Avril Lavigne ‘feels lucky’ that younger artists cite her as an influence

Avril Lavigne has said she feels “very lucky” to be cited as a musical influence by younger artists including Olivia Rodrigo.

The Canadian pop-punk singer shot to fame in the early 2000s with hits including Complicated and Sk8er Boi.

She recently signed a new deal with Travis Barker’s label DTA Records and has been cited as a key influence for rising superstars including Driver’s License singer Rodrigo.

Speaking to The Forty-Five magazine, Lavigne, 37, said: “I feel very lucky that so many of these younger artists have mentioned me as someone that they were inspired by.

“A lot of people say that to me when I meet them now at this point in my career, and it’s really flattering.

“It’s not something I ever expected when I started making music, so to hear that now is really rewarding.”

“She’s [Rodrigo] a total sweetheart and she’s such a great songwriter… It’s really exciting because she’s so young and she gets to evolve so much from here, too.

“It’s exciting to see a female doing so well in that lane and just getting started out.”

Lavigne released new record Bite Me in November, her debut on Blink-182 drummer Barker’s label.

She said: “I needed to find a label for the [new] music, and it felt like an obvious choice.

“He’s an artist so he understood my vision, but also knows the importance of what it’s like to be a good partner. Blink 182 has always been one of my favourite bands.”

She also said she is “excited to be 20 years in and still rocking”.

She added: “I’m really grateful to still be doing what I love and to have a musical outlet.

“I’m having so much fun with it all… I’m making music this far into my career because I truly want to and it’s just such a big part of my life.

“It’s nice to see people enjoying the genre and having fun with it.”