Avril Lavigne was described as “the epitome of a rock star” who had inspired “a generation of kids” as she was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
The Canadian singer told fans to “follow your dreams, live your passion, express yourself and be real” at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The pop star, known for noughties hits including Complicated and Sk8er Boi, signed her first recording contract at the age of 16 and has gone on to sell 40 million albums worldwide.
Taking to the stage to accept the honour, she showed a picture of herself as a teenager on her first trip to Hollywood, where she had visited the Walk Of Fame wearing her favourite hoodie.
Lavigne was then handed the same hoodie, which read “skateboarding is not a crime,” which she then donned “for good luck and good vibes”.
Recalling the trip, she said: “I can remember seeing these legendary names and I never could have imagined that mine would be here, this is so crazy.
“This is probably one of the coolest days of my life.”
She continued: “Today I love making music more than ever, I feel so inspired.
“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.
“Follow your dreams, live your passion, express yourself, be real, work hard, keep your head up, believe in yourself.
“Thank you so much for this honour I am so grateful – to party with you all after.
“I love you guys, this is insane. What an amazing 20 years and I can’t wait for the next 20.”
Remarks were also given by US singer John Feldmann and rapper Machine Gun Kelly.
Kelly told Lavigne that she had “been with me way longer than you know”.
“You were with me all the times I got my heart broken, your music was in my head,” he said.
“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.
“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’.”
Sharing memories of a performance in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, he recalled being driven by Lavigne on a golf cart through the stadium.
“You were passing out Mike’s Hard Lemonades and drinking red wine, and you were the epitome of an amazing friend and a f****** rockstar,” he said.
“You are so far beyond any label that anyone could put on you … you’re so important.
“Your songs will live far past any of our lifetimes so … congratulations on being Avril Lavigne.”
Lavigne’s discography comprises albums including the septuple platinum Let Go, triple-platinum Under My Skin, double-platinum The Best Damn Thing, gold-selling Goodbye Lullaby and gold-selling Avril Lavigne, and Head Above Water.
Her most recent release was her 2022 record Luv Sux, which features Kelly.
The singer also holds a Guinness World Record as the youngest female solo artist to top the UK chart.
Her hit track Girlfriend was also the first music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube and her social media following exceeds 93.8 million fans worldwide.
Awarded in the category of Recording, Lavigne’s star is the 2,731st on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard.
