Avril Lavigne
Childhood Of Celebrities ; Avril Lavgine
From early childhood onwards, Avril Lavigne always stood out among the 5000 residents of Napanee, Ontario — her 1984 birthplace. At first distinguished from her female peers because of her affinity for the baseball field in the summer and the hockey rink in the winter, Avril became recognizable in the community on the basis of her musical performances.
By age 10, she had graduated from the local church choir to the regional fairgrounds, singing country music in competitions. Three years later, Avril began making her impact outside of Napanee, as her vocal skill won her the grand prize in a radio station contest: a trip to the city of Ottawa, to perform a duet in concert with another Ontario native, country music star Shania Twain. While this probably ranked as the pinnacle of pubescence for any other 13-year-old girl, Avril went on to accomplish far greater things before leaving adolescence.
By the time Avril reached high school, her vocal prowess seemed rivaled only by her ability to play the guitar, and she began sending videotapes of her stage performances to labels and management companies throughout North America. Following a host of rejections, her talent eventually caught the eyes of Nettwerk Management, an organization that fostered other such Canadian acts as Sarah McLachlan, Sum 41 and Barenaked Ladies.
Nettwerk arranged for Avril to fly down to New York City to meet with some other songwriters and begin work on a demo tape. As it turned out, Avril was signed before she even had a chance to complete the demo. An Arista Records representative came to visit Avril at her studio, and was sufficiently impressed with her voice to return with Arista CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who immediately signed the then 16-year-old to a contract.
After briefly returning to Canada, Avril made the move to Manhattan to embark on her professional career, accompanied by her older brother Matt as an escort. Although she had been signed to Arista strictly as a vocalist, Avril balked at the notion of singing someone else’s songs and insisted on having a hand in the writing process. When she failed to click with any New York-based songwriters, Avril made her third move of the year, this time to Los Angeles.
It was on the West Coast that she met producer/songwriter Cliff Magness, with whom she immediately developed a rapport. The two began composing together, and within a few months’ time, Avril’s debut album had begun to take shape.
Credit : Askmen.com
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Eminem
Childhood Of Celebrities : Eminem
Born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Marshall Bruce Mathers II and Deborah Nelson Mathers, of Scottish, German, and English descent. He was raised in Roseville/Sterling Heights Michigan and was interested in hip hop from a young age. He began performing as early as 13 in a group called Bassmint Productions and they made an EP called Steppin’ onto the Scene. He later gained some local attention in Soul Intent (a newly-renamed Bassmint Productions), in 1995, making his first official tape, Fuckin’ Backstabber/Soul Intent. In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite. The album received no airplay and a mixed response from critics, Eminem followed Infinite with The Slim Shady EP, which saw his lyrics take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like “No One’s Iller” and “Murder Murder”, the latter of which he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter. After this album he received much attention and mixed reviews in the hip hop underground due to his distinctive style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre.
Eminem had done a notable amount of rapping with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5′9″ early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing the Evil and Royce playing the Bad in the song of the same name. Royce da 5′9″ and Eminem were considered to be two of the best underground MCs in Detroit and were both respected for their skills.
While Royce and Eminem were great friends and had mutual respect for one another, both personally and musically, they eventually had a falling out. Recent rumors suggest that the argument was subdued prior to Proof’s death.
Credit : Wikipedia
Technorati Tags: Celebrities, Early Year Pics, Singer, Eminem
