Katy Perry has revealed that she suffered “situational depression” after the release and comparative underperformance of her current album Witness.

The record, her fourth, reached only number 6 in the British album charts in June 2017 when it was released, in comparison to the chart-topping performances of her previous two albums. In America, although it reached number one on the Billboard charts, it has sold a mere fraction of the multi-million figures of her previous two efforts.

Perry, 33, told Vogue Australia in a new interview as her current mammoth world tour begins its final Oceania leg next week, that she had put a lot of “validity” into the public’s reaction, but “the public didn't react in the way I had expected, which broke my heart.”

Katy PerryPerry's latest album 'Witness' has underperformed commercially

As a result, Perry was forced to have some “difficult conversations” with her record label Capitol. The roll-out and promotion for Witness was enormous, including stunts like Perry live-streaming herself for 72 hours.

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However, she said that a “personal growth retreat”, plus meeting the Pope (Perry was raised Catholic), had helped her get over the disappointment and move on.

“That brokenness, plus me opening up to a greater, higher power and reconnecting with divinity, gave me a wholeness I never had,” she continued. “It gave me a new foundation. It's not just a material foundation: it's a soul foundation.”

Katy PerryKaty Perry performing on the 'Witness' tour in June 2018

Perry, who is in a relationship with actor Orlando Bloom, said that the incident made her reflect on the nature of creativity and how that bisects with mental health. “The biggest lie that we've ever been sold is that we as artists have to stay in pain to create.”

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