Olivia Rodrigo & Avril Lavigne Shared A Pop-Punk Moment At the iHeartRadio Music Awards

In a moment sure to satisfy the trend cycle gods, or any angsty girl between the ages of 15 and 35, the world’s two ranking pop-punk queens embraced at the iHeartRadio Music awards on Tuesday night. Avril Lavigne presented the Female Artist of the Year award to Olivia Rodrigo, and the two embraced onstage before Rodrigo thanked Avril in her speech.

Avril Lavigne was the world’s original princess of pop punk, channeling angst into songs about feeling misunderstand and having your loser skater boyfriend become famous against your will all the way back in 2002, a time when pop stars weren’t singing angry music.

Now, Rodrigo, along with Travis Barker and artists like Jxdn, are helping to usher in this pop punk resurgence twenty years later, because there’s nothing we can count on more in this world than the lifespan of a trend cycle.

Avril, too, is coasting in on the pop punk resurgence. She recently released “Love Sux,” her first album in three years, on Barker’s DTA records. It’s her first pop-punk album in years and in many ways feels like the old, pre-Harajuku era Avril, taking some credence away from the conspiracy theory that Lavigne had passed away in 2003 and was replaced by a doppelgänger named Melissa.

Anyway, Rodrigo, possibly the only person in the world who had an amazing 2021, unsurprisingly cleaned up at the iHeart Music Awards, winning nine awards, including TikTok Bop of the Year, Best Cover Song, Female Artist of the Year, and Best New Pop Artist.

Avril presented with Female Artist of the Year award to Rodrigo, who thanked Avril in her acceptance speech. “First of all I want thank Avril. I’m so obsessed with you,” she said. "Thank you to fans, who made this the most incredible year of her whole life."

This isn’t the first time the two have crossed paths in their multigenerational crusade to cement pop-punk’s return. Lavigne presented Rodrigo with Variety’s Songwriter of the Year Award last December.

“Olivia’s singles from her album Sour have been part of the collective psyche of 2021, and she wrote every single one of the them,” said Lavigne. “Her songs are personal, her songs are raw, and her songs are relatable.”