Though primarily known as Blair Waldorf on the CW’s Gossip Girl, Meester is hoping to become recognized as a singer – having been a part of Cobra Starship’s hit song “Good Girls Go Bad.” And she already has one big musical mentor.

“Recently I’ve spent a lot of time with Cyndi Lauper, and she’s a legend,” says Meester. “She gave me the advice: Never sell your publishing, so I’ll take that.”

The thrill of the stage has Meester – who’s worked with Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke and Adam Lambert – hooked.

“I get more excited than nervous, and I feel like that’s the best kind of energy to have,” the TV actress, 23, told PEOPLE Saturday before a 15-minute gig at Venetian’s Tao Las Vegas. The performance, she says, is “cute, sexy … I’m just having the time of my life, and I hope it continues.” (See her video with Thicke here.)

Meester began her electro-pop set with the Cobra Starship song “Good Girls Go Bad,” then followed with “Somebody to Love,” “Playing Games” and “Your Love’s a Drug.”

After the performance, she headed to a sky box table in the moat overlooking the entire club, to celebrate her last night before heading back to the Gossip Girl set. Earlier in the evening, Meester, the band, dancers and crew dined at LAVO for an Italian feast.

And since performing live doesn’t frighten her, what does give Meester pause? Her brother’s driving.

“He’s 16, so I get worried,” she said.

(Source)

According to the Associated Press Leighton and costar Blake Lively have been added to the list of Emmy presenters for Sunday’s telecast.

NEW YORK — The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences says Tina Fey, Kiefer Sutherland and Simon Baker will be among the presenters at this Sunday’s primetime Emmy Awards.

Each is a nominee. Baker’s freshman hit “The Mentalist” earned him a nomination for best actor in a drama. Sutherland won that award in 2006, and is nominated this year for his role in a special “24″ movie. Fey is up for best actress in a comedy, the award she won last year.

The live telecast is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.

The academy says other presenters include Jon Hamm of “Mad Men” and the “Gossip Girl” twosome of Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

Also taking the stage to hand out trophies will be Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel of “How I Met Your Mother,” Stephen Moyer of “True Blood,” NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Dana Delany of “Desperate Housewives” and Chandra Wilson of “Grey’s Anatomy,” the academy said Monday.

Thanks to Britt we have HQ scans from September’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar with Leighton on the cover.

[007] Harper’s Bazaar (September)

The nominees for the 2009 VMA awards have been announced and our congratulations go to Corba Starship’s Good Girls Go Bad featuring Leighton Meester for best Pop Video. For a full list of the nominations see here. The VMAs will be handed out on September 13 2009.

Also we have learned that Leighton will be attending the Teen Choice Awards next week. The awards will air on Fox on August 10th.

Last night, Cobra Starship invaded the screening room at the Tribeca Grand hotel for the video premiere of “Good Girls Go Bad,” their new single that features Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester.I spoke to the actress (and two-time NYLON cover girl!) for about sixty seconds before she was whisked away by photographers. And here’s what we said:

You have a great look in the Good Girls Go Bad video. Did you pick your own clothes? “I did! I loved the clothes in that video… I wore a beautiful Bally dress, and I ended up keeping a few pieces from set – I kept this great dress from Kim Ovitz with a belted waist that I love. She makes amazing stuff. And do you know my friends were in the video?”

No way. “There’s a lyric in the song about five best friends, so it was me and Vicky [Cobra Starship’s keytarist], plus three of my girlfriends. They all got styled for the shoot, too… hey, you look really familiar… I met you at a Longchamp party…”

Like two years ago. “I have a really good memory. You’re a writer and you told me I had to meet Olivia Palermo, because you thought she was the real life Blair Waldorf.”

And now she’s on The City! “I haven’t seen that show, but I did ask Cecily [von Ziegesar, the Gossip Girl author] if Blair was based on Olivia, and she said she wrote the books way before Olivia was in New York City, and she basically made Blair up. But people do say I look like Olivia Palermo. And also, that I look like Minka Kelly from Friday Night Lights.”

Oh, that show is amazing. “It’s an incredible TV show, isn’t it? And I just did a movie with Minka, that’s a little bit like Fatal Attraction. It’s called The Roommate… I guess you could say I play her stalker, so it was odd also looking like her. But I was blonde in the movie, so it wasn’t so obvious.”

Back to your shoes; I’m obsessed with them. “I bought them at Barneys, they’re Roger Vivier.”

They’re so classic, but also very sparkly. “Exactly!”

(Source)

#92 Leighton Meester
Miss Meester’s life has all the hallmarks of a classic episode of Jerry Springer:

Mom & Dad in major drugs smuggling ring? Check. Mom gives birth to you whilst in jail? Check. Big brother involved in Army Air Force scandal of 2003? Check.

Texan Leighton has certainly turned her fortunes around – landing herself a lead role in top TV show, Gossip Girl, as the high-class teenage socialite, Blair Waldorf. Add to this a budding music career, with an album set for release this fall and a starring role in the upcoming Steve Carell/Tina Fey movie collaboration, Date Night and there’s no denying, 23 year-old Leighton’s not the black sheep of the family!

(Source)

The 2009 Teen Choice Award nominations came out the other day. Leighton and Gossip Girl made the list!

Choice TV Show : Drama : Gossip Girl; Choice TV Actress Drama: Leighton Meester
You can vote for Leighton, Gossip Girl and all your Teen Choice faves here. The Teen Choice Awards will air August 10th on Fox.