Avril Lavigne: My Glastonbury set has been 22 years in the making

Avril Lavigne is the original pop-punk princess and she certainly showed it when she played to a huge Glastonbury crowd on Saturday evening.

Her angsty teenage heartbreak anthems still resonate more than two decades after they were released.

She played some of her biggest tracks including Complicated, Sk8er Boi and My Happy Ending.

“I can’t believe its taken me 22 years to finally play Glastonbury, but it was amazing,” she tells the BBC.

“The audience were incredible, everyone was up on shoulders, holding signs and there were colourful smoke bombs going off, it was just so cool,” Avril adds.

The Canadian artist drew one of the biggest crowds The Other Stage has ever seen – it was clear from the very start of her set that she had an incredibly loyal fanbase.

Several times throughout her performance, the cameras panned to members of the audience who were singing along to every word.

“I’ve had seven albums and done seven tours and it’s just as exciting as ever,” she says.

Avril has just released a greatest hits album, with a sold-out North American tour to go alongside it.

She says that she still loves playing songs from her first album – Let Go, which was released in 2002 and helped her become the youngest female soloist to have a UK number one album at the age of 17.

“Everyone is still really excited by [the music] – I think that’s what connects me and my audience, it’s the songwriting and the songs”.

Her influence on female artists has been undeniable – Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Charli XCX have all cited the 39-year-old as a huge inspiration.

Avril says the reason her lyrics resonate so much is because they’re relatable. “It’s always been important for me to write and be real,” she tells us.

“I’m writing about stuff that I went through in high school, like having a crush on a guy for the first time, experiencing love and what that feels like.”

She joined the line-up in a record-breaking year for Glastonbury Festival, as it featured two female headliners for the first time.

Shania Twain also appeared in the legends slot – someone Avril actually performed with after winning a competition in 1998.

She would go on to get a record deal after this appearance.

“I looked up to [Shania] growing up – I sang on stage with her when I was 14 years old, so be here tonight, that personally means a lot”.

If there’s one thing to take from Sunday at Glastonbury, it would have been great to see Avril joining Shania Twain as a Pyramid stage performer.

Although Avril says she is “just a girl from a small town in Canada,” her fans certainly don’t see her that way.