Avril Lavigne says Mandarin version of new single toughest to record

Avril Lavigne recorded the chorus to her new single "Girlfriend" in eight languages, and said Thursday that Mandarin was the toughest to master.

In addition to English, the Canadian pop star recorded in French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin.

"The hardest one was actually Mandarin. Japanese was easy, sort of. French was easy, but German was difficult," Lavigne said at a news conference in Hong Kong promoting her album, "The Best Damn Thing."

"But it was cool to record it in different languages because I have so many fans worldwide that speak all these languages. So I'm glad I did it," the 22-year-old singer said.

Lavigne said the making of "The Best Damn Thing" was a more hands-on experience than her previous albums.

"I was more involved with the drums and the sounds and the guitars and who was playing," she said.

Lavigne, who appeared in the movie "Fast Food Nation" and gave a voice performance in the animated film "Over the Hedge," said there are similarities between acting and singing, but that she's still testing the waters on the big screen.

"Acting is another way of performing, being on the camera, delivering emotion," she said, but added, "it's a whole other thing."

"I haven't done anything huge yet. I've done smaller roles, but when you do a bigger role you have to really get into character and memorize your lines," Lavigne said. "For me, it's just something I'm interested in right now."