The first night of her tour stop in Melbourne, Australia, isn't until April 22, but k.d. lang recently had a lot to report to the Melbourne Herald Sun about her new record, Watershed, and all the life changes that preceded it: "A change in me, a change in direction—emotionally—and a change in priorities,'' she told the Herald Sun. "I have changed a great deal since my 40th birthday ... It's a culmination of those things that led me to the album title.''

With those changes came a chance to re-evaluate her life and, after a brush with the alluring but fickle and ultimately empty Hollywood celebrity game—"It was fast food. It wasn't worth it."—she determined that her real priorities were "to live in happiness and peacefulness. I want to work hard to do good things.''

And Watershed is a result of that reordering of goals. In producing the record herself, k.d. aimed to capture the moment that inspired the songs in the first place, often using the first takes from the recording session. "It became a matter of what feels right—what has an essence, what has honesty and emotion to it.''

To read the complete interview in the Melbourne Herald Sun, visit news.com.au.

Watershed is due out on Nonesuch February 5. You can watch k.d. perform "I Dream of Spring" off the new record here.