Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986 in Texas, raised in Marco Island, Florida) is an American actress and singer-songwriter, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the TV show Gossip Girl. In April 2009, it was announced Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic. The album was said to be electronic, dancey, and edgy; she worked with JR Rotem, Kara Dioguardi, and several other producers. The first single, Somebody to Love, was released in fall 2009 and featured Robin Thicke. Other leaked songs off her debut album, such as "Body Control," generated positive reviews from fans as she maintained the "electro-pop edge" that keeps her current with modern music trends. She confirmed on her twitter page that she was not expecting anyone to hear "Body Control" yet but was pleased with the positive reviews. Meester is also featured in the Cobra Starship song "Good Girls Go Bad (Feat. Leighton Meester)", the first single from their third studio album Hot Mess. The song was digitally released on May 11, 2009. A second single, Your Love's a Drug, was digitially released on March 30, 2010. She also recorded a cover of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and was featured on the Stephen Jerzak song She Said. In 2010 she also contributed four covers for the country drama Country Strong's soundtrack.

Following the release of Country Strong, Meester took her music in a different direction away from pop and began collaborating with the band Check in the Dark on a more singer-songwriter style of music. The previously anticipated pop album was never released and in 2012 she embarked on a five-date tour with Check in the Dark that featured the new music live for the first time. In June 2012 Meester confirmed all songs had been recorded with Check in the Dark as a demo.

In September 2014 Meester announced the release of her debut album, Heartstrings, through her own record label, Hotly Wanting. The title track was available with pre-order; the album was released on October 28 2014. The music video for the title track was also released, one day later. All nine songs were written by Meester and produced by Jeff Trott. Heartstrings received generally positive reviews and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart upon release. From January to March 2015 she toured with Jeff Trott and the recording band members in support of the album, visiting nine cities in two weeks, including a residency at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.