The FIFA game series produced some legendary soundtracks featuring some iconic artists – but did you know that EA Sports played a key role in launching one star's career?
And not just any old star either – none other than Canada's pop-punk queen, Avril Lavigne.
Lee Price, author of the book ‘FIFA Football: The Story Behind the Video Game Sensation’ explained to FourFourTwo exactly how.
"If you think back to FIFA 98 and listening to Blur’s Song 2 on repeat, I loved that song because of FIFA, and there are many people who say the same about a different song,” reminisces Price.
"One of my favourite stories was that EA Sports basically discovered Avril Lavigne. One of her very first gigs was in EA’s canteen, attempting to impress the music guy they’d hired, because they realised that having a soundtrack elevated the authenticity and feeling of the game. They agreed a deal to put Lavigne’s debut single, 'Complicated', into FIFA 2003."
'Complicated' was one of the biggest hits on Lavigne's debut album, 'Let Go', but would she have reached the same levels of global fame without a little help from the beautiful game? We just don't know...
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