Avril Cleans Up, Jay-Z Steals Away

By Stephen M. Silverman

Friday January 24, 2003 01:00 PM EST

"Let Go" is certainly an appropriate title for Canadian teen sensation Avril Lavigne's debut CD.

The 17-year-old from Ontario couldn't let go of the trophies Friday night at the second annual MTV Asia Awards, winning favorite female artist, favorite breakthrough artist and the style award in front of a crowd of 8,000 people at Singapore's Indoor Stadium, the Associated Press reports.

American rap-rockers Linkin Park also won big, being named favorite rock act and receiving the favorite video award.

Meanwhile, in other music news, rapper (and Beyonce Knowles's special friend) Jay-Z, 32, is suggesting that he may quit the music biz after his next album, MTV News reports.

The rapper, who also has a Showtime TV special airing Feb. 22, is reportedly saying that it's time for a new challenge and, therefore, his next disc, "The Black Album," will be his last.

"My plan is to make the next album my last. There comes a time when you've got to go and challenge yourself with other areas, you know what I'm saying? Take myself out of my comfort zone. Take the safety blanket off," Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter) tells MTV.

He plans to publish a book simultaneously with the release of the CD, and "it'll be autobiographical. I'll be working on writing it. Writing's tough, though. I've done basically everything, and it's time to take on new and different channels. I feel that I'm at that point in my career."

He also said he's contemplating making movies, saying, "A feature-length film would be cool."

In the meantime, his new single, "'03 Bonnie And Clyde" (a duet with Knowles), is set to debut on Sunday's chart at No. 2, the network reports.