Belleville

Belleville is a pretty little city in Ontario, with a population of just under 50,000 people. It's not a particularly famous city. It doesn't have any major sports teams, it's not a well-known tourist attraction and no world famous events have happened here. But, it's a nice city. It has lots of parks, you can go to some sandy beaches, there are loads of golf courses and the area produces some respectable wines. You can even see The Lake in the Mountain, a magnificent natural lake 200 feet up the mountain that has no rivers which flow into or out of it. Sailing and fishing are popular activities, indeed there's a festival in May where you can do just this.

So, Belleville is nice. We agree on that. But did you know that it has another claim to fame? No, well I'll tell you. It's the home of Avril Lavigne. Who? You know, that young blonde singer who's a bit punky. She was born here on the 27th September 1984, the middle child with an older brother and younger sister. She seemed interested in singing from an early age and even taught herself to play the guitar. She was so good in fact that in 1998 she entered a competition and won it. The prize was the chance to sing on stage with another Canadian singer, Shania Twain, when she came to Ottowa to perform a concert.

However, her first real steps to becoming the world-famous artist that she is today were when she was discovered singing in a local bookshop. She went on to sign a contract with Arista records when she was sixteen and moved to Los Angeles to work on her first album, titled Let Go. This was a success and her first single, Complicated, was a big hit around the world. Three more singles were released from this album and these too were hits. The album was the best selling for a female artist and for a debut album in 2002. It sold a total of just over thirteen million copies.

At the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards she won Best New Artist, a World Music Award for Best Selling Canadian artist and many others. She had made it onto the world stage, and at such a young age. At this point she was still only 18.

She released her second album in 2004, called Under My Skin. It too was successful, and she won more awards for it. This was also the year in which she started dating the man who later became her husband. Deryck Whibley is the singer and guitarist with the rock band, Sum 41. In July 2006 they got married in a small ceremony in California.

As happens so often in the world of showbiz, singers want to make films and actors want to make records. Avril is no exception. She has provided the voice in the animated film 'Over the Hedge' and has already appeared in a couple of films. Who knows if she'll concentrate on music or become an actress. We'll have to wait and see.