In a full-circle moment, Avril Lavigne has received her own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame star wearing the same jumper she wore when she visited the LA landmark the very first time more than two decades ago.
The Canadian singer, 37, told fans that they should 'follow your dreams, live your passion, express yourself and be real' when she accepted the star on August 31 in Los Angeles.
The songstress signed her first record deal at 16.
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In the years that followed, she became known for pop-punk sound, including 'Complicated' and 'Sk8er Boi' and has sold more than 40 million albums across the globe.
As she accepted the accolade, Lavigne showed the crowd the picture of herself at 16 on her very first trip to Hollywood.
"I can remember seeing these legendary names and I never could have imagined that mine would be here, this is so crazy," she said, as per Variety.
"This is probably one of the coolest days of my life."
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She added: "I hope that the next 16-year-old from their small town who comes to Hollywood one day full of hopes and dreams sees this star and thinks to themselves, 'oh my God, my name could be there one day too' – because it can."
Lavigne then shared her advice for the teens out there that daydream of following in her footsteps.
"Follow your dreams, live your passion, express yourself, be real, work hard, keep your head up, believe in yourself," she said, as per CBC.
The 'Complicated' singer thanked her friends, family, and fans for joining her on her journey of a lifetime.
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"I love you guys, this is insane," she said.
"What an amazing 20 years and I can’t wait for the next 20."
Her fiancé, Mod Sun, producer and Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann, co-writer Lauren Christy, and collaborator Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) all joined her in Los Angeles as she received her star.
MGK spoke at the award ceremony to tell the Canadian songstress just how much she meant to him as a youngster.
"You were an inspiration to a generation of kids like myself who wore baggy jeans and skated, and didn’t fit into MTV’s version of what the girls wanted," he said, as per Metro.
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‘When you made 'Sk8er Boi', that was the hope that we hung on like, 'oh hell, yeah, we can stay the way we are, there’s someone out there looking for us'."
Rachel Lang