Check out Lady Gaga!

The Pop queen makes for a striking figure a-front of the newest issue of Paper Magazine.

Mother Monster’s out of this world shoot comes as gears up for the release of ‘Chromatica’ – her sixth studio album (due April 10th).

As well as posing it up for the Frederik Heyman feature, Gaga kept it all sorts of candid about her incoming LP, 2013’s ‘ARTPOP,’ the ‘Stupid Love’ leak that almost changed her plans, and what folk can expect from ‘Chromatica’ – including a huge collab with a female Pop star.

All the action awaits after the jump…

On ‘Stupid Love’ Leak:

Gaga is well aware that “Stupid Love” leaked in January, long before she’d even filmed its video or planned for anyone to hear it. She jokes that when hackers typically find her material, they’ll leak their favorite, which validated her decision to make the track open the Chromatica era. Many fans figured she’d rush it out, but Gaga wasn’t interested in releasing anything half-baked. “There was a minute where me and my manager, Bobby, were talking, ‘Do we change the single?’ We’d just spent months and months developing this video and choreography. And I said, ‘Nope!’ You know why? Because the song, when it’s mixed, mastered and finished with the visuals, and everything I have to say about it — when all those things come together at once, that will be the art piece I’m making. Not a leak.” 

On Her Goal With Chromatica:

“This isn’t Joanne.

I will do whatever it takes to make the world dance and smile. I want to put out a record that forces people to rejoice even in their saddest moments. And by the way, I’m not standing over here with a flag going, ‘I’m all healed, everything’s perfect.’ It’s not; it’s a fight all the time. I still work on myself constantly. I have bad days, I have good days. Yeah, I live in Chromatica, it took a minute to get here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember what happened. So if you’re in pain and listening to this music, just know that I know what it’s like to be in pain. And I know what it’s like to also not let it ruin your life.”

On Her Last Two Solo Efforts:

“Joanne was exactly what I wanted to do. The way I wanted to do it, the way I wanted it to sound, and so was ARTPOP — everything about it. Every album has been exactly what I wanted to make at that time. It’s just there was a period where I think I forgot about where I was, and maybe that’s why it’s been so important for me with Chromatica to reestablish where I am for myself. So that here can mean something very powerful.”

On Working With Chromatica’s Exec Producer BloodPop:

“He’d be like, ‘Come on, let’s go. We’re going to make music.’ And I’d be maybe crying or venting about something that was happening in my life over some pain or depression I was feeling. I’d start out the day so down and I’d end up dancing, looking in the mirror, practicing my moves, singing along,” she says. “Every day was an enlightening experience, but it had to happen every day.”

On Tweeting That She Doesn’t Remember 2013 Album ‘ARTPOP’:

“I think it’s funny that I’m not allowed to have a sense of humor. The internet is essentially a big joke, but if I tell one everyone freaks out. I don’t regret my art, and I wouldn’t suggest anyone do.

I look back at ARTPOP and look at music today, and I see a lot of things that were very…futuristic. Or they were ahead of their time, and I’m okay with saying that.”

On Incoming Collab with A Major Female Pop Star:

One such message led Gaga to collaborate with a fellow female pop star, who has similarly experienced immense trauma while in the public eye. Their song together is a monster of a dance tune, but its message is about submitting yourself to devastation (“It’s coming down on me, water like misery”) — a flawless dance floor crier as a “celebration of all the tears,” Gaga describes. “I sat with her and we talked about our lives. It’s two women having a conversation about how to keep going and how to be grateful for what you do.” Without being prompted, Gaga raises the inevitable criticism that celebrities face when they say “it’s hard to be famous.” She knows that “75% of the world rolls their eyes,” but Gaga counters: “Yeah, you can be in a mansion, but you can still be six feet under in one.”

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Frederik Heyman / Paper]