“I wanted to go so far away from the box of what people expect from me,” says Melissa Etheridge about making music without commercial limitations.  Melissa Etheridge makes no bones about it: She was at a creative crossroads bordering on a rut a few years ago. After more than two decades on a major label that shot her to fame in the early 1990s with hits such as “I’m the Only One” and “I Want to Come Over,” the veteran rock singer knew it was time for a change.  She left her longtime label, Island, and started her own, ME Records. For “This Is M.E.,” her latest album released in September, Etheridge enlisted unlikely collaborators known for their work in R&B and hip-hop circles: Jerry Wonda (the Fugees, Mary J. Blige), RoccStar (Usher, Chris Brown), and Jon Levine (Nelly Furtado, Rachel Platten).  The top-to-bottom shifts had a profound effect on Etheridge, drawing out a fresh intensity in her vocals and a conviction to experiment. Listen to the grit and thump and grind of “Monster” and “Ain’t That Bad,” both from her latest album, and you’ll witness a vanguard artist reborn.  Etheridge will bring her new songs to the Boston area for two shows this weekend: Saturday at Boarding House Park as part of the Lowell Summer Music Series and then to the Cape Cod Melody Tent on Sunday. She recently spoke with the Globe about the need to keep pushing forward at 54.  Q. It’s obvious to the listener that you rattled your own cage with this new album. What brought on the need to explore a different direction?  A. I had finished up my chapter of the corporate music scene. It had been good to me for over 25 years. It was my home, it brought me fame, and I didn’t make a single dime on any of those records. That’s just the way the business works. When I changed management a couple of years ago, my new management explained to me, “Look, we can own the record. We can be the [record] company. It’s not like we’re selling a product — we’re selling you.” And that was a whole new way of looking at it. Now I get to make an album that is completely me, 100 percent. I said, “Now is the time to make dreams come true,” and I wanted to go so far away from the box of what people expect from me.  Q. How do you describe where you were creatively just before making “This Is M.E.”?  A. I had just come off of [2012’s] “4th Street Feeling,” which was a very introspective record and my last on Island Records. It was very much me and my touring band playing a really stark collection of songs. I started realizing that my touring was growing my audience, and I was starting to see younger people. I realized it was not a time for me to rest on everything I had already done. It was time for me to be an artist who stays in the game and makes music with delight and joy and passion again.  Q. You saved the best for last on your new album. “Who Are You Waiting For” is a pretty vulnerable moment for you as a singer and songwriter.  A. “When you found me, I was face down/ Pushed off the merry-go-round.” That song took many, many weeks to write. By the time I got to the last verse, I thought, “Oh, my God, this is my wedding vows.” At the time we [she and her now wife, Linda Wallem] were also planning our wedding. I didn’t know if it would be on the album. And then I sang it to Linda.  Q. How did she react?  A. Waterworks everywhere. I sing to thousands of people, and yet to stand in front of someone who’s a foot away from me and look in their eyes and sing, that’s a whole other experience. I told her, “This is so special between us, and I don’t have to put it on the album.” And she said, “Oh, no, I’m proud of it. Please do.”  Q. You and Linda got married before the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. How did you celebrate that momentous day?  A. We were in Iowa. Linda had come out to visit me for a few days on the road. My phone started blowing up, and it was just so great to be together. The feeling on that day was so amazing all over the world, wasn’t it?  Q. You recently toured with Blondie and Joan Jett, which is not the most obvious bill for you to share. Did you have more in common with Joan and Debbie Harry than most people might think?  A. Yeah! Each of us gets out there and rocks our [expletive] off. We don’t come from a women’s music background. We’re so anti-Lilith [Fair]. What we had in common was that we love to perform and it was real rock ’n’ roll.  Q. You also made your debut with an orchestra performing with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall last year. It looked like you were having a blast that night.  A. Are you kidding? The Boston Pops! It was totally historic. When I lived in Boston [when she attended Berklee College of Music in the early ’80s], it was barely even a dream. No way could I ever perform with the Boston Pops. That whole night was so special, and I had such a great time.  Q. As someone who is known for her passionate vocals, what have you learned about your voice over the years?  A. The biggest thing is that the health of my voice depends upon the health of my body. Ten years ago, when I went through my health crisis with breast cancer, I really shaped up and got on the health wagon. I started eating real foods, and it completely changed my singing voice because of what’s in my stomach. Once that sunk in and I got healthy, from “The Awakening” [her 2007 album] on, you can hear my voice get stronger and better and clearer as the tool that I use. I keep it in shape by staying in shape. I don’t drink, I get enough sleep: It’s so un-rock ’n’ roll.
With a recent album that explores a more contemporary direction, Melissa Etheridge decides to “stay in the game.”