//Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester Signs Record Deal With Universal Republic Records//

Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester has been hard at work recording her debut album. The album that she describes as “very fun” will be released later this year on Universal Republic Records thanks to a newly inked record deal for the singer/actress.

“I’m thrilled to be welcomed into the Universal Republic fold,” Leighton said of her new recording home. “Their reputation for nurturing artists combined with a willingness to break new ground makes it the ultimate environment for me to enjoy making music and explore my own creative boundaries.”

Those boundries would be the popular electo-pop sound Meester is experimenting with. “It’s edgy, like electro-pop rather than bubblegum and you can dance to it” the cute-as-a-button star told Teen VOGUE late last year for the magazine’s February 09 issue.