Avril Lavigne has praised Travis Barker for being a “good partner” after teaming up with him for her latest single.

The 37-year-old singer is returning to the music world for the first time since 2019 with new song ‘Bite Me’ and has collaborated with the Blink-182 drummer through his label DTA Records.

And Avril has nothing but good things to say about 46-year-old Travis – who is engaged to Kourtney Kardashian – as a collaborator.

She said: “I needed to find a label for the [new] music, and it felt like an obvious choice. He’s an artist, so he understood my vision, but also knows the importance of what it’s like to be a good partner. Blink-182 has always been one of my favourite bands.”

The ‘Sk8er Boi’ hitmaker – who is the cover star for the December issue of The Forty Five – then went on to explain that she has been able to work with a lot of “really cool people” as a result of joining the label, noting that this record is one she has wanted to make for a “really long time.”

She said: “I got to work with a lot of really cool people. It’s just guitar-driven and up-tempo and a lot of it feels like the record I’ve wanted to make for a long time where I just didn’t care and didn’t think about anything.”

Avril made her debut in 2002 with hit single ‘Complicated’ and she reflected on being an artist for almost 20 years, admitting she finds it very “rewarding” to be cited as an influence by lots of younger artists.

She said: “I’m excited to be 20 years in and still rocking!

“I’m really grateful to still be doing what I love and to have a musical outlet. I’m having so much fun with it all …I ’m making music this far into my career because I truly want to and it’s just such a big part of my life.

“I feel very lucky that so many of these younger artists have mentioned me as someone that they were inspired by. It’s really cool. A lot of people say that to me when I meet them now at this point in my career, and it’s really flattering. It’s not something I ever expected when I started making music, so to hear that now is really rewarding.”