Avril Lavigne Profile: I'm Confused, Actually

Avril Lavigne was actually the artist of the year for 2002 for me. And how far down she's come since then!

Her debut year was impressive: Complicated, Skater Boi and I'm With You were all hits I really liked. Sadly the quality of her work became so inconsistent, and her image - let's not go there.

There was also this thing about her being the 'anti-Britney' - I believed that for a while, but then I was 15, and she hadn't shown her 'true colours' yet. She is anything but anti-Britney, I think.

The question I still have is: would the real Avril please stand up?

Demi Lovato Profile: The Last One Standing

Of the rising young stars of the late 00s, Demi Lovato stood out the least for me. At that time, Miley Cyrus was probably the standout, and Selena Gomez had plenty of success too. Both Miley and Selena had their respective Disney shows, which I didn't watch because I was certainly too old for it, but their music did register well. Miranda Cosgrove also released a few great hits that made quite an impression, even though I was really WAY too old to appreciate iCarly. Demi, on the other hand, never really hit my radar in any way.

Fast forward five years. Amongst her peers, Demi is now the one I most respect. This is especially true after Selena did Springbreakers and the 'new Miley' happened. She's the 'last one standing' of the three from Disney, really. But that's not the whole story. She's come through a tough time in life, and is now using her experience to help others. She's speaking out about the reality of drug addiction, whilst the rest of Hollywood just pretends that there isn't an issue about that. She's doing some important work out there, in other words.