Walking out of Shibuya Station on May 12, you couldn't help but be aware that Avril Lavigne's second album, "Under My Skin," had just gone on sale. There she was, belting out her new single, "Don't Tell Me," up there on the big screen above the 109 Building. Tsutaya had a booth set up with Avril's kohl-eyed visage staring out from a huge poster at the boys and girls who accepted plastic shoulder bags imprinted with the album cover. No one was buying the record, but it was still early. BMG Japan, Avril's record company, had plenty of time.
Avril Lavigne, at a recent media event to promote the early release of her second album "Under My Skin"
Well, two weeks, anyway. "Under My Skin" doesn't go on sale overseas until the end of May, thus giving Japan a head start on helping the diminutive Canadian teen shift her millions of units. Why do the Japanese get to hear the new album first? Is it because Japanese fans bought one-tenth of the 20 million copies of her 2002 debut, "Let Go," that were sold worldwide? Is it because the album was the first by a foreign artist since Mariah Carey to top Oricon's album chart? Is it because she played Budokan right off the bat?