Avril Lavigne burst onto the pop music scene with her hit track "Complicated" in 2002.
With her powerful voice and catchy hooks, it wasn't long before she became the industry's
pop punk princess.
And then... she seemed to vanish.
Why?
Here's the real reason you don't hear from Avril Lavigne anymore.
Dwindling sales
Lavigne's last studio album was 2013's Avril Lavigne.
It also was her least successful album to date.
Despite boasting a hit lead single, "Here's to Never Growing Up," the singer's fifth studio
album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and suffered the lowest sales of her career.
The eight-time Grammy nominee doubled down on what she does best — fun, rebellious
anthems set to soaring pop melodies — but critics grew tired of the act and responded
with mixed reviews.
The Guardian called it a "bratty nostalgia trip," while Rolling Stone complained that
the album indulges in "soggy ballads, sometimes vaguely goth or R&B, and tries in vain to
keep up with Taylor Swift."
Ouch.
Cultural appropriation
As Avril Lavigne tumbled down the charts in 2014, the struggling pop star released "Hello
Kitty" as the album's fourth and final single, prompting a PR disaster.
The song's music video was slammed by the press; Lavigne was accused of racism and cultural
appropriation over the video's stereotypical depiction of Japanese culture.
Billboard called it "abhorrent" and "lazy," while GQ called it an "act of digital cruelty."
For her part, Lavigne didn't seem to take the backlash very seriously, writing on Twitter,
"RACIST???
I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan.
I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video…"
" …specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers
AND a Japanese director IN Japan."
Health problems
While dealing with setbacks in her career, Lavigne also grappled with a private health
crisis.
After suffering flu-like symptoms for months and seeing multiple specialists, she was eventually
diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014.
Facing a long recovery, she disappeared from the spotlight and took a three-year hiatus
from music.
In 2015, she told People,
"I was bedridden for five months.
I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move.
I thought I was dying."
With a treatment regimen of antibiotics and lots of rest, Lavigne was expected to make
a full recovery.
While she focused on getting healthy, she also used her celebrity to raise awareness
about the disease.
There is hope, lyme disease does exist. And you can get better.
In 2017, an insider told E! news that Lavigne was doing much better.
"Avril is in a really good place right now.
Her recovery has been going well and she's been getting stronger and stronger.
She has more energy and has even been exercising."
Romance woes
It's never a good sign when an artist's personal life begins to overshadow their work, but
unfortunately, that's been the case for Lavigne for a long time now.
After a high profile marriage and divorce from Sum 41's Deryck Whibley, Lavigne remarried,
this time to Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger.
In 2015, though, Lavigne announced on Instagram that the pair were calling it quits.
"It is with heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today.
Through not only the marriage, but the music as well, we've created many unforgettable
moments.
We are still, and forever will be, the best of friends, and will always care deeply for
each other.
To all our family, friends and fans, thank you sincerely for the support."
Between her two marriages, as well as romances with Brody Jenner, Ryan Cabrera, and Wilmer
Valderrama, Lavigne has recently spent more time in the tabloids than on the music charts.
Turning it around
In December, 2016, Lavigne announced she was finally planning to get back to what made
her famous in the first place: music.
It hasn't been easy, though.
In 2017, a source told E! News,
"It's been a slow process.
She writes her own material and she's been through a lot with her marriage and her illness.
She has a lot to say."
As part of her creative process, Lavigne performed live for the first time in years during a
surprise appearance at a Nickelback concert in Los Angeles.
She posted on Instagram that it was "Good to be back on stage!" and that she was "Feeling
excited, happy and grateful."
Though the album was originally slated to drop in 2017, it hasn't arrived yet, but in
January, 2018, Lavigne assured her Instagram followers that she was still hard at work
on it.
"I've started mixing my album and all of the pieces are finally coming together.
These songs are so close to my heart.
Wish me luck while I throw every last drop of me into these final stages.
Time is power.
And I needed this time.
To live.
To write.
To go through my ups and downs."
Looks like Lavigne is finally ready for that comeback fans have been hoping for!
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