Glee star Lea Michele goes on first solo tour
Singer performs at Massey Hall this weekend to promote new album and thank fans
Lea Michele is used to being part of an ensemble. So venturing out on her first solo tour has been a nerve-racking part of promoting her new album.
On tour with a group, Michele said, performers get to take breaks between their songs and rely on other people to make the show successful.
“This is really just me doing it all on my own,” she said in a recent phone interview. “That makes it a lot more scary, but it’s definitely something that I feel ready for.”
The former Glee and Scream Queens star released her second album, Places, on April 28. She appears in Toronto on Saturday night.
Michele’s first album, Louder, was released in 2014, while she was still a cast member on Glee. The album’s first single, “Cannonball,” debuted at No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Michele the first Glee cast member to make the Hot 100 list as a lead solo artist.
“I had the most incredible time recording my first record,” Michele said. “But it was during such a busy time for me, working on Glee and recording an album at the same time. I had personally a lot happening and professionally a lot happening.”
Michele said working on Places gave her an opportunity to write music without being influenced by Glee. She drew inspiration from artists such as Céline Dion and Barbra Streisand, as well as her time on Broadway.
“I wanted it to sound like me,” Michele said. “The album has a little bit more theatricality to it than my last, and it’s much more of a vocal record.”
“Love Is Alive,” the album’s first single, is an emotional ballad, which Michele described as “the umbrella of the entire record.”
“It really represented the sound that I wanted to create and the message I wanted to relay,” Michele said. “Every song that came after that on the album really just grew from ‘Love Is Alive.’ ”
Another song on the new album, “Anything’s Possible,” is a more upbeat tune about empowerment. Michele wrote “Anything’s Possible” knowing that many fans have viewed her as a role model since she starred on Glee.
“A lot of people might consider that to be an overwhelming task, but I find it to be quite an honour,” she said.
“We have a lot happening in our world right now, and I think it’s important to have songs that have this message. That’s what music is for.”
Despite the pressure of performing solo, Michele said she’s excited to start her tour. Since she was unable to go on tour for Louder, performing live for fans became a priority the second time around.
“One of my biggest goals for releasing the second record was to jump immediately into touring and performing,” she said. “It’s where I come from and where I feel the most comfortable. I wanted to have the opportunity to go around and thank my fans for being so supportive.” Lea Michele is in Toronto Saturday at Massey Hall. Go to masseyhall.com for more information.