It's not always easy being Beyoncé. And despite shattering records with her fifth studio release, the singer admits in a featurette that she hasn't always been the superstar she is today.

"There's a moment where things click. When I was in the studio, I was threading the songs together and I thought of this performance, which was a really defining moment in my life as a child," she said in a video titled "Imperfection." She recalled her 1993 performance on "Star Search" with her group Girl's Tyme. "In my mind we would perform on 'Star Search,' we would win, we would get a record deal and that was my dream at the time."

They didn't win, losing to a group called Skeleton Crew, but footage of that loss was included in the video for "Flawless." "I feel like something about the aggression of 'Bow Down' and the attitude of 'Flawless,' the reality is, sometimes you lose. And you're never too good to lose, you're never too big to lose, you're never too smart to lose, it happens. And it happens when it needs to happen. And you have to embrace those things."

In addition to her own struggles to the top, Yoncé also admits to being inspired by feminist works from the likes of Chimamanda Adichie, who she also included on the album. "Everything she says is exactly how I feel," she said before explaining the message of the Sia-penned anthem, "Pretty Hurts."

"My message behind this album was finding the beauty in imperfection. I had this image of a trophy and me accepting these awards, and kinda training myself to be this champion and at the end of the day when you go through all of these things, is it worth it?" she says.

"You get this trophy, and you're like, 'I basically starved. I have neglected all of the people I love, I conformed to what everybody else thinks I should be. And I have this trophy. What does that mean?' The trophy represents all of the sacrifices that I made as a kid," she continued. "All of the time that I lost being on the road and in the studios as a child and I just wanna blow that sh-- up."

While Beyoncé's latest album is topping the charts after surprising fans with the release last week, she reveals what her new goals are -- and they have nothing to do with record sales.

"I have a lot of awards and I have a lot of these things that are amazing and I worked my ass off. I worked harder than probably anyone I know to get those things. But nothing feels like my child saying, 'Mommy!' Nothing feels like when I look my husband in the eyes," she said. "Nothing feels like I'm respected, when I get on the stage and see I'm changing people's lives. Those are the things that matter, and at this point in my life, that's what I'm striving for. Growth. Love. Happiness. Fun. Enjoy your life, it's short. That's the message."