I live for conspiracy theories. You could throw a conspiracy theory about why dogs actually bark and I’d spend 30 minutes of my day watching a video on it, completely enthralled. It’s not that I typically believe them, but I love the feeling of reading something that makes me look at a situation from a perspective that’s a little more outside of the box. I love the idea that things aren’t always as they seem, even if the idea of what it really is is absolutely ridiculous. My current conspiracy theory obsession: Avril Lavigne, or I guess I should say… Melissa Vandella.

So for those of you who don’t go around looking for conspiracy theories and have no idea what I’m talking about, let me break it down for you.

Basically, Avril Lavigne’s career took off and because she was so used to not being famous and being able to live a normal life, she wasn’t able to handle the instant attention and paparazzi wherever she went. To avoid this, she hired a look-alike to go around pretending to be her. This look-alike’s name was Melissa Vandella. Melissa and Avril became best friends and an anonymous source leaked that Melissa would go to the studio with Avril and they would work on having Melissa sound and sing like Avril. When it came time for Avril to work on her next album in 2003, her grandfather passed. She was incredibly close to her grandfather and his death threw her into a deep depression. She would spend days crying and writing music and recorded the dark and depressing album. Sources claim she threatened to kill herself on numerous occasions and the theory goes on to state that Avril actually succeeded in late 2003. At the time, she was at the peak of her career so the theory is based around the idea that the news was hidden because it would have been so distressing that the ‘punk princess’ of the time had killed herself. So, they used Melissa, her look-alike, to live the rest of her life as Avril. The theory backs this up with the difference in her sound when “The Best Damn Thing” was released in 2007 and her dramatically new colorful style. Apparently, a lot of Avril’s birthmarks were suddenly gone and on stage, she would forget words and act incredibly differently that Avril.

I know, the theory is totally dark, but I can’t help but feel like it kind of makes sense.

Stop right there, I know what you’re thinking. “This girl is insane, there’s no way Avril is dead and was replaced with a look-alike, get this girl a shrink.” But wait, think about it. Avril’s spent so much time despising talking to interviewers and avoiding the spotlight, being punk and maintaining an “I don’t care what you think about me” attitude, then she shifts to an entirely new mentality. Her music takes a more “Let me tell you how amazing I am” theme and has a much more dance-friendly sound.

This isn’t the ‘punk princess’ that we all knew, and I honestly believe it’s plausible that she hired a look-alike in the first place to take on the role of the famous artist in front of the public while she wrote and recorded music behind the curtain. Now, I can’t say her being dead or not sounds realistic, but I can imagine if she ever got sick of being famous or feeling like she had to write songs that were designed to please an audience, she would retreat to being out of the spotlight and have someone else do the whole ‘famous popstar’ thing for her.

So, what do you think? Do you think this theory is way too far fetched or can you see it being true? What are some other conspiracy theories you think are interesting (even if you don’t necessarily think they’re true)?

Share with your favorites or your thoughts on Avril Lavigne and her look-alike!