Pop powerhouses Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have delighted fans with the release of brand new collaboration Rain on Me.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Gaga admits she initially hesitant to hang out with Grande, 26, as they worked together because she felt 'embarrased.'
Gaga, 34, said she ashamed by her personal mental health issues in comparison to Grande who had been through 'really tough, really hard life testing stuff' and was terrified of projecting her issues on to her.
"When she came into the studio, I was still crying and she was not. And she was like, 'You're going to be OK. Call me; here's my number,'" Gaga told Zane Lowe.
"And she was so persistent. She would try over and over again to be friends with me. And I was too ashamed to hang out with her because I didn't want to project all of this negativity onto something that was healing and so beautiful. And eventually she called me on my s***. She was, 'You're hiding.' And I was ... and then this friendship blossomed."
Rain on Me will be featured on Gaga's eagerly anticipated fifth album Chromatica, set for release on May 29.
The singer, who burst onto the music scene with 2009's The Fame Monster, said she credits her 'extremely painful' break-ups for her latest work.
She also said that her latest album has 'healed her' as she opens up about a sexual assault and battle with sobriety as well as heartbreak.
The pop starlet said single Rain on Me: "It's a metaphor for tears and for the amount of alcohol I was taking to numb myself. I'd rather be dry but at least I'm alive, rain on me."
Despite the message in the song, Gaga says she has not cut booze out of her life entirely.
"I've flirted with the idea of sobriety. I'm not there yet, but I flirted with it throughout the album,' she said. 'It's something that came up as a result of me trying to work through the pain that I was feeling."
She also praised 'mentor' Elton John for 'keeping her head above water.'
"Something that I always appreciate is that he knows when I'm down. He just does. And he knows because I hide, because I never want anyone to see me when I'm like that," she admitted.
