Lea Michele Dishes on Her Very Vocal PLACES Album

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Lea Michele's new album is on its way. She told Billboard, "I sat back and listened to all of the songs that I grew up listening to, and most of them were Celine Dion, four-minute-long vocal Olympics. This is a vocal album, and there are definitely love songs in there, but there's also a sense of freedom. I went back and listened to all of the divas that I loved, and tried to find how that music resonates for me, in 2017."

She also revealed that Spring Awakening pal Jonathan Groff helped her pick out the album title. "I was like, 'What's something from our time in New York - a word, or a phrase, or something that is from theater, or from us?," She explains. "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."

Michele is best known for her role as Rachel Berry on the FOX comedy-drama series GLEE. She began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as LES MISERABLES, Ragtime, and Fiddler on the Roof. In 2006, she originated the role of Wendla Bergmann in the Broadway rock musical Spring Awakening. Michele made her film debut in 2011, starring in the romantic comedy New Year's Eve. In 2014, she voiced Dorothy Gale in the animated film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return.

In 2012, Michele signed to Columbia Records, beginning her music career. Her first single, "Cannonball", was released on December 10, 2013. Her debut album, Louder, was released on March 4, 2014, debuting at number 4 on the Billboard 200. Michele released her first book, Brunette Ambition, on May 20, 2014, which debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list. Her follow-up book, You First: Journal Your Way To Your Best Life, was released on September 22, 2015.