Lady Gaga had to "endure a lot" during her early days of fame

She told The Sunday Times: "I'm just a much more stable, healthy human than I was for the last 20 years.

"The music industry took over my life when I was younger. It took me far away from myself and I had to endure a lot and it hardened me, for sure. It took me a while to find my feet."

The 'Disease' hitmaker - who has just released her seventh studio album 'Mayhem' - also noted that her own authenticity comes through when she is able to be "fully expressive" in herself, even if she may have been "criticised" for being different when she first came to prominence.

She added: "[People say] Why doesn't she play the game any more?' So what used to be considered inauthentic of me is now how people know me - but I am at my most authentic when fully expressive.

"I've been criticised for being the weird one, or different. Since the start of my career I've been asked, 'What's your style? How can we define you?' And my earliest music was definable as me. But soon it's viewed as a machine and a business..

"Well, my music has always been under my control. Since I was 17 I never allowed anyone to control that. But then you're surrounded by systems figuring out how to monetise and market you, to turn you into an enterprise."