Talk about pressure -- being under 21 and having a record deal no longer qualifies as extraordinary. And as mass-produced {\teen pop} makes its exit and a glut of young {\singer/songwriters} enter, child prodigies no longer have built-in marketing appeal. So if newcomer, 17-year-old {$Avril Lavigne} truly wants to be {&"Anything but Ordinary,"} as she sings on her debut album, {^Let Go}, she'll have to dig deeper. Luckily for {$Lavigne}, aside from youth, she does have talent. Her debut runs the gamut from driving {\rock} numbers like {&"Losing Grip"} -- where {$Lavigne} shows off her vocal range, powering into the anger-fueled, explosive {\rock} chorus -- to {\singer/songwriter} {\pop} tunes like {&"My World,"} where {$Lavigne} fills listeners in on the past 17 years of her life. {$Lavigne} handles a variety of styles deftly, but she still has some growing up to do lyrically. {&"Sk8ter Boi"} has a terrific {\power pop} bounce, but shows her lyrical shortcomings: "He was a punk/She did ballet/What more can I say" -- well, a lot, Avril. The phrasing is awkward and sometimes silly: "It's funny when you think it's gonna work out/Till you chose weed over me you're so lame," she sings on {&"Too Much to Ask."} Not surprisingly, the standout track is the first single, {&"Complicated,"} a gem of a {\pop/rock} tune with a killer chorus. But listen carefully and you'll realize that {&"Complicated"}'s sing-song melody borrows just enough from {$Pink}'s {&"Don't Let Me Get Me"} to make it familiar and likeable. Nonetheless, the song is a knockout radio hit. {$Lavigne}, a self-professed skater punk and labelmate of {$Pink}, shares her "Take Me As I Am" credo as well. And that said, it's hard not to look at this record, executive production by {@Arista} label head {$L.A. Reid}, who is thanked by {$Lavigne} for allowing "me to be myself," and feel cynical about the music industry's willingness to reproduce a hit over and over. {$Lavigne}, however, is a capable songwriter with vocal chops, and at her age, one imagines, she is still finding her feet, borrowing from the music she's grown up listening to. The problem is {$Lavigne} is still so young she's listening to the radio hits of the '90s and early 2000s: she's {$Pink} when she's bucking authority, {$Alanis Morissette} when she's angry, and {$Jewel} when she's sensitive. {^Let Go} shows promise, but the question is whether {$Lavigne} -- and only {$Lavigne} -- will shine through on her next effort. [The Japanese edition features a bonus track.] ~ Christina Saraceno, All Music Guide