Leighton Meester sits down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about her new single "Somebody to Love," idolizing Bette Davis and the difference between love and sex...
The sexy and sultry Gossip Girl has her sights set on something much more timeless than just a top spot on the iTunes charts.
"I was recently watching a lot of Bette Davis movies, like All About Eve," says Leighton with a sly smile. "She's so fabulous, over-the-top and amazing. I relate to her a lot."
That says it all.
Leighton definitely has got that classy sex appeal, but the girl has some seriously potent pipes too! On her new single with Robin Thicke, "Somebody to Love," she belts out an unforgettable pop chorus over hypnotic Euro-inspired synths. It's bound to make asses shake across the globe. Think Bette Davis meets Madonna in the hottest chic club, and you're halfway there…
Leighton sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino in this exclusive interview to discuss "Somebody to Love," her love for silent film and the difference between love and sex. Check out "Somebody to Love" now!
Were you trying to find a middle ground between sexy and poppy on "Somebody to Love?"
Yeah! I was freaking out because somebody told me that it reminded them of "Vogue" a little bit. It's a very sexy record. To me, it honestly sounds like Kylie Minogue meets Gwen Stefani and some other totally different thing [Laughs]. It's very poppy but Euro-sounding.
That's apparent on the production and the synths. Was incorporating the European influences a conscious decision from the beginning?
I'm very influenced by that sound. I love music that's moody. It's not a super hard-hitting song. It's more of a laidback, vibed-out track. That's very sexy to me.
Do songs typically happen immediately or do you spend a lot of time thinking of melodies and ideas?
I come up with melodies all day—every minute. I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and have to record them [Laughs]. I come up with different stuff all of the time. I just have a lot of fun in the studio. There's always a good vibe. I tweak my ideas a lot, but I love the process. I usually just write after a melody, and everything else comes naturally. I love making lyrically driven songs, but my songs are generally very simple. There's usually a certain vibe while I'm recording. I have a drink, run in and out of the booth and freestyle a bunch of stuff. "Somebody to Love" came about while I was in a Brooklyn studio. I heard this track and, afterwards, I was sitting in the garden thinking. It's so funny because I always get love confused with sex, so the song is really about my struggle to get some [Laughs]. My mom always told me, "It's not about who loves you; it's about who you love." Of course she probably says that because she's my mom and she thinks everyone is going to love me [Laughs]. It's a crazy life. It's hard to find somebody who understands you and gets you.
So there are a few levels to "Somebody to Love?"
Yeah! I think it's somewhat about my sexuality. I draw from a lot of experiences. I love traveling, and I'm working all the time. That's definitely what a good part of the song is about. I don't really have a lot of time for love. I meet a lot of people and none of them do it for me.
How did the collaboration with Robin Thicke come about?
That is amazing [Laughs]! That's like the best part of the song. He ended up hearing the song, and he wanted to vibe out on it. He got into the studio and sang a little bit. Then I was like, "It's so good. I want you to sing an entire verse." So he ended up singing a whole verse, and it ended up amazing. He's so soulful. I've been a fan of his for a very long time so I'm very lucky.
If this record were a movie what would it be?
I feel like it would be a French film from the 1960s starring Brigitte Bardot. It's very sensual, and it captures a feeling of restlessness and my boredom with men. I think that could certainly be conveyed that way.
Do acting and singing come from the same creative place for you?
They're very, very different. It's so funny because I never paid attention to the business side of film or television at all. I've gotten lucky with my label. They allow me to be 100 percent creative with the music, but it's a completely different business from movies. The people operate on totally different hours, which is really funny. However, it's very enjoyable because you get to start and go later in music. I've been writing music since I was 16, and I really started recording and getting more serious about it four years ago. I luckily met a friend through acting that helped. I was doing a movie with my DJ, Shahine Ezell. He's a producer, and he had a studio in his apartment at the time. We wrote this really funny song one night. The next day we listened to it, and we were like, "This is actually really good." Singing is so different from writing. It's a lot like acting because of the performance aspect. I feel like they're two completely different things but they complement each other.
"Somebody to Love" feels like it's ready to be played live too.
Totally! It's going to be so exciting to hear remixes too. It's the music that I like to listen to. It's music for women, but I think it transcends. I like to listen to it in the car or when I'm getting ready. If you go out and you're in a club, I think it'd be really hot to hear this song because it's so moody and it still moves. On stage, it'll be fabulous.
Where else do you draw inspiration from?
I really love silent film. It has such an old-world feel and for some reason I envision a silent film when I hear this song and this is the music that's narrating it. Movies really do inspire me.
Is this record the most personal thing you've ever done?
Oh absolutely! It's completely different. People don't get to see that side of you so much, and I can never convey it properly in interviews. When you make music for the sake of making music, it's easy to have fun doing it. I think it'll translate really well to people because I really believe in it and I love it. I believe in it very much, and it's the kind of music that I like to listen to.
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In case you didn't know, Leighton Meester is a singer-songwriter and has a new single out called 'Somebody to Love,' which features Robin Thicke. And we found out she's far different from the awesome, uptight beyotch she plays on 'Gossip Girl.'
Meester talked to PopEater about releasing her own music, what it's been like working on an album and transitioning from actress to singer.
Tell me about your new single 'Somebody to Love.'
