Even many of Avril Lavigne's Chinese fans don't know these recordings of her singing in mandarin even exist, which may be a good thing judging from Gail and Nicole's first reactions on hearing them. "What did she say exactly," Gail asked while straining to hear the chorus? Nicole was simply at a loss for words.

Before we're accused of teasing, let us come out and admit that we think Avril Lavigne is a genuine superstar who deserves accolades for putting out Chinese-language versions of her songs. The Canadian singer-songwriter has actually produced two of these to date (here is the other one). And while her mandarin editions never got as much traction as the originals, they're fantastic to listen to for language students. If you're an absolute beginner or elementary student, just listen in and see how much you understand. The lyrics are relatively simple, but if you have trouble just click through to our text page for an annotated version of the lyrics with mouseover popups.

And for more advanced students, we've added something to this lesson just for you: a five minute podcast featuring Echo, Gail and Nicole talking all about Avril Lavigne and why she's so popular in China. This podcast is about five minutes long and is filled with take-no-prisoners, native-level mandarin. If you're an intermediate to advanced student listen up and see how much you understand. You can test your comprehension by clicking through to the custom quiz we've added in which we review some of the more difficult words and phrases used in the podcast. Good luck!