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Leighton Meester’s Album Takes Her Own Breath Away

Yes, this Leighton Meester album we keep hearing about is going to be released soon. The first single will drop in July, with the rest following in the fall. Entertainment Weekly’s Tim Stack held his breath, scrunched up his eyes, and plunged into the recording studio to hear her at work. (Loving Blair so much on Gossip Girl has made us terrified — well, convinced, really — that Meester’s singing talent won’t match her acting one and we’re suddenly going to have to demote her to Hilary Duff status in our hearts.) Stack was treated to a preview of three of her tracks:

“Push and Pull” is an elegant anthem about making a relationship work; she says the song “takes my breath away.” On “Almost Perfect,” she takes a break from electro-pop for a stripped-down ballad lamenting a lover’s lies. The song ends with Meester bluntly spitting, “F— you.” “That was what we call an adlib,” she says. Then there’s the pulsing “Lights Out,” produced by J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears), which has her singing very un-CW things like, “Don’t turn the lights out/I bet you like to watch.”


Did you notice how the only complimentary adjective in that paragraph was “elegant”? (Well, maybe “un-CW” counts, too.) We’ve already heard one potential track that seemed like it still needed some work — so this worries us. On the other hand, clearly Leighton has some bright ideas for her recording future; she says she’d love to record a duet with fellow singer and cast mate Ed Westwick. “I would love that. I’ve thought about it a lot, so we’ll see,” she said. “He’s very talented.” If there is the possibility of listeners imagining they are hearing Blair and Chuck singing to one another, then maybe this album’ll sell after all.

Leighton Meester exclusive: In the studio with the ‘Gossip Girl’ star [Music Mix/EW]



Did you notice how the only complimentary adjective in that paragraph was “elegant”? (Well, maybe “un-CW” counts, too.) We’ve already heard one potential track that seemed like it still needed some work — so this worries us. On the other hand, clearly Leighton has some bright ideas for her recording future; she says she’d love to record a duet with fellow singer and cast mate Ed Westwick. “I would love that. I’ve thought about it a lot, so we’ll see,” she said. “He’s very talented.” If there is the possibility of listeners imagining they are hearing Blair and Chuck singing to one another, then maybe this album’ll sell after all.

Leighton Meester exclusive: In the studio with the ‘Gossip Girl’ star [Music Mix/EW]

Leighton Meester’s Album Takes Her Own Breath Away