For the past three years we've known Miranda Cosgrove as Carly Shay, the well-liked but unlucky-in-love star of the web show (and real life Nickelodeon show!) iCarly. And while Miranda's showed off her vocal chops on the iCarly soundtrack and her 2009 EP About You Now, she's showing a whole new side of herself with her first-ever full-length album, Sparks Fly.

Tell us about your new album.
I worked on it for like, a year and a half so I'm just excited for everyone to hear the songs. It's been a new, fun experience for me because with I love working on iCarly but I feel really comfortable doing that. I'm used to it. And music is a whole new thing so I'm just having a lot of fun.

What made you want to branch out and do music?
I've always loved music and my parents are really into music. My mom loves the Beatles and Rolling Stones so she's taken me to concerts and stuff. I ended up doing the theme song for iCarly and I was really nervous but it ended up doing well and I ended up doing this album, so it's really nice. It's all falling into place.

What's the inspiration behind the album?
It's pop rock music with my own edge. I like artists like Gwen Stefani and Pink and Madonna and all the cool girl-powered artists, so I like to think it's something like that. I just really wanted people to be able to put the CD in and have a really good time listening to it. I have CDs like that, like Ke$has new album. I love to put it on the car and dance and have a good time, so I like songs like that.

What's your favorite song on the album?
I love "Disgusting." Ke$ha actually wrote that song. It's probably the funniest song on the album. It says "it's disgusting how I love you." And then "Kissin' U," the single is one of my favorites.

Do you have any funny first kiss stories?
I do, actually. I really liked this guy in 5th grade and I went to go see a movie with him and also my friend Amanda, the three of us. And he learned in to kiss my cheek during the movie and my friend took her sandal off and hit him in the head. That was kinda weird. She thought that it was ridiculous and that I didn't want him to do that. He ended up moving three isles down and he was really mad. It was funny.

How did the video concept for "Kissin' U" come about?
The whole song is about a first love, so I just wanted a fun video that had a lot of different little moments with a guy. The whole video is all around the beach so I got to be in Venice for a few days and be on the beach so that was fun. And I got to drive in a really cool convertible. People kept stopping us and were like, "Nice ride!" and we were like, "Oh, thanks."

Do you usually go for the artsy type like the guy in the video?
I don't really think I have a specific type. That's totally cool if you're an artist, but [I like] anyone that's just easy to talk to and that you feel really comfortable with. It can be so awkward if you're second guessing everything you're saying. Sometimes you just meet people and everything's perfect.

Credit: alloy.com
Photo: Barros/Nickelodeon