Avril Lavigne approves Rihanna sample

Avril Lavigne thinks it is "really cool" Rihanna sampled her song 'I'm With You'.

The Canadian pop singer is a fan of Rihanna and liked what she did with her ballad, which was given a twist when it was used for party anthem 'Cheers (Drink To That)' on the Barbadian hitmaker's recent 'Loud' album.

Avril told Entertainment Weekly magazine: "It was really exciting because 'I'm With You' is one of my favourite songs that I've done, I always love performing it.

"I think Rihanna's awesome, she has great songs, she's a really great singer, so yeah I was excited about the track. I think it's really cool."

Rihanna has said she originally wanted Avril to guest re-record her part for 'Cheers (Drink To That)', but unfortunately the song was already in an advanced stage of production by the time she heard it.

She explained: "I asked whether Avril could appear, but when I heard the track it was already embedded in the music, so the producers already had it that way.

"I'm just glad that we could use her sample, because it became such a huge part of the instrumental that if it were not in the song, it would change the whole vibe of it."

Avril will unveil her comeback song, 'What The Hell' on US TV on New Year's Eve (31.12.10) and her album, 'Goodbye Lullaby' - which she has described as "more stripped and raw and a little deeper" - will follow on March 8.