Avril Lavigne has had to "always fight" against her record labels to pursue her desired musical direction for every album.
The Sk8r Boi hitmaker has explored different sounds throughout her album cycles, from her 2002 debut Let Go to her recent seventh studio album, Love Sux. In an interview with Alternative Press, Avril admitted that she has always had to fight for the direction she wants to pursue with each new record.
"I'm stubborn and strong-willed and strong-minded, and if I feel a certain way, I stick to it. I'm constantly fighting. I've been fighting since day one to write my own songs. I had to fight my whole career to write the type of music I wanted to write," she said. "Sometimes labels would give me pushback and didn't understand my vision. I had to always fight, and fight on each album to keep going in the musical direction I wanted to go, even if they're trying to sway me another way."
The 37-year-old may be best known for her work in the pop and pop-punk genres, but she is also keen to expand her repertoire by making a Christmas album and writing a country song.
Elsewhere in the interview, the Complicated singer revealed fans expected her "to be a b**ch" and are surprised when they meet her.
"I'm actually really nice. They're always like, 'Oh, my God, you're totally not what I was expecting,'" she shared. "You might come across as a b**ch, but I think being a b**ch is a really good thing. I'm totally a f**king b**ch, and that's a good thing. It means that you're not a doormat. You're not a pushover, and you speak your mind."