Katy Perry says she 'couldn't imagine living' while depressed

Katy Perry opens up about her depression: ‘I couldn’t ... imagine living’

May 22, 2020 10:30 AM PT

Katy Perry’s latest single is a triumphant anthem about following your dreams. But according to the “California Girls” hitmaker, the impetus for her forthcoming album came from a much darker place.

Appearing Friday on “Good Morning America,” a pregnant Perry reflected on motherhood, the coronavirus crisis and the mental health issues she experienced while working on her next studio collection.

“They can expect a record about resilience and finding a light at the end of the tunnel because I’ve been writing it over the past two years, and at the beginning of those two years, they were really difficult,” she said. “I was kind of clinically depressed coming out of that and didn’t know what my life was ... I couldn’t really even imagine living, to be completely honest.”

The singer says she is now in a much better headspace, excited for the arrival of her new music and first child with fiance Orlando Bloom of “Pirates of the Caribbean” fame. Their baby girl is due this summer.

“Now I feel like I’ve done the work, and I’m still doing the work emotionally, spiritually, physically, psychologically,” she continued. “Now I’ve come to this light at the end of the tunnel, which means I am going to live. And not only that, I’m going to bring life into the world. So it ends in a positive place so far.”

The Grammy winner also discussed getting “innovative” while putting out fresh offerings during the lockdown, teasing her upcoming “GMA” concert performance, which was shot in her backyard. Her recent music video for “Daisies” and subsequent “American Idol” finale performance also were produced in quarantine.

Last week, Perry made a splash with her ethereal “Daisies” video, which featured the singer frolicking in a field of flowers and wading toward a waterfall, fully nude, as the camera zoomed on her bare tummy. She previously revealed her pregnancy by cradling her swelling stomach in the dramatic music video for “Never Worn White.”

“You’ve got to kind of jump on the train and hold on for dear life and get innovative or you get left, in a weird way,” she said Friday on “Good Morning America.” “It’s interesting when you are the hair, the makeup, the wardrobe, the lights … and you’ve got to really think outside of the box — safely, obviously.”

Perry’s sixth studio album drops Aug. 14. She hasn’t released the title yet.