Lady Gaga on Taking Time Off Before New Album 'Joanne'
The singer pens an essay on the dangers of fame and being a modern woman.
— -- Lady Gaga took a much-needed break from the spotlight before her latest album "Joanne," and in a new essay, the 30-year-old singer explains why.
"Before I made Joanne, I took some time off," the "Just an Illusion" singer wrote in an essay for Harper's Bazaar. "I was able to get off the train of endless work I’d been on, which was quite abusive to my body and my mind, and have some silence and some space around me. I wanted to experience music again the way I did when I was younger, when I just had to make it, instead of worrying what everybody thinks or being obsessed with things that aren’t important."
That time off allowed Gaga to see what she really wants from life.
"Fame is the best drug that’s ever existed," she wrote. "But once you realize who you are and what you care about, that need for more, more, more just goes away. What matters is that I have a great family, I work hard, I take care of those around me, I provide jobs for people I love very much, and I make music that I hope sends a good message into the world."
"I turned 30 this year and I’m a fully formed woman," Gaga continued. "I have a clear perspective on what I want. That, for me, is success. I want to be somebody who is fighting for what’s true -- not for more attention, more fame, more accolades."
In the essay, Gaga also explored what it means to be a woman in the world today.
"Being a lady today means being a fighter," she wrote. "It means being a survivor. It means letting yourself be vulnerable and acknowledging your shame or that you’re sad or you’re angry. It takes great strength to do that."
"Health, happiness, love -- these are the things that are at the heart of a great lady, I think. That’s the kind of lady I want to be."
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