Lady Gaga's next album will be like "operating on my old self".
The adventurous musician released her fourth solo studio album, 'Artpop', at the tail end of 2013, and is now hoping to reinvent herself on her next record.
She explained: "'Artpop' was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like--my old self as a cadaver. And I'm just, I'm operating on my old self."
The 'Do What U Want' hitmaker - who also collaborated with jazz icon Tony Bennett on an LP, 'Cheek to Cheek', in which they covered classics from the 'Great American Songbook' earlier this year - noted she wants to change her musical direction and reinvent herself on her next album in order to shock her fans.
She said: "I want the fans to be surprised.
"But I will just tell you that it's a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it's very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road."
Despite being panned by critics and only spawning two hit singles, the 28-year-old performer defended 'Artpop' by describing how it has been used as a form of escapism by her young fans.
She told Yahoo!: "As I travelled around the world I met more and more kids that were fully f***ing 'Artpop' to the wildest galaxies of their dreams. Kids whose whole lives were changed by the album. You know, planet 'Venus' is a place that they go in their minds when they are at home, to escape their family life, their troubles, their depression."
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