Watch Lea Michele's New Music Video

Lea Michele, the powerhouse voice who stars as future Broadway diva Rachel Berry on Fox's Glee, has had a number of chart-topping hits with her musical dramedy. This week, Lea Michele decided to show us a side of herself we don't normally see — her first steps into the world of a solo recording artist. Lea Michele released her "Cannonball" music video, an anthem about moving on and living life after dealing with hard times. The song, which was written by Sia, has apparently helped Lea Michele deal with the loss of her boyfriend, Cory Monteith, who died of a drug overdose this past summer.

The words to her new song do hit home for anyone who has struggled with an unexpected loss. The song talks about being afraid and lonely and learning to get out into the world again. It isn't surprising that Lea chose this as her first single. Even though she didn't write the song, selecting it clearly came from a very personal place.

While Lea's new single certainly has a powerful message, I have to say that I'm not super crazy about either the song or the video. This power ballad sounds great, it just... doesn't sound very much like Lea Michele. As a former fan of Glee (okay, let's be honest, I know it's gotten pretty terrible but I still totally watch this show) I know that Lea can belt out any note with ease. Before she transitioned over to TV and film, she was a Broadway rockstar.

So why does "Cannonball" sound like it's been so heavily edited in post-production? Lea Michele's voice is strong, but in this song it sounds like her voice has been duplicated multiple times over one another. Plus there's a touch of auto-tune that a woman with as gorgeous of a voice as Michele's should simply never need to use. I may have understood if Lea Michele used some of these techniques in a live performance, but why on a record? While I like the song's message and overall sound, it would have been amazing to hear her true, clear voice.

As for the music video, it's also a little... boring. (Sorry, Lea). Lea Michele looks stunning wandering around a broken down house, but that's really all that this video has going on. There are a ton of closeup shots of Michele's face and a lot of light imagery, but other than that, not a whole lot is happening in this video.

Lea has been through such an incredibly challenging past couple of months, and I applaud her for taking the time to work on her own creative projects — particularly ones that she credits with helping her cope with loss. But while I'm excited to hear what other music comes off of her new album, I'd be far more excited if her next song and video felt way more personal — and sounded more like Lea.

Watch the video below:

Image: Getty