WHAT MOTIVATES AVRIL LAVIGNE

We seem to recall Avril insisting that her music was all about art and emotion and what is real not so long ago. Not anymore. She's admitted what her motivation is - a cycle of flogging stuff:

"I want to be played on the radio. I want to have Top 40 hits," she said. "I want people to hear my music. I like it when people come to my show, and if they don't know my record, they know my songs, because they've been on the radio. I like that."

But what sort of art do you create if you produce not to add your voice to the world, or to bring your life into focus, but merely to ensure popularity with the computers in Clear Channel HQ? (Clue: listen to the latest Avril Lavigne album.) Yes, people will know your songs when you play them, but people know the Shake and Vac ad lyrics; popularity and creative value are not the same thing.

music avril lavigne