Avril Lavigne's break-up album brought friends to tears

Avril Lavigne moved her friends to tears by playing them tracks from her latest album Goodbye Lullaby.

The Complicated singer split from ex-husband Deryck Whibley in 2009 after three years of marriage, while she was working on material for her fourth album, which was released in March (11).

Lavigne admits the project represents "closing a chapter in life" - but even she was stunned by her pals' emotional reactions to her songs.

She tells The Ottawa Citizen, "Throughout this album, there are some real vulnerable moments, where I didn't hold back when it came to writing, just because I wanted it to be real, I wanted it to move somebody.

"Some of the songs I didn't want to put on the record, and my girlfriends made me. They were their favourites. When I played these songs for my friends and family, sometimes they would cry. I've never really had that for my songs before.

"Goodbye Lullaby really just represents closing a chapter in life and opening a new one. Personal growth, moving forward. It's really just about growth and changes, in regards to different emotions we all have in life. Becoming older. The whole message is bittersweet; it's positive. It's about getting through what you have to get through."

Lavigne has since moved on with her life and she's now in a happier place, dating Kim Kardashian's stepbrother Brody Jenner.