Katy Perry believes "every female artist" owes a debt of gratitude to Madonna

During an appearance on 'The Project', Katy explained: "She paved the way.

"When you talk about me reaching out to younger artists, every female [artist] still needs to continue to say thank you to her because she is breaking down barriers."

Katy also acknowledged that she owes a lot of her own success to the 'Like a Virgin' hitmaker.

Katy - who is one of the best-selling artists of all time - said: "I'm 40, I still get to do music because of Madonna."

The pop star has relished the time she's spent with Madonna during the course of her music career.

Katy added: "She's the greatest."

Meanwhile, the singer has Daisy, four, with actor Orlando Bloom, and Katy previously described her daughter as her "soulmate".

Katy also revealed that her daughter was the inspiration behind her single 'Lifetimes'.

The award-winning star - who is engaged to Orlando - told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "It is funny how sometimes you're looking for your soulmate in a partner. It could be a dog, your mom, your best friend, your cat?...?but for me it came in the form of Daisy.

"I wrote 'Lifetimes' about her. Every night before we go to sleep I say, 'I love you', and then I ask, 'Will you find me in every lifetime?' and she says, 'Yes'."

Katy also described her new album, '143', as a mix of dance music and "quintessential pop".

She said: "I always wanted to make a dance pop record.

"One third is more dance than I have ever done before. One third is quintessential pop and then one third is rhythmic."