I am starting to get very anxious and excited about the newest Gossip Girl episodes, which will begin airing on the CW on Monday, Apr. 21!  Six more days...

And I'm not the only one.  People.com is doing an official Gossip Girl countdown!  Today they're featuring an interview with GG star Leighton Meester, who plays ex-Queen Bee Blair Waldorf.  She talks about what she did during her writers strike-induced hiatus from the show, including the new album she's working on, and what she missed most about Gossip Girl.

So what did Leighton miss the most about GG? 

"I missed the people, the cast and the crew and the producers. Everyone is amazing," she told People.

And Leighton also opened up on the album she's been working on:

"I write the lyrics and I work with my friend — a lot of the actual music we’ve made together... It’s very pop but not too bubblegum. It’s just fun."

There's no record label or release date for the album yet, but I will definitely let you know when you will be able to buy the album in stores!

Leighton is also gracing the cover of Nylon Magazine's May issue...and so is co-star Blake Lively!  The magazine decided to have two alternate covers for their May issue, according to Radar Online.  Radar reported, "Blake Lively and Leighton Meester are each featured as alternate cover girls for the magazine's May issue, which is accompanied by a fawning profile comparing the show to the works of Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, and Pierre Choderlos de Laclos."

Some other interesting gossip...according to Radar, Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz said that "Meester's role has also enlarged as the season has worn on due to her bada** tragi-comic performances."  Sounds like there's a little competition between Blair and Serena...er, I mean, Leighton and Blake!