Lea Michele talks 'Louder' album flop

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Lea Michele recently opened up about her disappointing debut studio album, Louder.

The 29-year-old singer and actress discussed the record in an interview for the November issue of Marie Claire. Michele told the magazine she didn't have much control over the album, and said she has "a better idea" of how to make her second a success.

"The problem with the first record was that I would record a song, and then I would get it back from production and it would sound very different," she explained. "As an artist, that can be jarring. That's why I'm more hands-on on [now]."

"This is about experience, about confidence," she added. "I'm sure it's like [having] kids? The first time around, you're just kind of winging it. You're like, 'I hope I don't [expletive] up this kid. The second time around, you're not as intimidated, so you know how to handle each thing."

Louder debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 following its release in February 2014, and sold less than 500,000 copies worldwide. The album received mixed critical reviews, including a measly one-and-a-half star rating from Rolling Stone, but includes the popular single "Cannonball."

Michele is best known for playing Rachel Berry on the Fox musical drama Glee, which came to a close after six seasons in March. She currently portrays Hester Ulrich on Scream Queens, and released her second book, You First, in September.