Avril Lavigne on 20 Years of ‘Let Go,’ Being a ‘Real-Ass Bitch’ and Earning a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

variety.com:

Ellise Shafer Avril Lavigne’sfirst time visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame coincided with a major moment in her life. It was 2001, and the then-16-year-old had traveled to Los Angeles to work on what would become her seven-times platinum debut album, “Let Go.” She was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel, which is on the famed boulevard, and ventured out to take a stroll amongst the stars. “It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for me because this is where I made my album,” Lavigne tells Variety in advance receiving her own star on the Walk of Fame on Aug.

31. “My first time coming to L.A., that’s what I did. I walked down the strip and checked out stars. I took a picture, and I can’t remember [which star] it’s with, but I’m wearing a sweatshirt that says ‘skateboarding is not a crime.’” Lavigne is all smiles in the photo, lying on the ground with her arm stretched across what appears to be Tom Cruise’s star.

Her ambition and wide-eyed excitement, not knowing what lay ahead, shines through even 20 years later — and without her signature smokey eye, Lavigne looks like any other teenager in the early 2000s.

Less than a year later, in March 2002, Lavigne released her debut single “Complicated.” A ballad at its core with a pop-rock flair, the song skyrocketed Lavigne to record-breaking heights as it dominated radio and became the best-selling single by a female Canadian singer.