SOURCE: LAUNCH.Com
ARTICLE: Lavigne, Carlton, And Branch Happy To Break Britney Mold
DATE: 7/01/02

After only three weeks, Avril Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, has risen to Number Five on the Billboard 200 album sales chart and is steadily approaching gold certification for sales of 500,000.

The 17-year-old Canadian phenom joins Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch as a new breed of successful, young female recordings acts who defy the teen-pop style championed in recent years by Britney Spears and others. Instead, Lavigne and her peers write their own songs and play their own instruments.

Lavigne told LAUNCH she's proud to be part of the new trinity, "I love those girls," she said. "I like their music, I think it's cool. We all have, like, unique stuff about us, but at the same time, you know, we're all young singer-songwriters or whatever."

Lavigne heads to London for a show and press tour July 9, while Carlton hits the road with Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind on July 29. Branch is still supporting her debut album, The Spirit Room, while also turning her sights toward recording new material.

-Buzz Bishop, Vancouver