'I feel dead when I'm not performing,' confesses Lady Gaga as she flaunts her derriére

Lady Gaga fans have come to expect nothing less than a spectacle from their idol.

And in a new interview, the pop phenomenon sheds light on why the art of performance is so rewarding and important to her.

Speaking to U.S. music magazine Rolling Stone the 25-year-old confessed she only feels 'alive' when she takes on her stage persona.

Coming up roses: Lady Gaga shows off her tattoo and plenty of flesh as she poses in just her underwear in a shot promoting Born This Way

She says: 'When I am not onstage I feel dead. Whether that is healthy or not to you, or healthy or not to anyone, or a doctor, is really of no concern to me.

'I don't feel alive unless I'm performing, and that's just the way I was born.'

Gaga, who appears on the cover in a black leather bra and with a bow hair style, also said she can't stand the thought of not being close to her fans, known as her 'Little Monsters'.

'We have this umbilical cord that I don't want to cut, ever. I don't feel that they suck me dry.

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'It would be so mean, wouldn't it, to say, "For the next month, I'm going to cut myself off from my fans so I can be a person."

'What does that mean? They are part of my person, they are so much of my person. They're at least 50 percent, if not more.'

However she did admit to finding it difficult when she first found fame back in 2008.

'Being myself in public was very difficult. I was being poked and probed and people would actually touch me and touch my clothes and be like, "What the f**k is that," just so awful.

Only Gaga: This shot shows the singer covered in some sort of slime

'It was like I was being bullied by music lovers, because they couldn't possibly believe that I was genuine.'

'I feel dead when I'm not performing,' confesses Lady Gaga as she poses for cover of Rolling Stone

The singer also had a message for then critics who say her main goal is to attract attention with her quirky outfits.

She said: 'Is it that you believe that I am attention-seeking or shock for shock's sake, or is it just that it's been a long time since someone has embraced the art form the way that I have?

'Perhaps it's been a couple of decades since there's been an artist that's been as vocal about culture, religion, human rights, politics. I'm so passionate about what I do, every bass line, every EQ.

'Why is it that you don't want more from the artist, why is it that you expect so little, so when I give and give, you assume it's narcissistic?"

This latest issue of Rolling Stone hits newsstands Friday.