Born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, to conservative Franco-Ontarian Christian parents John and Judy Lavigne, Avril grew up in Napanee, where she sang country music and in a church choir and taught herself to play guitar. She was discovered by her first professional manager while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. By the age of sixteen, she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoirte (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited his boss, Arista head Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing in a New York City studio. She then completed work on her first album. |
