Lea Michele stopped by the studio earlier last week to give me the lowdown on her long-awaited new album, Places, which I’m so excited about! We all know that the Glee alum has an incredible, almost other-worldly voice, and this album truly showcases her amazing vocals!

How gorgeous is Lea?!

And while a lot of artists nowadays have huge productions to go along with their music — backup dancers, autotune, etc. — Lea was proud to share that she wanted this album to really showcase who she really is apart from the Glee character everyone knows and loves her as.

I have to say that Lea Michele was one of the nicest and sweetest women I have ever met! She’s also one of the strongest women I’ve ever met! She’s such a hard worker and I totally and completely admire how she continues to pursue her dreams of singing and going back to her theatre roots. Not to mention, she’s even MORE beautiful in person! I love when someone’s beauty on the outside matches that of the inside. She’s had a pretty crazy and interesting life, and one thing we can really learn from her is that you HAVE to keep pushing through, no matter what obstacles life gives us. I truly admire women like that!

Check out the full interview below to hear Lea Michele dish more on her upcoming album, Places.