Lady Gaga put “so much” of herself into her new album.

The 38-year-old pop star – whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – will release her seventh studio album Mayhem on Friday and explained that she “loves” being her alter-ego because it has given her the chance to go back to her initial “artistry ” for this one.

Speaking on Apple Music 1, she told Zane Lowe: “Something I want my fans to know now, which is why I said I love being Lady Gaga, is I actually returned back to my artistry recently in a huge way of making this album.

“I put so much of myself as a musician, as a producer, as a songwriter into everything.”

The Disease hitmaker became known for her extravagant outfits and outlandish music videos during the first decade of her career but actually wants to be remembered as a “real artist” who actually “cares” about her own work.

She said: “And that is who Lady Gaga is to me. Maybe to someone else it might be the meat dress or something that I did that they remember as me. But for me, I always want to be remembered for being a real artist and someone that cares so much about a life of art.”

The Poker Face singer would even struggle to put her new album into a genre, and tried to make sure that was the factor that made it different to all of her previous efforts.

She said: “ARTPOP was a vibe. Joanne was a sound.

“Chromatica had a sound. All different. The Fame Monster was more chaotic. The Fame was theatrical pop. Born This Way, to me, had more of a metal electro New York vibe to it. I actually made the effort making Mayhem to not do that and not try to give my music an outfit.”