An Avril Lavigne Music Wish List
Avril Lavigne has a big year planned. She sneakily hinted that she had some “projects lined up” around the new year, but she likes things to be a surprise. First up was the much-wanted music video for “Give You What You Like,” one of the best tracks from Avril’s self-titled fifth album (and her whole career). The song didn’t get the proper single treatment – which is a shame, because more people need to hear this side of Avril – but it was featured in the Lifetime movie, Babysitter’s Black Book.
Avril was quiet for the remainder of February and all of March, until People magazine finally broke the news on April 1st: Avril had spent the past year battling Lyme disease. It was an awful ordeal, but one that put a lot of things in perspective for Avril. Her clarity has given her the motivation to pursue some passion projects in 2015, and we couldn’t be more excited.
In her new interview with Billboard, Avril divulged some of the fun things fans can expect this year:
- “Fly” – Avril’s charity single will be released on April 16th. It is in support of the Special Olympics being held this summer in Los Angeles, and a music video featuring the athletes will be released.
- Another song that Avril wrote about her overcoming Lyme disease – it should be out later this year. The title is not yet known, but we do know that Avril wrote it on her guitar.
- A Christmas album – Avril has always wanted to do one, and now she finally has the time and focus to record it! It is expected at the end of 2015.
- Movie roles – Avril has dabbled in acting before, but it’s been a while since her last film. She has some things lined up, so hopefully we’ll get to see Avril on the big screen again in the next year or so.
- Spreading awareness for Lyme disease – Avril has done plenty of charity work before, but now she has a personal commitment to raising awareness for this under-recognized disease. Not much is known about it, and many people go untreated because of the problematic medical system. Avril plans to change that.
With so many exciting projects on the horizon for Avril fans, we couldn’t help but think of our own wish list. We can never have too much Avril in our lives, after all! Here are 8 things we’d love to see Avril release in the near future (besides a full sixth studio album, of course!) –
An EP of Avril Lavigne Leftovers
Avril wrote a lot of songs for her 5th album, and in a 2013 interview, she even said that she’d love to release them. Many of her favorite songs didn’t make the cut for her self-titled album, and she said she’d love to do a back-to-back album. Avril Lavigne came out in November 2013, and now it’s 2015 and still no follow-up album. Unfortunately, this heavenly plan seems to have been abandoned.
So, to amend that, we’d love it if Avril released at least an EP of some of her leftover songs. How about tracks like “Echo,” “Our Little Secret,” “This Must Be Love,” or “What Would You Say”? Or perhaps her wedding song, “If I Said I Loved You”? This actually does sound more like a full album, but we’d be happy to at least get 7-8 of the leftover songs.
A Whole Rarities Album
Avril Lavigne isn’t her only album with forgotten leftovers. Songs like “Gone,” “Candy,” and “Fine” were missing from Goodbye Lullaby, and both The Best Damn Thing and Under My Skin must have had similar cuts. Let Go is the only album era from which fans have gotten lots of leaks. We’re glad to have early demos like “Stay – Be The One” and “Let Go,” but we’d love to have more. We know many song titles that we’re dying to hear.
If Avril ever wants to release an album (or two or three) of leftovers and b-sides, there are plenty of us fans that would love to have them.
Live Album
We’ve gotten three live DVDs over the years (though not since 2008), and a couple of EPs with live songs. But it’s about time we got a full album of live recordings. It would have to have some of Avril’s best known hits, but don’t forget to include some album tracks! Put on “Darlin'” and “Hello Heartache” and “Take Me Away” in addition to the standards like “Girlfriend” and “I’m With You.” Avril is an excellent live performer, and we’d love to be able to listen to her concert performances all the time.
Greatest Hits Album
With five albums already under her belt, it would make sense for Avril to release a greatest hits compilation soon. But it would have to include at least two or three new songs, too!
When you look back at Avril’s career, there are certainly a lot of hits that are still regularly played on the radio today. She’s accomplished a lot in the 13 years since Let Go, and she has plenty of great songs left in her. She could release the greatest hits before her next full album or after it, but soon enough it will be time to remind people of all the memorable singles she’s had.
A Cool Collaboration
Despite having over a decade in the industry already, Avril’s had surprisingly few collaborations. Her last album featured one duet (“Let Me Go” with hubby Chad Kroeger), and “Bad Girl” did have some vocals lent by Marilyn Manson. Avril recorded a song with her ex-guitarist Evan Taubenfeld (“Best Years Of Our Lives”) and released a remix version of “Girlfriend” with Lil Mama. But other than that, there aren’t a lot of duets with her.
We’d love to hear Avril duet with another artist. But who should it be? Should she jump on the DJ bandwagon and feature on a Calvin Harris or Zedd track? Or should she team up with someone more similar to her genre like Kelly Clarkson or Pink? Maybe she could team up with Hayley Williams of Paramore, Ellie Goulding, or Ed Sheeran. There are endless options, and we’d be excited to see what she and her collaborator could come up with. Who do you think she should partner with?
A Music Side Project
In late 2013, Avril mentioned that she dreamed of doing a side project someday. She mentioned the idea of doing a band where she played drums or guitar instead of singing. She also said she’d like to try out different genres than what she’s known for – she threw out the idea of doing some country songs, but we’d also like to hear how she sounds on full rock or punk.
We love it when artists flex their musical muscles and try something completely outside of what they’re known for. Most people listen to more than one type of music, and many artists have the creativity to make different styles of music. It’d be exciting to hear Avril do something totally different for an album or two.
Acoustic Album
Avril’s voice sounds perfect with acoustic instrumentation. She’s performed acoustic sets throughout her career (see her 2007 Roxy Theatre concert), and we’ve always noticed that she really shines on those performances. Her voice takes center stage and the music takes on a different quality. It’d be great to have a whole album of stripped back acoustic renditions of some of her best songs.
Covers Album
Avril has done her fair share of covers over the years. She’s done live renditions of songs like “You Were Mine,” “Adia,” “Basket Case,” “Fuel,” and “Airplanes”; her studio covers of “Imagine,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” and “How You Remind Me” have all turned out great. So why not do a whole album of covers? Avril would probably mix it up and cover different genres and eras, as she’s done already in her song choices. What songs do you think she should cover?
And there you have it: Our top 8 dreams on our Avril Lavigne Music Wish List. (Besides a proper sixth studio album, which we also want!) What do you think? Are there any music-related projects we missed? Let us know what you want to hear from Avril in the future!
