Every year, new artists emerge, ready to be Los Angeles’ next great musical discovery, making their rounds through small club tours across the city. Inspired by the hippie enclaves of Topanga, the backyard punk scene of East Los Angeles or the coastal grunge of Venice Beach, each act has its own distinct sound. This week, A&E; columnist Kristy Pirone discusses Encino based actress Leighton Meester’s crossover into music.
A denim jacket, T-shirt and jeans, Leighton Meester’s laid-back performance attire would make her “Gossip Girl” character Blair Waldorf cringe.
Years after ending her run on the hyper-fashionable The CW teen drama, and after a string of unfortunate movie roles in films such as “Monte Carlo” and the thriller “The Roommate,” Meester has finally revealed herself to be an artist through her authentic debut album “Heartstrings,” a folksy foray into the world of songwriting.
Meester released “Heartstrings” last October, making her the second “Gossip Girl” alum to transition into music after Taylor Momsen formed The Pretty Reckless in 2009.
Like Momsen, Meester seems to have finally found herself in her music after years of genre-hopping from Top 40 pop to country to her current folk-inspired, lyric-driven pop music. Meester has shed her “Gossip Girl” persona with a new style to match her autobiographical, easygoing sound.
Unlike Momsen’s punk-infused transformation, Meester’s sound gives off a modern singer-songwriter vibe similar to the music of Vanessa Carlton, Regina Spektor and UCLA’s own Sara Bareilles. Meester finishes out her three-night residency at Hollywood’s intimate Hotel Cafe on Jan. 27 in support of the album.
Meester’s story is a commonly heard L.A. fairy tale of a child moving to the city to become an actress, finding success and then switching focus to music. Meester has proved herself capable in both fields. Still, she took a long road to find her sound with her truly heinous 2009 collaboration featuring Robin Thicke, “Somebody to Love,” and the generic, albeit catchy, 2011 dance pop track “Your Love’s a Drug” before comfortably settling in her current realm of folk-inspired pop.
Meester’s music is enhanced by her confessional lyrics on tracks like the titular song “Heartstrings.” Lyrics like “I bet you’re sorry now but that’s what you wanted/ You took me for granted all the time” are eons beyond the lyrics on her former singles like “Somebody to Love,” which features the thought-provoking opener “Paris, France to Michigan/ London town and through Berlin.”
The Los Angeles area has created a plethora of strong female singer-songwriters like A Fine Frenzy’s Alison Sudol or Colbie Caillat. Meester moved to Encino in 2011 after the end of the New York-centric “Gossip Girl.” While Encino isn’t exactly the first place someone would think of in regard to musical inspiration, the San Fernando Valley and the city have both been beacons for creative spirits. It took Meester longer than some to find music as a focus, but the musical atmosphere of Los Angeles has inspired everything from the beach waves of Best Coast to Meester’s own musical aspirations, whether she realizes it or not.
Meester’s album “Heartstrings” is a pleasant surprise in an era filled with failed actress-turned-singer ventures – from Scarlett Johansson to Lindsay Lohan. Meester’s vocals are clear and bell-like, as she often stylistically switches into her higher register during her well-produced, instrument-driven music.
The album exceeds expectations and should be well received with or without Meester’s star power behind it. It almost makes the listener wish that “Heartstrings” were the debut album of someone anonymous, so it could be listened to independent of thoughts about Meester’s character Blair from “Gossip Girl.” Or, even worse, thoughts of the stereotypes that follow former actresses who become musicians.
So far, Meester’s debut has peaked at 139 on the Billboard 200, but the album managed to climb to the top spot of the Billboard Heatseekers chart in December.
Meester hasn’t quite given up acting for music, judging by her turn as Curley’s wife in the 2014 Broadway production of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” opposite James Franco and Chris O’Dowd. Paired opposite Robert Downey Jr. in “The Judge,” Meester shows a new acting direction, moving away from flops like 2011’s “The Roommate.”
The common thread between Meester’s two loves seems to be a newfound maturity. If she can continue her positive growth in both music and film, Meester looks poised to become an artist in her own right, as opposed to a former teen television star. Hopefully Meester lives up to the potential of “Heartstrings” in her future endeavors, whether they be on screen or on stage.
– Kristy Pirone