''Heartstrings'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-songwriter and actress

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...

. It was released on October 28, 2014 by

Vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

and Hotly Wanting. Meester wrote all nine tracks featured on the record by herself, and the album was produced by

Jeff Trott Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with prominent artists across genres in the United States and abroad. Trott has been named BMI ''Songwriter of the Year''. He is known for w ...

. Following its release, ''Heartstrings'' received generally positive reviews.

Promotion

Singles

"Heartstrings" was released as first single from album on September 9, 2014 via

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. On October 17, 2014, Meester performed "Heartstrings" on ''

Big Morning Buzz Live ''Big Morning Buzz Live'' is a live daily morning news and pop culture talk show on VH1 that premiered on May 9, 2011, and aired its last episode on June 5, 2015. Broadcast weekday mornings and hosted by Nick Lachey, the show featured entertain ...

''. On October 28, 2014, ''Heartstrings'' release party took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at The Troubadour. The music video for ''Heartstrings'' was released on October 29, 2014.

Tour

In support of the album, Meester embarked on tour across North America, which began on January 6, 2015 in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and ended on March 2, 2015 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California.

Commercial performance

The album debuted on week dated of November 15, 2014, at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums and at number 139 on the official ''Billboard'' 200.

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *

– vocals, composer *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...

– drums, percussion * Paul Bryon – bass * Joel Shearer – guitar * Dave Palmer – organ, keyboards * Patrick Warren – orchestration,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, keyboards, piano * Ryan Petersen – drum programming, percussion, additional keyboards *

– bass,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, keyboards, additional guitars, producer, engineer *

Shawn Everett Shawn Everett (born July 6, 1982) is a Canadian music engineer and producer best known for his work with Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs, The Killers, and Julian Casablancas. Everett has won six Grammy Awards. Early life Ever ...

– engineer * John Cranfield – mixing *

Shahine Ezell Shahine Ezell (Dallas, Texas) is a film and television actor, record producer, talent manager and songwriter. Ezell is Leighton Meester's talent manager as well as the songwriter and record producer of "The Nomads". He attended Booker T. Washingt ...

– management

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Leighton Meester albums Vagrant Records albums Albums produced by Jeff Trott