Avril Lavigne: The Real Deal by Joe D'Angelo
It's tough being the new kid in school. As soon as you arrive, all eyes are on you, scrutinizing your look, your dress and your haircut. Everything you've ever been up to this point is irrelevant — the new crowd has already formed strong opinions based on this first impression. As the newest addition to the MTV News team, I know the feeling.

So Avril Lavigne. since emerging on the pop scene, this brash 17-year-old has given off a first impression that split her audience into two fractions: those who view her as a strong-willed wild child and those who think she's a poser and a major-label product.

"She's not just some chick who follows the whole pop scene and preppy thing," one fan wrote to our You Tell Us forum. "She sticks to her own image of herself and doesn't wear a lot of slutty clothes, unlike some of her peers," opined another.

Others, conversely, think her songs are silly and her delivery is a warmed over Alanis Morissette. Some sentiments are stronger: "She's so fabricated it makes me sick. ... Her 'punk' style is disappointing because it probably comes from the pages of Teen People."

And just like in school, most of those passing judgment don't know the whole story.

I first met Avril Lavigne in February, in a Los Angeles hotel during Grammy week. After checking in, I was on my way to my room, as was fellow correspondent Sway to his, when we stumbled upon a pack of teenagers skateboarding through the carpeted halls. They were laughing and screaming, loud and obnoxious, but none of those around seemed to care. The ceremony was in a few days and the other guests, including Outkast's Big Boi, India.Arie and Backstreet Boys, likely dismissed them as fans who slipped by security or forgave them for being the uncontrollable offspring of industry players.

"Hey, you're on MTV," a slight girl in oversized cargo cutoffs and a stained tank top said to Sway and me.

Oh no, here comes the first autograph seeker of the week, we thought. But picking up our names wasn't as important as dropping hers.

"My name is Avril Lavigne," the pipsqueak squawked. "You're going to know me soon." And with that, she dropped her board and skated off, nearly clipping Big Boi's shins in the process.

Fast forward six months, and I, as well as millions nationwide, have realized Avril's prediction.

But it isn't just Avril Lavigne's name that people remember. Most young, female pop artists before her seemed like Britney replicas, complete with blond hair and belly rings. Lavigne, on the contrary, wouldn't be caught dead in such glittery get-ups. Even for photo shoots, of which she's done quite a few recently, she prefers to wear her old, crumpled T's, much to the dismay of hired stylists armed with wardrobes of costumes.

Whether she's onstage, in front of a camera, or simply kicking back, Avril strives to be nothing but herself. She rides a skateboard, opts for baggy over fitted, isn't afraid to open her mouth (even if she sometimes puts her foot in it) and would rather hang with the guys than shop with the girls.

She approaches her career with a similar casual confidence and self-determination. She wants be successful, but on her own terms, just as she wants to look hot, but in a pair of cutoff Dickies rather than a miniskirt. When her label wanted her to sing what she referred to as "Celine Dion-type ballads," she rejected them outright and insisted on writing her own songs.

The bold declaration shocked the executives who underestimated her talents, not the least of whom was Arista Records CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid. While he was probably taken back by the newcomer's rebuff, he might have also cast a sly grin, knowing that he got more than he had bargained for when he signed Lavigne to the label in November 2000.

She eventually worked with a team of pro songsmiths to craft her debut LP, Let Go, but one listen to the songs and you know an outspoken teenager had more than a passive hand in their creation. Take the album's lead single, "Complicated," which explains the disappointment felt when the boy she likes acts like a dork around his friends. Or its successor, "Sk8er Boi," about seeing beauty where no one else could in a high school misfit who eventually became a rock star.

While she was recording the album, Reid dropped by the studio to check in on his latest prospect, a visit that made most everyone around nervous. The jitters are understandable, given Reid is responsible launching the careers of Pink and Usher, among others. So all were on their best behavior. All, that is, except Avril, who was simply acting like Avril and it wouldn't have made a difference if it was L.A. Reid, Lou Reed or Tara Reid who paid her a visit.

"Everyone was like, freaking out," she remembered. "They were like, 'Are you going to be OK? You're not going to be nervous, are you?' I'm like, 'What? I'm just going to be singing, OK? I'm fine, I'm just doing my thing.' "

Lavigne began "doing her thing" in Napanee, Ontario, a town with a population of about 5,000. An admitted tomboy, she grew up a middle child, which could explain her craving for the spotlight. Like most suburban high schools, hers had its cliques: the jocks, Goths, freaks, stoners and skaters. Lavigne found a home with the latter, and like most who fall in that category, she skates because she likes it, not because she envisions herself the next Tony Hawk.

