Avril has been singing ever since she was little. She started out singing at churches. When she was 14 her parents starting taking her to karaoke sessions. She started performing at country fairs and writing her own songs. In 1999 she won a contest to perform with singer Shania Twain, where Avril told Shania she would one day be a famous singer. During her performance Avril was spotted by local folk singer Stephen Medd, who invited her to sing a song on his album. She later sang two more songs on his next album. In December 1999, Avril was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. He sent out VHS tapes of Avril performing at home to several infustry prospects, and Avril was visited by several executives. Mark Jowett recieved a copy of Avril's performance in her parents' basement, and arranged for her to work with Peter Zizzo in New York in the Summer of 2000, where she wrote her first song, called "Why". It was on that trip to New York that she was noticed by Artista Records. She later went on to produce her first album. <3.~AerielCullen~.<3 xoxo
-Wikipedia-
