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Avril Lavigne
Ryan McFadden*Taylor Swift really, really likes Avril Lavigne‘s new album. The singer who has a Midas touch when it comes to gifting sent Lavigne a sweet note and bouquet of flowers to celebrate Avril’s new album, Love Sux.
The gift was highlighted in Taylor’s Insta Stories according to E! News, which grabbed images of the bountiful bunch of pink, white and peach-colored flowers to accompany the note, which read: “Avril, Been dancing around my kitchen to your fabulous new album!! It’s AMAZING, like you.” The card was signed “Your forever fan, Taylor.”
Lavigne celebrated the release of her seventh album last Friday with an intimate show at Los Angeles’ The Roxy as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series. The 37-year-old punk pop princess we clearly on cloud nine during the show, which featured high-energy renditions of such fan favorites as “Sk8er Boi,” “What the Hell,” “Girlfriend” and “Complicated.”
With a bottle of champagne in hand, Lavigne toasted her return to the pop-rock realm after her more emotional, low-key 2019 LP Head Above Water and she brought along some famous friends to help, with collaborator Travis Barker on drums for four songs, as well a boyfriend Mod Sun, who joined her for their “Flames” duet, which ended with a sweet onstage hug and kiss.
“I went into this album and just said, ‘I want to make a pop-punk record, a rock-and-roll record. I don’t want to be on the piano. I don’t want ballads, really. I just really want to rock out,’” Lavigne recently told Billboard. “I think especially after my last album being so mellow and dramatic and deep and introspective — you know, it was beautiful, and it was where I was at in my life, and that’s what worked for me at the time. But I was just ready to get back out there, rock the f—k out, and again just thinking about the live shows. I mean, this is the kind of music I fell in love with, when I was old enough to buy CDs, to discover bands — like, my first year of high school, which is grade nine in Canada.”
Check out images of the gift below.
Sharleen Spiteri joined BBC Radio 2’s The Sara Cox Breakfast Show ahead of Texas taking the stage to launch the main live music programme at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling.
Checking in from rehearsals, the Texas frontwoman spoke about getting ready for the band’s opening performance at City Park. Radio 2’s annual flagship festival takes place there from 11 to 13 September 2026. "I’m match fit because I’ve had a couple of days’ rehearsals," Spiteri said. "We’re kicking the whole weekend off, which we’re very much looking forward to, so everybody’s got to get ready to party."
Before the live acts take over, Friday’s DJ Pre-Party gets the weekend started with Radio 2 favourites Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage, and Rylan behind the decks.
Jo Whiley helped set the mood with a special programme from Stirling’s Tolbooth venue. Working with BBC Introducing Scotland, the broadcast put the spotlight on Scotland’s emerging music scene through performances and conversations with Fright Years, Alice Faye, and James Emmanuel.
Fright Years, a four member band from Edinburgh, played "Never Been Wrong" and offered their take on Simple Minds’ "Waterfront." Glasgow singer and songwriter Alice Faye, the BBC Introducing in Scotland 2026 winner, paired "Some Brief Encounter" with a rendition of Lulu’s arrangement of "I Started a Joke." James Emmanuel, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in Edinburgh, sang "Brothers & Sisters" before taking on Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman."
"We’re all about celebrating BBC Introducing and all the music that’s come out of Scotland," Whiley told listeners. "It's about celebrating the local music scene and the incredibly important work that BBC Introducing does to support independent, up-and-coming artists."
Joining the conversation were Stephanie Cheape, presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Tara McLoughlin, venue manager for Stirling Council, and student radio presenters representing the University of Stirling’s Air3 Radio.
Listeners can catch the complete interviews and live performances from the weekend’s programmes on BBC Sounds.
