Avril Lavigne's just-released sophomore album, Under My Skin, is already No. 1 in Japan for two weeks in a row.
But the 19-year-old Napanee native has no predictions about whether it will do as well in Canada and the U.S. when first week sales are reported next Wednesday. "I have no idea," said Lavigne yesterday in Toronto prior to tonight's Intimate and Interactive show on MuchMusic, which starts at 8 p.m.
"God -- I don't even want to think about it. Whatever happens, happens. It'd be cool, but I mean, whatever."
One thing Lavigne will say about Japanese versus North American culture is that the east is less celebrity-obsessed than we are in the western world.
"Everyone just really respects you over there, as an artist and as a musician," said Lavigne, who will start touring arenas in September.
"Over here, just like North America, you just feel like everyone is so judgmental. They just pick you apart and they make comments on the clothes you're wearing. Like if you say something, it gets blown out of proportion."
Lavigne pointed specifically to the proliferation of celebrity magazines such as Us Weekly.
"Everyone loves them -- it's just funny," she said. "I think it's so low that people have to focus so much on celebrities. And like what they're wearing and where they're going, what they're doing and who they're with. You know, there's way more important issues in this world."
Needless to say, there is a lot of interest in Lavigne after her 2002 debut, Let Go, sold a staggering 14 million copies worldwide spurred on by such hits as Complicated, Sk8r Boi, and I'm With You.
So far, Under My Skin's first single, Don't Tell Me -- about a girl who's being pressured to go all the way by her boyfriend -- has generated much discussion in the press even if it hasn't exactly rocketed up the charts.
"I was brought up in a Christian home. You know, my mom was, like, 'Have respect for yourself.' Very strict," said Lavigne.
"So because of my upbringing, you know, I think that's what caused me to write that song. Just having morals and stuff. It is not a song about abstinence. People ask me that sometimes. It's not. I'm just saying, 'Have respect for yourself.'
"And it's about being able to be strong. And not let a guy pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. I think that that's important for young girls. 'Cause I think it's harder when you're younger."
Not that Lavigne, dubbed the "Anti-Britney" by some when she first appeared on the music scene for her pop-punk sound, tomboy oufits and decidedly non-sexual presence, wanted to position herself as a role model.
"I never signed up to be one. But I think it's great. I'm just myself. I'm very outspoken, sometimes opinionated, and I think I'm a very strong person. And I think that's great. Some people might look at me and be, like, 'Oh, she's not a role model 'cause she swears or whatever.'
"But that's just me being myself. And not holding back. I'm not afraid when I'm in front of people to let loose and to say things. 'Cause I just believe it's better just to be honest and be myself."
So how then does Lavigne feel about such scantily clad, sexually provocative contemporaries as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera? "I personally look at that stuff, and watch it and think it's really cheesy," said Lavigne. "And I think it's kind of nasty. But, I mean, that's their choice and that's their vibe and that's what they go with. And, of course, guys love it.
"I'm kind of talking more about Britney. She bugs me more than Christina does. I just have a little more respect for Christina 'cause she sings for real. And she's got a great voice. And I think she's really talented. And, whatever, she does the whole hoochie mama dance thing and that's fine. I don't have a problem with her."
Spears doesn't get off so easily in Lavigne's opinion.
"As far as Britney, I don't have very much respect for her. I think she's taken it a little too far and she tries a little too hard. And I think it's gross. It's, like, 'Just do that for your boyfriend in the bedroom.' I don't want to watch it."
