Lady Gaga has been named Billboard’s Woman of the Year 2015 and in a revealing interview, she talked about recovering from the flop of 2013’s Artpop.
Gaga told Billboard she’s thankful she’s being honored during a year she chose to follow her “instincts” when it came to her career after stumbling a bit. She also talked about being thankful the support of Elton John and her Cheek to Cheek collaborator, Tony Bennett, for believing in her.
“There is nobody more badass than Tony Bennett,” she said. “That man is a part of the history of music in a way that is extremely powerful, and he taught me to stay true to who I am, to not let anybody exploit me.”
She added, “He is responsible in so many ways for making me happy, and I can say the same for Elton [John]. When the whole industry turned their back on me during Artpop, they were the ones who said, ‘Hey, this is a blip. It’s going to go away.’”