Avril Lavigne Says She's Grateful to Have Had Music Through Lyme Disease Battle

Last month, Avril Lavigne made her return to music, releasing “Head Above Water” after taking time away from the spotlight to focus on her health after learning that she had been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. During her Billboard magazine cover shoot, Lavigne discussed the process of writing the single, explaining that it is very personal to her, and how music helped her through that difficult time.

“I was able to write songs from my bed, and ‘Head Above Water’ is a song that I wrote a night that I felt like I was actually dying and had kind of accepted it,” Lavigne tells Billboard. “Definitely wasn’t planning on writing in that moment, but…I went through something so heavy and so emotional.”

The singer adds that being an artist, she is very tapped into her emotions and the lyrics and concept of the song therefore channeled through her.

“It’s a really powerful song to me and I think and I hope that it could touch other people,” Lavigne explains. “We all have stuff that we go through on different levels, and [I am] just happy and grateful to have had music through this entire process…especially through fighting a disease and having my art to pull me out of everything that goes with battling a disease.”

You can watch the full video interview with Avril Lavigne above, and listen to “Head Above Water” below.