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Uneven albums and a long stint as a coach on TV’s The Voice kept Christina Aguilera from cementing her status as one of pop’s most gifted singers. Now she’s broken free and found her way with this, her eighth album and first in over five years. Mixing hip-hop, reggae and dance elements with her signature power ballads, the 15-track collection is Aguilera’s unwavering statement of independence and self-discovery. Always adept at picking collaborators, she teams up with Kanye West on the infectious “Accelerate” and “Maria” and with Anderson. Paak on the edgy “Sick of Sittin.’” “Right Moves” is a sexy island-flavoured workout, while the Julia Michaels-penned “Deserve” is an anguished r&b co...

From the cover photo to her new songs, this is grown-up Demi. Although just 20, the former Disney star has recently faced the challenges of bulimia and a bipolar disorder. Lovato’s fourth album amounts to a personal comeback, featuring buoyant pop songs like “Heart Attack” and such girl-empowerment confessionals as “Warrior.”