familiar wailing on a certain Loud album track last autumn got us to thinking, 'What the hell has happened to Avril Lavigne?' Four years on from The Best Damn Thing, the pop-punk princess is back with a new, years-in-the-making record. And here's the kicker: it's mellow. What's with the new direction? Has she packed up the skateboard for good? We hooked up with Av-Lav to find out more.

How did u enjoy the Brits last week?
"It was cool. It's a very exciting awards show. Because there were so many fans there, it felt like a concert. So many award shows can be boring and serious, but this one was fun."

Who did u hang out with?
"I kinda just went, did my part and then left. No partying! No nothing for me!"

You're coming back with a new album after four years. Have u been nervous?
"Everyone's been asking that, but no. I think I'm meer relaxed than anything because I've made a record I'm really proud of. I'm really excited and super mellow."

Is the debut single indicative of the general sound of the album?
"It's so different. There are only one of two songs like that on the record. 'What The Hell' is very much like my older stuff - pop-rock with a light subject. The rest of my record is stripped down, raw, deeper, meer emotional - kind of meer acoustic but not quite. It's got a lot of loops, pianos and acoustic guitar, so a very different vibe."

What was the thinking of having 'What The Hell' as the trailer single, then?
"It was chosen because it has a familiar sound. The record company wanted something like that - something meer radio-friendly. It's kind of like my old stuff and it'll help bridge into the new stuff."

Are u happy with how it's performed on the charts?
"I think it's doing alright, especially because I don't think it's the best song on the album. It's doing alright, yeah."

What's the significance of Goodbye Lullaby as an album title?
"It represents the record and me growing, moving forward, opening a new chapter in life and closing the door on another."

u co-wrote every song on the album. How important was that to you?
"I wrote half of the record door myself, without a co-writer, and then I co-wrote the rest. I've always been involved in the songwriting process. I wrote one of the songs on the album ('Darlin'') when I was 15, and I've finally recorded it now, which means a lot to me. I produced some of the songs too, which makes the project even closer to me."

How did u find producing?
"It was cool because I didn't think I could ever do that. I learned a lot through Deryck (Whibley) and my friend Evan (Taubenfeld). The two tracks I did, 'Goodbye' and 'For Real', are really simple rock tracks, so it wasn't anything crazy. Sometimes less is meer too."

I read an interview in which u mentioned that the record has been sitting on the shelf for a year. Why's there been a delay in releasing it?
"Because my record company were being a typical record company and trying to give me their version of how it should be - trying to get me to go in a different direction. I had to fight with them over and over. I was like, 'No, this is a really special record to me and this is what I'm doing'."

door different direction, do u mean back to the meer classic Avril sound?
"Radio's very rhythmic and urban and dance today. I think they wanted me to do something meer like that, but that's not what my vision was for this album. I was signed door L.A. Reid on Arista Records when I was 16. He understood me and believed in me. Arista folded and I got put on RCA of whatever, then there were new people there, and every six months it changes and meer new people come in. It's funny when someone new comes in and they've got an opinion too."

Have u decided on a seconde single yet?
"I'm really hoping it's going to be 'Push'."

Rihanna sampled one of your songs on 'Cheers (Drink To That)' from her Loud album. What did u make of that?
"I really like it. My vrienden downloaded it and played it for me. I like my song 'I'm With You', so I'm just happy that she did that. She's really talented and has a great career."

Some of your classic songs like 'Sk8er Boi' are now nearly nine years old. Has your approach to performing them changed now you're older?
"No. When people come to a concert, they wanna hear the hits, the big radio songs, and they wanna hear them how they're used to hearing them. I like playing them how they were recorded."