punk music through that band. when I got to work with Mark Hoppus on this album and write with him, our session was Zoom. I totally fan girled. I was like, "Oh my God, this is so crazy. This is so cool."His voice is so distinct. He wrote really fast, was playing the bass, recording his vocals, recording himself. It was just like, I knew I loved him and his music and his songwriting, but getting to see that and witness that in person, he's just so extremely talented. I have so much respect for him.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Feeling Grateful For Her Success & Career…
It feels good to be doing it still to this day. I just think now I have a really dope fan base. I feel so lucky every day. I really do. I'm just like, whoa. I came from a really small town in Canada, super normal upbringing, no connections, anything. What are the odds? This all worked out. I remember I dropped out of high school and I moved to New York and got a record deal, no big deal. I was like in the mirror brushing my teeth or something. And I remember looking in the mirror being like, "Well, this better work out or you're going to have to go back to school and that is not going to be fun. This better work out.”
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Album Closer “Break of a Heartache”…
It's a farewell song. So it was totally fitting. Bookending it with the same type of vibe with 'Cannonball' and then 'Break Of A Heartache'. When I wrote 'Break Of A Heartache', it was the chorus. It was kind of country. It was me on my acoustic guitar, which is good for songwriting. Because then I can focus on the lyrics and the melody and just try to write it good. I could really focus. And then later speed it up and punk it out.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Being On "Rock Star Hours"…
Right now I'm on rockstar hours. I wake up at noon. This morning, I was like, "Okay, I'm officially back on rockstar hours." Going to bed at four and waking up at noon. That's what happens when you start playing shows again because the shows are at nine o'clock and you're wired. Even if I'm not partying and out and drinking stuff, which I'm really not doing, you just still stay up. Creative people are like woo! They wake up at night.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music What Keeps Her Busy Outside of Music…
I love to cook. I'll cook Italian, cook whatever. I can make anything. Then drink some red wine. I like to go to dinners with friends and I like to talk to my mum on the phone and I like to work out or whatever I guess. And call my mum or my sister. Then I like to be left alone so that I can write. If there's people around, I don't. I like to be bored and left alone here and there. Then I love to paint. So I like to paint, decorate, cook, drink wine, whatever, hang out with... I keep a small group around me.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Her Paintings…
No one's ever seen it. I've never posted it or anything. I have all my art in my house. I just would have fun and just put out a whole bunch of canvases and drink and just go nuts. I'm weird like that. I've never really told anyone and no one's seen it, but I have some cool stuff and it's fun. And sometimes it looks like my music. Does that make sense?
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Her Mum Being Proud of Her…
My mum is like, if I read you her text messages right now, she's so stoked. She's like, "Oh, you're on billboards right now." She's like, "I just heard you on the radio. You're number whatever on this countdown.” She's super proud of me and just always texting me like, "Oh, I saw you on the TV and stuff." And it feels good. We're both amped. I'm amped to be back with music and doing my thing. This is me. This is what I do. I've been jumping up on stage, I guess I was probably five or something when I started singing on stage and started writing songs when I was 13, 14. I've been doing this my whole life.
Avril Lavigne Tells Apple Music About Upcoming Tour Plans…
In May I'm on tour in Canada, and then I'm announcing tour dates for here [US], and then going other places. It's like I'm telling you but I'm not allowed to tell you the days. Basically, there's a worldwide tour happening.Yeah, I feel like I'll play this record, probably half of it, or a lot of songs will be opening with it, closing with it, and then of course I need to play all the songs from all seven albums from over the years.
