Avril Lavigne’s TikTok Debut Is Straight Out Of 2002

Avril Lavigne’s first-ever TikTok is a video, yes, but it’s also a wormhole in the space-time continuum that’s already let millions of viewers (and counting) travel back to 2002. On Monday, Lavigne announced that she’d joined the unofficial choice app of Gen Z, and her first post — a nostalgic “Sk8er Boi” lip-synch, featuring some stunts and moves from famed, real-life sk8er boi Tony Hawk — proves several things. One, this collaboration should have happened sooner; two, Lavigne is the rare celebrity who really understands TikTok; and three, some people can evidently still pull off the loosely-fitted tie and black eyeliner look in 2021.

In the video, Lavigne dons one of her signature striped ties, an all-black outfit, and makeup straight out of her “Complicated” music video. She dances along to the first verse of “Sk8er Boi” before the camera pans to Hawk, now wearing the same tie. (And, sadly, no eyeliner.) As the chorus plays, Hawk shows off several tricks on a skateboarding ramp, and millions of geriatric millennials are screaming. To date, the TikTok has racked up 14.3 million views and over 3 million likes. The video also prompted Lavigne’s name to trend across social media platforms.

Lavigne’s old and new fans were very, very into the crossover. “This is absolutely iconic. I can feel my childhood self freaking out and searching for her eyeliner,” one person wrote on TikTok. Another called the video “the collab we all wanted in middle school.” As TikTok’s official account wrote, “name a more iconic duo…. I’ll skate.”

After sharing the viral vid, Lavigne also published a few behind-the-scenes shots with Hawk on Instagram. “I was a skater man,” he commented on her post. “She said ‘see you later man.’” 

According to Lavigne’s hashtags, the video was posted in honour of Go Skateboarding Day, an annual event that aims to make the sport more accessible around the world. As a skater and philanthropist who’s helped build skate parks in underserved communities, Hawk has been one of the event’s most public-facing figures for years. Lavigne, meanwhile, isn’t much of a skater, contrary to popular belief: In a behind-the-scenes video on Hawk’s Instagram, she’s seen wiping out while Hawk attempts to teach her some moves.

Lavigne confirmed that her seventh studio album will come out this summer, and will reportedly include collaborations with Machine Gun Kelly and Willow Smith. It might be too much to ask for a new version of “Sk8er Boi” with a full-length, Hawk-studded music video, but hey, TikTok got Aly & AJ to do it, right?