Along with announcing she's back with new music, Avril Lavigne has also opened up about her struggles with Lyme Disease.
The 33-year-old 'Sk8R Boi' singer announced, in a heartfelt open letter, her first single 'Head Above Water' will drop on 15 September and that she hopes 'more than anything to be back up on stage'.
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"Thank you for waiting so patiently as I fought through and still continue to fight the battle of my lifetime," the singer wrote about her long battle with the disease she contracted back in 2014.
"['Head Above Water'] is the first song I wrote from my bed during one of the scariest moments of my life. I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down," she adds.
"I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe."
On Saturday, Lavigne shared a photo showing herself fully submerged in water, a hint towards the release of the single, which she said she wrote while in the arms of her mother.
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She said in her note: "My mother held me. In her arms, I wrote the first song that I am releasing to tell my story.
"I later met a beautiful soul, Travis Clark, and we sat down at the piano and sculpted the rest of the song."
The 'Girlfriend' singer added the past few years have been 'the worst years of my life', and she said she has now been able to 'turn that fight into music I'm really proud of'.
The Canadian artist said: "Words and lyrics that were so true to my experience came pouring out of me effortlessly. Truly... by keeping my spirits up, having goals to reach and a purpose to live for, my music helped to heal me and keep me alive."
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Opening up about her lyme disease she said: "I have decided to be truthful about my struggle, open and more vulnerable than ever before. And to be honest, part of me doesn't want to talk about being sick because I want it to all be behind me, but I know I have to."
In 2015, Avril told US celebrity magazine People that she was stuck in bed for five months and 'thought she was dying'.
"I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move," she revealed.
In her letter she thanked her fans and said she had plans to start The Avril Lavigne Foundation website, which will feature resources for people to prevent the disease and will aim to accelerate Lyme research.
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She said: "We're about to launch an initiative that YOU can help us with - so that together, we can help more individuals affected by Lyme disease get the treatment they desperately need to come out the other side of this insidious disease.
"I'm so excited to be returning with new music and to have you on this journey with me," she added. "Let's do this! New era!"
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