John Mayer feels he is "pretty much where he should be" personally and professionally.
The 'Free Fallin' hitmaker is gearing up to turn 40 later this year and feels he is at a point of his life where he knows what he wants in both his career and his private life.
He said: "I'm pretty much where I should be ... I have no reason to want to be any older or younger. Artists put themselves through dark times, knowing that if they create enough and well enough, they can emerge with great work that lives forever. I did that, and I now have this work that I've definitely hurt for, and this is my time to celebrate it ...
"The tour is like a victory lap after two and a half years of working on a record that is the deepest dive I've ever taken as an artist. The pot of gold at the end of the whole thing was being able to go around the world and play these songs as a happy, well-situated, excited, inspired guy. That's who you're talking to."
And the 39-year-old singer insists his new track didn't start "as a breakup record".
He told USA Today: "I wouldn't say it started as a breakup record. [It] began with this idea of, 'I don't need to put out another album and I'm not going to until it proved the reason for its existence' ...
"It's about getting older and comparing my track to other people's. Part of me is a quote-unquote 'rock star' and part of me is this kid from Fairfield, Connecticut, who really wasn't made for this. That part looks around at the other parts and goes, 'Is any of this OK? Am I alright doing this?'"