Pop superstar Lady Gaga has credited jazz icon Tony Bennett with saving her life at a point when she was considering quitting music.
"Six months ago I didn't even want to sing," said the singer and songwriter, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, in a Parade magazine interview where Bennett was also present.
"I tell Tony every day that he saved my life... I'm not going to say names, but people get irrational when it comes to money, with how they treat you, with what they expect from you. But if you help an artist, it doesn't give you the right, once the artist is big, to take advantage of them," said Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga and Bennett, who both have Italian-American ancestry, met in 2011 at a benefit concert and immediately discussed working together. They recorded the classic "The Lady Is a Tramp" later in that year.
The two artists have again collaborated, this time on an album titled "Cheek to Cheek," scheduled for release on September 19.
The early part of this year spelled a period of darkness for Gaga, she told Parade. After a hip surgery, she had to cancel several shows.
"I was so sad. I couldn't sleep. I felt dead. And then I spent a lot more time with Tony. He wanted nothing but my friendship and my voice," she said.
She also admitted to wanting to start a family with boyfriend Taylor Kinney at the time, thinking she was ready for that kind of life.
"I thought I did [want to have a family], because I was feeling kind of finished with all the chaos of my life," she revealed.
"But then I started to spend a lot more time with [Tony], and everything just became simpler, more pure and more perfect," the 28-year-old singer continued.
"Now I'm going to take a lot more time before I have kids and settle down. I just want to sing," she said.