Lorde was "gripped by angst" every night of her Melodrama tour.
The 'Mood Ring' singer has reflected on her 2017 second studio album and admitted she was going through a "really fraught" time in her life when she released the album and found it difficult to perform the songs.
In an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper, she said: "I listened to Melodrama recently and was, like, 'Oh, girl! You were stressed out. This was a really fraught time for you!' And it was. I remember touring and being gripped by angst every night. It was quite tough, to be honest, to live like that for a year."
The New Zealand star returned with her third record Solar Power last week and admits she is in a much better place.
She said: "I'm more settled."
However, she also had to contend with the loss of her beloved pet pooch Pearl while working on the record, which was difficult for her.
She added: "I also had my first big grief experience halfway through making this album and that was huge for me. I was marked."
Elsewhere, the 'Green Light' hitmaker discussed the pitfalls of fame and insisted she considers herself to be "significantly less famous" than when she started out her career aged 16 - and she is fine with that.
She said: "Fame is a really interesting thing to happen.
"But it gets tricky for people if they find the experience super-validating if they feel it's giving them fuel. For me, I was always a little suspicious of it, or sure it would go away.
"I am significantly less famous than I was when I was 16, but that's exactly how I like it. I'm not getting my validation from it."
The 24-year-old Grammy-winner also doesn't need to chase a hit to feel fulfilled in her career.
She added: "When Melodrama came out, I had this moment of being like, 'Ah, I'm not always going to be No 1 for nine weeks'.
"Now I've settled into this place where people call you, then one day they won't. And that's all good. I'm a different part of the meal. I know who I am."
Bang Showbiz
