It was 2003.
Sometime in January.
I was in Singapore for the MTV Asia Awards.
One of the shows I was lined up to see was the Avril Lavigne concert in Suntec City
Convention Hall 603 on Level 6.
Her singing was.. oh well... and it was a ho hum affair. But I have to say the energy was amazing. Yang pentingnya, the hall, which had a concrete floor... was actually bouncing as everyone moshed.
Amazing considering 'everyone' averaged about 14 years old and I was double the usual age of what appeared to be a stereotypical Avril fan in heavy eye make up and a tie - which was a trademark even she cast off by then.
At the press conference the next day, I was one of the few who popped a question. And I wasn't kind. But I thought my question was legitimate.
"Do you consider yourself a real rocker or merely a wannabe, considering you talk about it, claiming many things but can hardly play four chords, as witnessed in your concert yesterday, you wail out of tune, and all in all, your average fan age is 14?"
Considering she hated to be lumped in the teenyboppers of her era - Britney, Christina and Mandy Moore - she gave me an ugly look.
Her answer revolved around how she didn't play cause she wanted to rock out, that it didn't matter if she sang badly "cause if the fans wanted good singing, they'd stay at home and listen to the CD" and that it didn't matter how old her fans were as long as her music appealed.
I think she was offended (no sh*t!!!).
But the next day at the MTV Asia Awards - the second in the series at that point, Ibumped into her outside of the Press room. Since aku sudah pun ditugaskan untuk dapatkan her autograph for my now ex, who is a massive fan, I approached her.
She was lost (petite as all hell) in the midst of her security who appeared to be the missing links of evolution of mankind. Huge buggers!
Before I could even get close, and only having uttered her name, her bodyguards, I think three of them, had already pushed me aside.
I stood my ground determined to get what I came for.
The cool part?
She lunged forward almost by reflex, pushed her bodyguards out of the way and came up to me.
I asked for her autograph - and asked if she could make it out to my ex's name.
"Is it for you?"
I replied no, and explained it was for my ex who is a huge fan of hers. She reached for the pen, and tried to sign the CD i had brought. Unfortunately it was out of ink, and no one seemed to have a pen. Of course the bodyguards weren't thay helpful.
So the CD cover of her album had a scratched on effect of an autograph.
"Sorry, man..."
She shrugged as she motioned towards her bodyguards who appeared to be quite impatient.
Aku pun masa tu, just shrugged as well and decided it was better than nothing.
"Thanks anyway, Avril... and uhm... I do like your music too," I said sebelum gelak.
She gave me a blur look, and then smiled... actually it was a smirk.
Yeap... five years later, I think Avril is more pop than any sub genre of rock, but hey... she makes fun music no matter what. And the best thing? She's coming to KL finally.
Honestly, this will be my first time I'm giving the event a miss since they started it, since I've been to the previous ones in Singapore and Bangkok.
I think this year's stars gracing the event are the lamest - and that they really couldn't get any A listers to attend.
Sorry kalao ada yang minat One Republic, Jabbawockeez, Super Junior, The Click Five and The Script. I mean, glad that Leona Lewis and Panic At The Disco are heading here, but everyone is basically a so-so act saja. Boring!
Anyhoo... the awards at least have given me much to remember, but yang paling best dapat jumpa ngan Pink (that's another story).
This year... doubt am going. But Avril is so going to rock - I can even hope she's learned more than just four chords on her guitar.
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