"Dude, I suck," is her typical response when asked about her shredding skills. "I mean, I like to skate, it's fun, but ... I like to do it in my free time. I don't want someone to shove a camera and a board in my face and be like, 'Here, let's see what everyone's talking about.' Because it's not like I'm a pro. I fall a lot, but I mean, everyone falls, you know."

Despite the sense of good fortune and gratitude most would derive from having L.A. Reid as a fan, Lavigne seems rather unimpressed. Sheer adolescent confidence permeates her logic. "If it wasn't this label, it would be another," she said matter-of-factly, as if those statistics about one in every few thousand artists being commercially successful didn't apply to her.

The Let Go track "Anything But Ordinary" is Avril's signature song: "Somebody save my life/ I'd rather be any thing but ordinary, please." While it seems as though her sincerity would preclude her from needing to be rescued, simply writing a song about being "anything but ordinary" could come off as contrived. Just because a kid sports a T-shirt reading "Freak," it doesn't make him one. It seems the harder you reach for it, the farther away you get.

It would be easy to dismiss Lavigne as a poser if it weren't for the other aspects of her personality that aren't so much "cool" as they are genuine. She's quick to admit that school made her insecure (she's since dropped out to concentrate solely on her music). And as much as she professes to having this fashion-plate phobia, she's prone to be contradictory, but aren't we all? In keeping with her muss-and-no-fuss exterior, she waved off a stylist who tried to primp her hair for our interview, but when I informed her that she had a strand out of place, she blushed, thanked me profusely and looked a little self-conscious. This isn't being fake, it's being real.

Another aspect that debunks the notion that Lavigne is the product of a major-label laboratory is her band: drummer Matthew Brann, bassist Mark Spicoluk and guitarists Jesse Colburn and Evan Taubenfeld. Although she got together with them after signing her deal, these boys are her band, and she treats them as such. Besides the guys being all over her "Complicated" video, she and Taubenfeld wrote a song together soon after they met. Lavigne expects some of their collaborative efforts to appear on her next LP.

"I'm a solo artist and it's my name, but I have the band vibe and I want people, when they hear my name or think 'Avril Lavigne,' to think of me and the guys. That's how much I want them to be involved in this," she explained. "We have something really special and we connect really well. It's strange, but it really feels like we're all supposed to be together. It's a really cool, unique situation."

And like most 17-year-olds, she finds a rocker guy strapped with a Les Paul sunburst simply irresistible. "I had a crush on each of them," she confessed. "Aren't they hot?"

She's not alone in this real-girl approach. Along with Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, Lavigne is making a refreshing return to themes deeper and more emotionally grounded than the vague musical question posed by the last 'NSYNC single: "Would you be my girlfriend?" Girls like Avril, Vanessa, and Michelle require a little more info and reply with questions like "Why?" and "What's in it for me?" Like just being in a boy band isn't enough? For these ladies and their fans, it's not.

As Let Go continues to move around 100,000 copies each week, Lavigne may find that the sudden success can make holding on to her no-frills image all the more difficult. It was easy to decline an offer to slink into some fancy couture when you've never worn it, but when you can afford to have a closetful, the temptation to ditch your tried and true blue jeans may be too much. Avril, wise beyond her years, has even forecasted the possibility of losing her grip on "Mobile": "Everything's changing when I turn around/ All out of my control, I'm a mobile."

When I asked how she's going to keep it all in check, Lavigne, not surprisingly, already had it all figured out.

"I don't get overwhelmed," she said, "just because I feel like I've kind of prepared myself for it. All my life this is what I've wanted, what I've dreamed about, and I knew this would happen. I've been singing ever since I was really young and I've wanted this so bad, and I told myself I would do it. I would have to. I'm really chill about it."

She elaborated on the impending changes recently in ELLEgirl: "I have to fight to keep my image really me. Today, I rejected some gorgeous publicity shots because they just didn't look like me. I won't wear skanky clothes that show my booty, my belly or my boobs. I have a great body. I could be Britney. I could be better than Britney."

Although she could be, she's clearly not in any rush. The last time I saw Avril that week in February, I was heading into one of the gala post-Grammy parties. As I made my way down the red carpet, I could see a virtual who's who of the music industry inside: artists mingling with executives; actors mixing with models; exquisite hors d'oeuvres passed on endless trays. But then I heard that distinct sound of a skateboard slamming against the asphalt.

Turning around, I spotted Avril with the same group of friends, tricking off most anything in their vicinity. It was warm, they were sweaty, their shirts were stained and some of the guys visibly needed new shoes. And she was laughing, just like she had laughed at the hotel.

Since this fete was thrown by the parent company of her label, she could have been the proverbial belle of the ball. But then I stopped myself. It was as apparent then as it is now that Avril Lavigne's bell chimes to her own time.