She rode to popularity with the song “Sk8er Boi.” Now she’s a scooter chick rolling down a hill with her girls.
On Saturday, Avril Lavigne hooked up with New York b-girl Lil Mama in L.A. to shoot a video for the “Girlfriend” remix . While Mama was drawn into Avril’s world for the song, on the video set, Lavigne was definitely drawn to Mama’s poppin’ hip-hop side.
“My lip gloss is poppin’, my lip gloss is cool,” Avril, seated next to “Lip Gloss” rapper Lil Mama, began to rap . Then her co-star joined in and both ladies cracked up.
“Avril said this is the most fun video she’s ever shot in her life,” Mama was quick to tell the MTV News cameras.
“I did,” the singer said. “It’s true. It’s pretty up there. … It’s the first time I collaborated with anyone in a video, so it’s cool.”
“I’m honored because I don’t know if everyone knows, but Avril Lavigne is so big,” Mama added. “And I look up to her because she’s older than me – even though she’s small, we both small – she’s had history in the music industry and I look to her for answers or key points on which way to go. It’s not even my second single. I put out my first single, but this is my second video. She’s shot about 10. So I can ask her what it’s like shooting all them videos.
“What is it like?” Mama asked, turning to Avril.
“Awesome,” Lavigne answered. “It’s a lot of fun.”
“That’s what’s up,” Mama said.
Lil Mama and little Avril were both working separately with the same producer – Dr. Luke, the man behind the “Girlfriend” beat – when Mama heard the song and wanted to do a remix. Luke heard Mama’s version and encouraged Avril to run with it.
“He was saying, ‘Lil Mama would do a cool remix,’ and she did,” Lavigne said. “When I heard it, the final version, I got really excited and said, ‘Let’s do a video for this.’ … Once she started rapping her verse, I was like, ‘Holy f—! This is really good!’ ”
“Thank you, mama,” a blushing Lil Mama smiled. “I never knew the reaction.”
Mama and Avril met the day prior to the shoot during dance rehearsals. (“She had to teach me,” Lavigne said of her new friend’s dancing skills.)
“I wasn’t interested in it in the first couple records,” Lavigne said about getting her groove on. ” ‘Girlfriend’ is a new thing to me. It’s my most pop song. [Dancing] suits it. I never thought about [dancing], but when ‘Girlfriend’ became a single, I was like, ‘I’m gonna dance in this video.’ I made it cool, my style. I’m growing, and with each record I’ll try new things naturally. My new record has different styles. This year I’m wearing heels and dresses and nobody would ever think I would do that. So I’m dancing in my video. It’s poppin’!”
Expect a bunch of scooters, low riders, a bubble-gum pink drop-top and dancing from the girl-power video. And in the future, maybe Avril will jump on a remix of Mama’s “Lip Gloss.”
“I would add some guitars in,” Avril joked.
“That would be crazy.” Mama said.