Watch a pre-fame Avril Lavigne busking on the subway (and sounding awesome)

Avril Lavigne now and before she was famous

(Image credit: Getty / YouTube)

Incredibly, this June will mark the twentieth anniversary of Avril Lavigne's debut album Let Go. It was the record that officially introduced Avril to the world and immediately crowned her as 21st century rock music's princess elect. Anthems like Sk8er Boi, Complicated and I'm With You added an extra sheen to the pop punk, post-grunge and alternative rock formulas that were dominating the mainstream at the time, propelling Avril to instant stardom and ensuring her legacy would be represented on rock club dance floors forever more.

While many of her fans are still reeling from the recent news that Avril has had to make the difficult decision to postpone her UK and European tour, the positive response to her new album Love Sux means that we'll at least be getting some killer new material at the shows when they do finally take place in 2023.

In the meantime, we've been cheering ourselves up with this fantastically wholesome old video of a teenage, pre-fame Avril busking at a a subway station in New York, accompanied by her bandmates. The footage, originally shown on her 2003 My World DVD, was taken before Let Go blew up around the world, and features two brief renditions of tracks from that record in Sk8er Boi and Mobile. It's oddly satisfying seeing locals go about their day with precisely 0 idea that they're in the presence of a future megastar.

Avril Lavigne UK dates 2023

May 6: Manchester O2 Apollo
May 7: London O2 Academy Brixton
May 9: London O2 Academy Brixton
May 10: London O2 Academy Brixton

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.