Avril Lavigne vs. Ashlee Simpson

By Erin Geiger
Published: December 8, 2004 at 01:00:23 PM

We lay everything on the table to find out who really has the 'not-so-pop' pop star goods.

Avril and Ashlee. Ashlee and Avril. They sound like two peas in a pod. Having both resisted the "fluff" route their peers (and siblings) Britney, Christina, and Jessica took, you'd think they'd see eye to eye. Maybe even be BFF! (That's Best Friends Forever...like, duh!) We put these two alterna-pop-tarts to the test (below) to see which one comes out on top. In other words, which one is a grrrl, and which one is just girlie?

Avril gets blonder by the minute--in about the time it took for her to evolve from "sk8tr grrl" to "glam girl." In her defense, Avril claims that she's just growing up; she was 17 when Let Go debuted, and she is 20 now.

A

Ashlee, a natural blonde, dyed her hair just about as dark as you can get it. Although she denies it, rumor has it that she did it to differentiate herself from her starlet older sister Jessica.

B

Avril's Let Go, released June 4, 2002, sold 62,000 its first week, and more than 14 million copies to date. Even if we bought the argument that people weren't quite ready for a non-platinum-blonde, belly-baring, teenage female singer in June 2002, her follow-up album, Under My Skin (released May 25, 2004) debuted with 380,507 units sold. Still less than Ashlee.

B

Ashlee's Autobiography, released on July 20, 2004, sold 398,000 the first week. This blows both of Avril's releases out of the water. Autobiography even debuted at number one, a feat even big sis Jessica can't cop.

A+

After Ashlee's Saturday Night Live lip-synch debacle Avril said, "If you are up there at that level and lip-synching, then you don't deserve to be there. There are way too many talented people, struggling musicians, trying to make it, and they can't make it because there is so much competition out there. I'm not saying that towards [Simpson]; I'm saying that about lip-synching in general. I find it a disgrace to the music industry. Music is supposed to be about making records and getting up onstage and playing live, and half the people up there don't even do that. It's not cool. It's lame." I guess it’s safe to say Avril frowns upon the practice.

A

Ashlee's lip-synching on Saturday Night Live quickly became a full-blown nightmare. Her camp has tried many times to turn the situation in her favor, but to no avail; the backlash has reached a whole new level. A group called Horrified Observers of Pedestrian Entertainment (H.O.P.E.) is encouraging former Ashlee fans to trade their CD of Autobiography for one of great musical quality. Humiliated onetime Ashlee fans can swap Autobiography for a CD from the legendary likes of The Ramones, Ray Charles, X, the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, or Brian Wilson.

F

Avril is going out with Sum 41's lead singer Deryck Whibley, and recent rumors have them engaged. Though both rockers have busy careers, their relationship is apparently intact.

A

Ashlee dated Ryan Cabrera--his debut album has sold over 320,000 copies--but it didn't last. The reported reason for their breakup? Too busy, too many things going on professionally for the both of them. We assume that's why no other celebrities date each other.

B-

When Arista Records' L.A. Reid happened to hear Avril's voice, the then-unknown singer's relationship with Arista Records was born.