I wrote this song earlier this year and Robin Thicke ended up coming in a little bit later once the song was done, which I'm so thankful for and it's really hot. It just makes the song that much better. And I've always been a huge fan of his for so long and I'm very very lucky. [This song is] just so my type of music. I love how it feels like the night to me. It feels like sexy and it's a perfect reflection of what my life is like. I was making a joke, because so much of the time I confuse love with sex and my whole song is about how I can't get any.
When you write your songs, do you draw from your own experiences?
Yeah, I think that's how it should be ... I like to write songs that are fun. But I think this song is such a different vibe because there's a mood to it and I'm inspired by love and my own love life and my friends and sexuality. And I really love going around the world and traveling and this song has definitely the Parisian feel ... It's somewhat introspective, but it's of course an anthem.
What was it like working with Robin Thicke?
First he just sang kind of a little bit just to vibe on it. But I guess that one of the producers sent it to him and he ended up liking it and he ended up singing a little bit on it. And I was like "Look, I love him so much, I want him to do a whole verse." So he ended up doing a whole verse and it's like I think one of the best parts of the song, he's so soulful.
You're in the process of putting together your first album, how has that experience treated you?
Fun. It's been fun. It's weird because I feel like I've been working on it for so long. I've been writing since I was 16-years-old and I've been recording this for about three, going on four years now. And then I've been actually seriously in the studio for about two years and then I got with Universal, so that opened up a whole lot more for me. It's weird because you go through a whole process. I think one of the most fun things is writing and singing in the studio and just vibing out. I mean it's the best times for me. But then now ... it's a completely different thing to just let it go. You know? Just let it live and put it out. I'm really excited for people to hear it because I think knowing that side of me will definitely open up a lot for people to understand where I'm coming from ... And it's also really fun, you know? Mostly what I do in the studio is order food and have a drink. It's like home. So it's very fun and a lot of what I write about is of course, a lot of my songs are about this time of my life which is really fun and exciting and non-stop. And that's a lot of what 'Somebody to Love' is about. A lot of is like, get drunk, get crazy.
At what point did you realize you wanted to be a singer-songwriter?
I've always sung, growing up I always was singing. There was definitely a point where I decided that was something I didn't want to do, I had to do. It was when I started recording. I met my DJ. I met him because we were making a movie together, actually. It's so funny how that happened. But we ended up recording some silly little song ... we recorded in his house. And the next day we were just hanging out and we listened to it and it was good and I was like 'All right, I'm going to think about doing this.' So we just started writing and making music together and then it all grew from there, so that's when I realized that that was what I wanted to do. And of course, it's a very different thing to be like 'Well I want to sign with a label and really make it real and put it out.' Then when this whole thing came about, I was like 'It just makes sense.' And I've gotten to work with the most amazing people, so I'm very lucky.
You had a hit this summer with Cobra Starship – 'Good Girls Go Bad – which was nominated for a VMA. Does that success make it easier right now since you're releasing your own music?
Yeah, it's weird because it's so different when it's you. But still every single time that song comes on the radio, I scream, you can't even hear it. So I never lose that enthusiasm. It's new because it's my own song, so it's definitely different. It was like a good introduction and those guys are amazing, so I was really lucky in that way. They are very encouraging, so I'm happy.
What is the transition like from actress to singer?
It's such a different business. In the acting world ... I don't pay attention to the business aspect at all. I don't have to, I don't want to. And it's the same thing with this side, too. That's what I realized, that's the wonderful thing about having a good label and working with amazing people that you can just focus on being creative and when I act, that's what I do, too. I just focus on that because that's my job. But it is, it's very very different. The hours are different ... I'll have like a 5AM call on set and I'll talk to somebody from music at noon and they'll be like, 'I'm just hanging out the studio' and I'm like 'Lucky you, I've been working for 12 hours already.' But yeah, people go much later in the music business, I do notice that. I think it's just a very different thing, but it's a lot fun.
Do you feel any pressure because you've had success as an actress?
A little bit ... I don't feel much pressure because I believe in it. And I think that it will translate. It's not vanity at all. It really is a love of music and nurturing that side. I want to entertain. I think that a lot of people asked me 'What about being an actress and going into music?' I don't know what people's perspective of that is, but I think that people do that all the time and it's great. But I never thought, 'I'm an actress who's going to do music.' I've always felt like I was both. And I've been so far very lucky in both. It's just a very different thing.
Who are your musical influences?
I'm very influenced by Madonna, and Debbie Harry. I love Cyndi Lauper. I had a chance to work with her on my show, she's very fun. She's awesome. I love Kylie Minogue and M.I.A. and Santogold and Gwen Stefani. Fergie ... great women, female artists.
How would you describe your musical style?
Eclectic. I think if you had to put it into a category, it's like dance, pop, electro but lyrically driven.
What's next -- just finishing the album?
Yeah. It's so weird because I was saying you have to let it live -- that's what everyone keeps on saying to me, let it live. Which is really funny because I don't really know what that means. But no, I think it's the idea I'm going to see what happens and promote and everything for the single and do a few performances and maybe hopefully do a little mini tour and introduce the rest of my songs. I'll probably spend a little more time in the studio -- just tweak things and see where it all ends up.
Will we ever hear a song of yours on 'Gossip Girl'?
Oh yeah, actually 'Somebody to Love' they are going to play on episode 9. [source]
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