Just after POW reached their first anniversary, the rock-inspired K-pop boy band dropped a new EP, Boyfriend, whose lead single title track paid homage to one of the scene’s favorite artists — pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne.
For “Boyfriend,” the quintet reinterpreted Avril’s 2007 single “Girlfriend,” the Canadian superstar’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and one of the year’s biggest tracks. POW kept the original’s stomping production and undeniably catchy chorus intact for the hybrid track with a new mix of Korean and English lyrics.
POW members Jungbin, Yorch, Hyunbin, Dongyeon and Hong tell Billboard that the superstar played a significant role in their musical backgrounds and made a song like “Boyfriend” happen.
“We’ve loved band sounds and Avril Lavigne’s songs were always on our playlist,” the group says. “We think she was the first to show how punk can be so appealing in pop music. We’re grateful she made it possible for us and so we’ve worked hard to release ‘Boyfriend.’”
“For this remake, I listened to all of Lavigne’s albums,” adds POW eldest member Yorch. “I was drawn to her timeless drum sounds and couldn’t get over the rawness and cool beat of the drums. I recently got an electric guitar and she’s opened my eyes to acoustic real sound. And, it’s something K-pop should also look out for.”
When honoring both the sound and aesthetics from Avril’s debut in 2002, the A&R for POW’s record label, GRID Entertainment, saw their work as helping connect K-pop more extensively to music culture today.
“We believe that youth culture is the essence of mainstream K-pop,” a representative from GRID’s A&R says. “Rebellious, grunge-like, and youthful innocence defines K-pop and POW’s music is grounded in real rock and band sounds. It still feels like the 2000s era, a period where analog and digital collide. That is why we find Avril Lavigne’s music relevant, powerful and resonating with people in their teens, 20s, and 30s. It’s her greatest strength and the reason her music inspires us for interpretation.”
From bands like POW, SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids to solo superstars like BoA and former LOONA members Yves and Heejin, here is a collection of K-pop stars who have expressed their admiration for Avril Lavigne.
POW
Image Credit: Courtesy Grid Entertainment
With “Boyfriend,” the rising rock-pop band to watch delivered the K-pop scene’s most significant homage to Avril Lavigne with this rework of her No. 1 Hot 100 hit, “Girlfriend.” Watch the new music video above.
Stray Kids’ Felix
Image Credit: Ssam Kim
Stray Kids have shown love to Avril in the past, like when they included “Complicated” on the playlist for their Apple Music show All About Stray Kids Radio.
But Felix’s feelings for Lavigne go a bit deeper: The first album he ever bought was one of Avril’s unplugged releases, which he told NME he bought when he was just five years old.
SEVENTEEN’s Joshua
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
For a special digital-only track from SEVENTEEN’s 2021 album Attacca, members Joshua and Vernon said their personal tastes and love for pop-punk led them to create the duo track “2 Minus 1.”
“I listened to pop-punk; I remember I used to listen to a lot of Avril Lavigne, so I was like, ‘Yeah, this is definitely a way for us to express emotions and the messages that we want to put out,” Joshua shared that year. “Pop-punk was the perfect style for that.”
MAMAMOO’s Solar
MAMAMOO’s powerhouse vocalist and leader uploaded a pitch-perfect “Sk8er Boi” cover on her personal YouTube channel in 2023.
BoA
Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Looking like besties posing on the red carpet, the international stars hit the 59th International Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of Over the Hedge, the 2006 animated film where Avril voiced the character of Heather in the original and BoA handled it in the Korean dub. The duo mingled with other celebs like Bruce Willis and Japanese actor Koji Yakusho.
NMIXX’s Lily
Image Credit: David Cabrera
As part of NMIXX’s Re-MIXX digital series, the Australian native delivered a pitch-perfect take on Avril’s debut single “Complicated.” Watch above.
Dreamcatcher’s Yoohyeon
In a perfect musical matchup, Yoohyeon of K-pop/rock outfit Dreamcatcher sang Avril’s “Complicated” during a livestream for fans and other pop songs by Taylor Swift and Little Mix around 2019.
ARTMS’ Heejin
Image Credit: Lauren Nakao Winn
The former member LOONA member showed love to Avril during the U.S. leg of ARTMS’ first world tour with a cover of the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Girlfriend,” where she accompanied herself on guitar.
Yves
More LOONA love for Ms. Lavigne: As one of her first moves to reconnect with fans after leaving the girl group, Yves dropped this exceptional cover performance of “Complicated,” among other tracks.
Suzy
Image Credit: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
For the Seoul, South Korea, date on the Avril Lavigne Tour in 2014, local news was fired up over reports that Suzy, then a member of miss A, would attend the show and meet the punk rocker backstage at the Olympic Park Olympic Hall. We’re still holding out for photos from the meetup.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s HueningKai
Image Credit: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
While this list proves the many K-pop stars that have lots of love for Avril Lavigne, only a few have had the pop-punk princess actually acknowledge them. In 2002, Avril shared Hueningkai’s take on “Sk8er Boi” on Twitter, writing that the TXT member released an “amazing cover!”
The ever-humble TOMORROW X TOGETHER star later reflected to NME saying, “I was really surprised by her positive feedback — I still feel honored.” Watch it above.
Seori
The singer-songwriter shared that “Don’t Tell Me,” the lead single from Under My Skin, Avril’s first No. 1 record on the Billboard 200, is a song “that has always given me stability.” In the curated playlist, Seori said, “This music gives me peace of mind and reminds me of good memories.”
P1Harmony
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt
While P1Harmony has collaborated with a range of artists like Pink Sweat$, New Hope Club and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, the K-pop group told Billboard that their dream collaboration is none other than the “motherf***in’ princess” herself. Watch above.
VICTON’s Do Han Se
The boy band member named Avril hits like “Complicated” and the 2004 Top 10 smash “My Happy Ending” as “refreshing” songs that represent autumn to him.
KISS OF LIFE’s Haneul
Image Credit: Courtesy of S2 Entertainment
In a personalized playlist shared early into KISS OF LIFE’s career, youngest member Haneul chose “Keep Holding On,” recorded for the soundtrack to the 2006 Eragon film adaptation, as well as Avril’s debut single “Complicated” to let fans get to know her better.
BLACKSWAN’s Gabi
A genuine Avril stan, the Brazilian K-pop star names singles from different Avril eras as some of her favorite songs, including 2011 single “What the Hell” off Goodbye Lullaby, “When You’re Gone” from 2007’s The Best Damn Thing, as well as her 2002 anthem “Sk8er Boi” off Let Go.
Girls’ Generation
Image Credit: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
We need to bring it back to 2011 to the day Girls’ Generation and Avril Lavigne appeared both appeared on Japanese show, Music Station. The superstars mingled on camera and GG expressed their hopes for Avril to potentially write a song for the group one day.
Further showing their fandom, leader Taeyeon shared that she had been an Avril fan since childhood and paid homage to the singer’s style and music on Korean television. Member Sunny has also covered Avril’s “Sk8er Boi” and called “Girlfriend” one of her favorite tracks.
U-Chae
While U-Chae recorded this when fans knew her as Dajeong in the girl group PIXY, her Avril admiration is undeniably solid, as seen from this double-header cover of “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi.”
PURPLE KISS’ Ireh
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