After a decade, Avril softens up

After more than 10 years in the pop business, Lavigne finally put her own name on her fifth album. There are certainly shades of her previous work on this record - and it's not clear if that's a good thing.

Rock n Roll, for example, is an anthemic track with We Will Rock You-esque beats. Here's To Never Growing Up is a similarly catchy pop song - traits that are evident on tracks like massive hits Sk8r Boi and Girlfriend.

The album does have some surprises, though. Give You What You Like is the first time on the album you hear the pop princess venture from her comfort zone in an experiment with indie vibes and such pared down instrumentation.

There are also some obvious changes to her ballads. She forgoes her simple power vocals, opting instead for a softer sound, such as on Hush Hush and Falling Fast - perhaps a result of being newly happy in love (she recently married Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger).

Despite sticking to proudly simple pop-rock, the singer seems to have grown, and awoken to the beauty of subtlety.

- Pop princess Avril Lavigne is all grown up, and she sits down to talk to Young Post about her new sound, new love, and not-so-new attitude to life

- British R&B singer Jessie J has never sounded so alive as in her sophomore album, Alive, but seem to have lost a bit of her style in her pursuit of high energy

- Fame is coming fast for three-piece girl band Haim who have been together seven years, and now it seems there’s no stopping the three sisters from reaching the top