Lea Michele is back with new music this year and she is getting more personal than ever about what her sophomore album means to her.
Michele announced via Twitter on Jan. 26 that her new album would be called Places.
The Glee alum opened up to Billboard about Places, including how she came up with the name with a little help from her bestie and fellow Spring Awakening and Glee costar Jonathan Groff.
“I was like [to Jonathan], ‘What’s something from our time in New York — a word, or a phrase, or something that is from theater, or from us?’ And he said, ‘What about "Places?"’ When you’re on Broadway, you get your 30-minute call, then your 15-minute call. You hear ‘Places everyone!' And that means it’s showtime.”
And "showtime" is exactly what her new music signifies. Michele wants Places to reveal not only her true vocal ability, but who she is as a person. She admits that her debut album Louder was rushed and did not turn out how she wanted it to, due to her hectic Glee schedule and the sudden passing of her boyfriend and Glee costar Cory Monteith in 2013.
"It was a lot. I was singing 10 songs a week for Glee in the studio, from Salt N Pepa to Kelly Clarkson to Celine Dion [covers]. [Louder] was also clouded by a big tragedy that had happened to me, in the midst of making that album and you hear the darkness of what was going on in my life. I don’t think there is a consistency to the record that I was hoping for, but that’s life.”
The Scream Queens star is getting back to her roots with Places and giving her fans mostly vocal showcases that embody some of her role models including Barbra Streisand, who she grew up listening to.
An exact release date for Places has not been announced, but make sure to catch Michele's new music when it comes out later this year!