Brown: New album represents healing

Bobby Brown has revealed it took him so long to come out with a new album because he's been busy trying to get his life on track.

The singer - the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston - is on tour with bandmates New Edition and said he's ready to return to his solo career with Masterpiece, his first album in 14 years.

"It's what I've been through throughout my life, and just trying to heal myself through my music," the 43-year-old said.

Brown was a multiplatinum star with New Edition and later carved out a solo career, but his well-documented battle with drugs and his legal woes led to his musical decline. His turbulent marriage to Houston further eroded his image.

Although he was arrested for driving under the influence in March, Brown insists he's been drug-free for more than seven years. He said his attempt to get his life in order is part of the reason why the album took so long to make.

"When you're working on yourself, you have to really concentrate on working on yourself, and it takes a back seat to what you want to do and what I'm gonna do," he said.

Brown says Masterpiece, which he started working on last year, is "the best album I've done so far". "But I'm going to do better in the near future," he added. "I just want to get back to what I do, which is entertainment, and this is the start to me getting back to what I want to do."

Brown is engaged to his manager, Alicia Etheridge, with whom he has a young son. He also has older children, including 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Houston.

"I'm happy right now in my life, I'm comfortable with who I am," he said.