Avril Lavigne calls health workers 'warriors'; reflects on her Lyme disease struggle

Record ID: 1550086

  • Title: Avril Lavigne calls health workers 'warriors'; reflects on her Lyme disease struggle
  • Date: 1st May 2020
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - AUGUST 29, 2002) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** AVRIL LAVIGNE CARRIED BY BOYS AT MTV MUSIC AWARDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SINGER-SONGWRITER, AVRIL LAVIGNE, SAYING: "It's an honour. I always dreamed about coming to award shows when I was younger. I've always wanted to do this kind of stuff, and I'
  • Embargoed: 15th May 2020 14:44
  • Keywords: Avril Lavigne COVID-19 Warrior We Are Warrior coronavirus lockdown lyme disease music the coronavirus
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA007CC3M5HP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Offering her support during the current global COVID-19 pandemic Avril Lavigne has re-worked and re-released her single ''Warriors'' to show her appreciation for frontline workers and help ''lift some spirits''.
    Speaking to Reuters from Los Angeles on Tuesday (April 28) where the Canadian singer-songwriter is under lockdown, Lavigne explained that she was able to record ''We Are Warriors'' in her home studio and shoot the music video in her backyard.
    ''(It's) in dedication to everybody out there who's ... stepping up, channelling their inner warriors," said Lavigne.
    "They are the true heroes. And I just want to say like a huge thank you to everybody''.
    ''We Are Warriors'' which includes the lyrics, ''We are warriors, And we're stronger, that's why we're alive, We will conquer, time after time,'' originally came out of Lavigne's own health struggle overcoming tick-borne illness Lyme disease.
    It features on her 2019 single ''Head Above Water'' which was her first new album of the same title in five years.
    ''I went through a challenge with Lyme disease and I overcame that ... I just have to stay super on top of my health, " she said.
    "I am so grateful to have my life back and to have come so far on my life journey,'' she added.
    Lavigne burst onto the music scene when she was a teenager, with her debut 2002 album ''Let Go'' which included hit singles ''Complicated'' and ''Sk8er Boi''.
    Since then she has released six albums, selling over 40 million copies worldwide. When the coronavirus hit and many countries told their citizens to stay home, Lavigne was in the middle of touring around the globe with her new record.
    ''I started, I did do a Canadian and a US tour, we were about to go to Europe and China, Japan, Southeast Asia that got cancelled, we're rescheduling," she said.
    No stranger to isolation having spent a lot of time alone when she was ill, Lavigne says the coronavirus provides a time to for reflection.
    ''When the world slows down, like what's kind of going on now, people gain perspective and they have time to think," she said.
    "You can hear yourself think, you can feel more and gain perspective.''
    As well as recording ''We Are Warriors'' she also recently joined other Canadian stars in singing a cover of Bill Withers' ''Lean on Me'' to help raise funds for the coronavirus relief.
    All net profits from ''We Are Warriors'' will go to Project HOPE, which according to the single's press release is a ''global health organization dedicated to placing power in the hands of local healthcare workers across the globe.''
    (Production: Sarah Mills, Lisa Giles-Keddie)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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