'Boi,' Oh Boy

Image credit: Avril Lavigne: Scott Gries/ImageDirect

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Lavigne herself addresses the inevitable comparisons. "I'm nothing like Michelle Branch, nothing like Vanessa Carlton, thank you very much," she laughs. "Everyone's always bringing that up. Or people say 'You're the new Alanis Morissette!' I'm like, shut up, no I'm not! Just because I'm Canadian and we both have long hair and like to rock out. I'm like this little kid who likes to jump around."

So while many radio programming directors initially disagreed with the release of the teen-pleasing ''Sk8r Boi'' as the second single, listeners help changed their minds. Tom Poleman at New York City's Z100 says his station's callout research shows "Sk8r Boi" is as popular with their post-collegiate listeners as with teens. "'Sk8r Boi' actually did well with the adult scores, too, and still does. I think they proved us all wrong in that area," Poleman admits.

McBride figures adults like the song because it reminds them of their new wave roots. "Many adult-leaning Top 40 stations have an upper demo that's 25-to-40 year old females, and they grew up on a mixture of punk and pop,'' he says. '''Sk8r Boi' would have been great on a Buzzcocks album!''

But with the next single, comes a decidely different challenge. ''With 'I'm With You,' we run the risk on the other side, because it's a gorgeous record, but I'm not sure how much kid appeal it has,'' says Arista's L.A. Reid. ''The song may lean more mature and adult-like, and some kids may feel that it's not necessarily for them. Those are the risks you run when you make decisions about singles. The good news is, really good songs bridge the generation gaps."

What's more, the label is counting on the ballad, which will be big at radio come Christmastime, to connect with adults in possibly an even bigger way -- if not to make them rush out and buy the album for themselves, then to remind them to buy it for their daughters and nieces.

Then in 2003, "Losing Grip," a more rock-oriented song, will probably serve as the fourth and last single, to act as a bridge into her next album, which Lavigne says will be even harder-rocking than her debut. "There are seven or eight singles on [the album],'' says McBride, ''but I will not allow Arista to go any deeper than four. I would love to see Avril have an album out by Christmas of next year -- put out a new album and not burn this one out. You know, Alanis got burned out. They worked that breakthrough album ["Jagged Little Pill"] for too long. I don't want to see that happen to Avril."