After hip surgery and parting ways with her longtime manager, Lady Gaga says things are looking up.
“I’ve very centered now. I meditate a lot. I’m happy. I am more sober than I’ve ever been,” the singer said interview this week. “It’s a very happy time in my life.”
Last year, Gaga parted ways with longtime manager Troy Carter, who helped the pop star achieve multiplatinum status, dominate the pop charts and win multiple Grammy Awards. She said she was overworked and that greed led to their split.
Gaga says part of her happier state of mind comes from working with Tony Bennett on the album “Cheek to Cheek,” which came out on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old is currently on an international tour that wraps Nov. 24 in Paris. Calling from Istanbul, she spoke with The Associated Press.
Q: Did your disagreements with management affect the making of “Artpop”?
A: It certainly affected my mind during “Artpop.” I would have to say that whole situation had less to do with creativity differences and more to do with me really needing some time from myself to be creative. My schedule was way too difficult, I was not able to keep up and my whole business became very focused on making as much money as possible as quickly as possible, which is really not where my heart is.… I’m actually very proud of “Artpop.”
Q: You sound like you’re in a good place. Is that spilling over to the new music you’re creating?
A: It is in the very super early stages. I’m always writing music. I was up all the other night here in Istanbul writing and they had a lovely piano in my room and I was so excited, especially when I get to pay a real stringed piano, not an electronic one, that always makes me happy. I’ve been writing some records that I really sort of surprised at myself. I have a lot of pain built over the past few years. It was very difficult being on the road for this “Born This Way Ball” without having a full, proper team around me. I was going through a lot of pain with my body that led to the hip surgery. I call it the “Pain of fame.”
Q: U2 released its new album alongside Apple, and Jay Z and Beyonce also released recent albums in unconventional ways. What do you think about that and do you think of innovative ways to release music when readying a project?
A: I think honestly what we need to be doing, and this is my opinion, is instead of trying to find ways to trick the world into focusing on the album for a brief moment, I think that artists need to speak more about how media treats the artists and making the distinction between the celebrity and the artist, because everything is all in one pool now isn’t it? We’re all the same and they’re some pretty terrible celebrities out there, let’s be honest, right? People famous for no reason. So, I think the more the media can help us to support the artist and support music in a way that’s maybe less critical for journalists that are not as knowledgeable about music and help to just spread the music and see the music as gift to the world.
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