Kacey Musgraves is looking forward to releasing star-crossed on Friday and, in a new interview, revealed how healthy it was for her to have poured her heart into making her fifth studio album.

“It is a rebirth in many ways, it’s a clean slate, it’s the opportunity to thank the old energy, and to appreciate it, and know that you would not be where you are without [it],” she told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. 

Musgraves’ upcoming album acts as a diary, offering listeners vignettes of the many emotions she experienced after her three-year marriage with Ruston Kelly ended. 

“I feel like the past year I’ve gone through, I think it’s the five stages of grief. You’re shocked at the situation at first when you experience trauma, or a massive life change, you’re angry, you go through bargaining stages…Depression, loneliness, but also excitement and hope for the future,” she described. “I really learned, first of all, healing is not linear…it’s very up and down, it comes in waves, and you just got to hold on through it.”

“I’ve learned a lot about control through this whole thing,” continued Musgraves, “you’d think that letting go would send you into even more of a spiral, but I think if you can learn to embrace it a little bit…it’s been nice.”

Above all else, she said creating star-crossed is what allowed her to finally heal and move on from the heartbreak.

“It took me back to ground zero in completely trying to just understand myself,” she remarked. “I’m honestly really glad for the opportunity to acknowledge the relationship, acknowledge the love that I had, but move on and be better.”

Star-crossed is due out Friday at midnight.

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