Leighton Meester is abandoning her dance-princess roots for country music. The track for her forthcoming flick "Country Strong" has hit the Internet, and it showcases Meester's vocal abilities.
The track, "Words I Couldn't Say," is a breakup ballad that could easily appear on a Taylor Swift album. It's Meester's only song on the film's soundtrack. On it she laments losing a love after not being able to express her feelings for that person. "What do I do now that you're gone? No backup plan/ No second chance/ No one else to blame," she sings on the chorus. "All I can hear in the silence that remains/ Are the words I couldn't say."
Meester previously released several singles, one with Cobra Starship ("Good Girls Go Bad") and two songs of her own, the Robin Thicke duet "Somebody to Love" and the club-ready "Your Love Is a Drug." But it seems that Meester is abandoning that vibe for her still-in-the-works solo album.
"I took this trip to L.A. and I've been working with a band called Check in the Dark, and I've just been writing for the last six months, like a totally different sound," she told at the Hollywood Awards Gala. "I've also been really inspired by 'Country Strong,' the movie we're celebrating. I've just been having fun and writing from my heart, so hopefully I'll be able to let some people hear it soon."
While it might be a while before fans hear her new music, the "Gossip Girl" star gave more indication of what's to come by revealing her key influences. "You know, I guess I could just tell you what my influences are. I love Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, that style of music, and as far as songwriting I think that's where my heart is," she said. "So that's sort of the strength of the music."
Check out everything we've got on "Country Strong."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.