Avril Lavigne delighted her fans in Las Vegas this past weekend by inviting her ex-husband and Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley to the stage for a special performance. The unexpected collaboration took place as part of Lavigne's ongoing ‘Greatest Hits’ tour.
Performing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night (June 1), Lavigne opened the show with fan favorites such as “Girlfriend,” “What The Hell,” and “Complicated.” She then seamlessly integrated tracks from her latest album, 2022's ‘Love Sux,’ including “Bite Me” and “Love It When You Hate Me.”
Continuing her tradition, Lavigne invited opening act All Time Low to join her on stage midway through the set for a rendition of their hit “Fake As Hell.” However, the highlight of the evening was yet to come.
“Tonight, we have a special guest, and he plays guitar in one of my favorite bands and your favorite bands,” Avril announced before welcoming Deryck Whibley to the stage (via Kerrang!).
The former couple, who were together for nearly seven years and married for three, thrilled the audience with a duet of Sum 41’s massive hit “In Too Deep.”
This leg of the tour celebrates the release of Lavigne’s first greatest hits album, leading up to her debut performance at Glastonbury. The album will be released on June 21, just days before her historic performance at the legendary Worthy Farm festival.
Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley in 2005. CREDIT: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic/Getty Images
In addition to her U.S. shows and Glastonbury debut, Lavigne will be performing across various European cities, including a set at Mad Cool in Madrid. She also has a series of major outdoor gigs planned throughout the UK. Tickets for the UK shows are available here.
The singer's latest album, Love Sux, was released in February 2022 and mixed emopop with a nostalgic skatepunk sound while remaining a progressive release. The album was critically acclaimed and featured contributions from Machine Gun Kelly, Blackbear, and Yungblud.
As for Sum 41, the band is set to perform at Download 2024 alongside acts like Queens Of The Stone Age, Avenged Sevenfold, Fall Out Boy, Royal Blood, The Offspring, Machine Head, Pantera, Bad Omens, Corey Taylor, While She Sleeps, and many more.
Deryck Whibley recently celebrated a decade of sobriety and reflected on his recovery from alcohol addiction. The band released their eighth and final album, ‘Heaven :x: Hell,’ in March. This double album features a ‘Heaven’ side with 10 pop-punk tracks reminiscent of their 2001 album ‘All Killer, No Filler’ and 2002’s ‘Does This Look Infected?,’ while the ‘Hell’ side showcases the heavier style seen in their recent releases like 2019’s ‘Order In Decline.’
In an interview with NME at the end of 2023, Whibley discussed the album, noting that “there’s more to the album than nostalgia.”
“Even if I tried to write ‘All Killer, No Filler’ again, I wouldn’t be able to,” he added. “The songs sound like they could be from those eras, but they’re different.”
Photo: Andrew Chin and Rich Polk/Getty Images
