Avril Lavigne turns 42 today, and one of her career highlights – of which there are many – is a performance at Glastonbury festival in 2024. During it, she delivered a spectacular medley of her greatest anthems from Complicated and Sk8er Boi, to My Happy Ending.
The then 39-year-old revealed her amazement at having waited 22 years to finally perform on the iconic stage, while heaping praise on the electric crowd for their incredible enthusiasm.
"The audience were incredible, everyone was up on shoulders, holding signs and there were colourful smoke bombs going off, it was just so cool," she gushed to the BBC. The pop star's appearance was thought to have finally silenced the persistent conspiracy theory claiming Avril allegedly perished in 2003 and was substituted by a body double called Melissa Vandella – but not quite.
The origins of the bizarre theory
The outlandish theory is believed to have emerged from a Brazilian fan website called 'Avril Esta Morta' ('Avril is Dead') in 2011, though some suggest it began when she stepped back following the release of her album Let Go. The wild rumour proposes that a double named Melissa was recruited by Avril's management during her peak popularity to divert attention from photographers.
Even more strangely, it alleges she was employed to cover up the singer's supposed demise. Nevertheless, the BBC reports that the website subsequently withdrew the assertion and explained they had published the theory to illustrate how rapidly online conspiracies can proliferate.
Fans spot 'changes'
Joanne McNally explored the strange speculation on the BBC Sounds podcast, Who replaced Avril Lavigne? She discovered that the speculation was widespread when Avril made her comeback to music following her hiatus from the limelight.
Examining online discussions, Joanne observed that supporters noticed the singer had "completely transformed" her persona from a teenage rock sensation to "a bubblegum pop princess" after years away from the scene. She continued to share her observations about the sharp-eyed sleuths who also claimed that Avril's eyes and stature seemed different, along with her vocal tone.
Furthermore, it was alleged that the pop star's autograph had been markedly changed since her early career days.
Avril's response
Avril herself has previously rubbished the speculation as "dumb" and voiced her amazement that people actually bought into them during a 2019 chat with Entertainment Weekly.
Speaking to Galore Magazine three years afterwards, the Complicated hitmaker observed: "It's funny because everyone says I look the same, but then there's that. That doesn't make any sense. Also, how random?"
"When people mention it, and it's been mentioned to me for, like, years, that there's this conspiracy theory that I'm not me or something? I'm a clone?"
"How did something like that get so... I don't know, it's just the weirdest rumour."
