Avril Lavigne and Willow Smith Seen Shooting Music Video Together

Avril Lavigne and Willow Smith were recently spotted shooting a music video together, with the “Sk8ter Boi” singer collaborating with the 20-year-old on her new foray into the pop-punk genre. According to People, the pair were seen filming in Los Angeles, with Smith sporting a torn yellow shirt, Lavigne in a leather jacket, and both women rocking plaid pants and chains.

Willow previously spoke with V Magazine about her new musical direction and shared why she wanted to explore her punk rock and emo music inspirations. “I wanted to open myself up a little bit more and not just be so anti-social in the studio,” she said. “I’m so excited that I’m going to be having a song on the album with Avril Lavigne. She is so iconic. From [ages] 13 to 16, she was my idol. It’s really nice to be able to have a quintessential pop-punk record with the pop-punk queen.”

The young musician also shared what life was like for her, growing up as a fan of heavy and alternative music genres. “Being a Black woman in the metal crowd is very, very different on top of the pressures that the music industry puts on you,” she shared. “Now, it’s like an added pressure of the metal culture, the metal world, and just rock in general. I used to get bullied in school for listening to Paramore and My Chemical Romance.”

Willow comes from a musical family and first made waves in the music world with her 2010 viral hit “Whip My Hair.” Her dad, Will Smith, is a Grammy-winning rapper who gave the world hits like “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” and “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.” He also put out hit tunes from some of the movies he starred in, such as “Men in Black” and “Wild Wild West.” Smith’s first two solo records — Bigge Willie Style (1997) and Willennium (1999) — both been certified by the RIAA as multi-platinum-selling albums.

The musical connection doesn’t stop there as both her mom, Jada Pinkett, and brother, Jaden, are singers as well. Jaden has a number of singles, and five albums, under his belt. His song “Icon”, from 2017’s SYRE, has more than 250 million streams on Spotify. Jaden has also featured on songs by a number of major artists, such as Justin Bieber and Tyler, The Creator.

As for Jada, she formed the nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom back in 2002, after having grown up listening to metal as a child. “I listened to all kinds of metal as a kid. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses,” she said in a past MTV interview. “I would always look at Axl Rose and say, ‘Why aren’t there any chicks out there doing this now?’ I always wanted an opportunity to get out there and rock out.” The band reunited earlier this year on Jada’s show Red Table Talk, with Willow performing their hit song “Bleed All Over Me” as a tribute to her mom for Mother’s Day.