Keri Hilson was "depressed" at the height of her fame.

The 42-year-old singer burst onto the music scene in the late 2000s with hits like 'Knock You Down', but her second album 'No Boys Allowed' in 2010 turned out to be her last record for 15 years as she tried to deal with the "beast" of being well-known.

She told People: "I didn't even know [it would be my last for so long].

"I was also depressed at the new height of my career with the success of 'Pretty Girl Rock.' I was just not okay. I was not well, I needed a break. I hadn't taken a break since I was 14 years old in my first girl group. When we disbanded, I went headfirst into songwriting at 17, got my first big check by 18. I joined another group and was also writing while in college. So I never had a break from 14 to, say, mid-20s.

"It was already a decade of just pure dedication, and I needed a break. Fame was a beast for me, and I fell into a really dark place. I needed to step away for a moment. I thought it'd be just a one-year moment, not a 14-year moment, but it turns out it was necessary. I really can't regret it. I, as a human, needed that time."

The 'Turn My Swag On' hitmaker - who has just released her new album 'We Need To Talk' - found "new rock bottoms" in her time away from the spotlight, and actually considered quitting her career altogether before deciding to embrace her struggles to produce her latest record.

She said: "I found new rock bottoms throughout the process. I hit many rock bottoms, honestly, of many different kinds.

" I just wasn't sure of it anymore. The industry was changing. I love making the art, I love doing music, I love making music, I love performing music -- but I didn't love everything that came with it.

"I didn't love the heavy criticism. It's just not like the old industry now, and that, to me, felt like a threat. It felt like you have to be so careful and so cautious in how you speak, what you say, where you go, what you do, how you're perceived, things you say or [post online]. It felt like I was playing a game of, 'How many ways can I be misunderstood?'

"You're crucified for making an honest mistake, and that just became a lot to bear. You have to let rock bottom occur to rebuild. So that's what I did."