Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester wants to prove she can do more than play the pretty little rich girl. She is ready to go from teen drama actress to pop princess, as she has just signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records through Time-Act Music to release her debut album in the fall.
The 23-year-old star of the CW Network has been hard at work recording the album, as she began laying down tracks for the project in March and has clocked studio time with producers Polow Da Don ( Usher, Fergie), Harvey Mason, Jr. ( Justin Timberlake, Pink) and Spencer Nezey (Jupiter Rising).
The album is “very fun” and “edgy, like electro-pop rather than bubblegum and you can dance to it,” Meester told Teen VOGUE late last year for the magazine’s February 09 issue.
"I'm thrilled to be welcomed into the Universal Republic fold," the actress/singer said of her new recording home in a statement to Billboard. "Their reputation for nurturing artists, combined with a willingness to break new ground, makes it the ultimate environment for me to enjoy making music and explore my own creative boundaries."
In addition to her role on Gossip Girl, Meester also starred in 2007's Drive Thru and performed a duet with Tony Bennett during a 2008 return guest appearance on HBO's Entourage. She is lined up for two films in 2010: The Roommate, a suspense thriller, and the comedy Date Night.
