Katy Perry graced the cover of People‘s latest issue on Wednesday (Aug. 5), opening up about her journey to motherhood and creating her upcoming album Smile.
“Every day your options change, and you don’t know what’s what. Especially being pregnant in a pandemic, it’s an emotional rollercoaster,” she told People of juggling an album rollout and a baby-to-be in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
(One other option that changed? Perry’s planned destination wedding in Japan to fiancé Orlando Bloom, which the couple cancelled due to the pandemic.)
According to the pop star, her soon-to-be-released fifth album, which was recently pushed to a later release date, is the result of overcoming a couple of difficult “nightmare” years following the tepid critical and commercial reaction to her last LP, 2017’s Witness.
“After being on a rocket ship and just going straight up, it was just a small change in the trajectory, but it felt seismic,” she dished. “It’s been two-and-a-half years of trying to find my footing. It’s so easy for me to work, work, work and avoid, but I had to go on a mental and spiritual journey.”
Perry revealed that taking charge of her mental health, which involves a combination of medication, therapy and family support, both fueled her creativity again and helped her refocus her priorities as she readies to meet her baby girl with Bloom.
“It got me out of this desperate loop of being the best pop star ever. I just really want to be a human being and have the dimension of life…I get to live life, and I get to bring life into the world. Finding the gratitude in this pain has been a real journey, but the outcome is worth it.”
Featuring lead single “Daisies,” the empowering title track and 2019 singles “Never Really Over” and “Harleys in Hawaii,” Smile is set to be released August 28 via Capitol Records.
Check out Perry’s glowing People cover, as well as a bonus video of her answering questions from some adorable pint-sized fans, below.
