Lea Michele's debut album Louder — despite what the name might imply — didn't make much of a rumble upon its release last March.

After debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 (not a bad entry, to be fair), the album quickly sank (yes, like a cannonball — sorry) thereafter. The reviews for the Scream Queens star's first foray into pop world were also tepid and, in some cases, deeply negative. (Rolling Stone gave it one-and-a-half stars, suggesting "it will make a decent audition tape for Julie Taymor's inevitable production of Teenage Dream: The Katy Perry Musical in a few more years." Oof.)

Over a year later, with a second album on the way set for early 2016, Lea's had some time to think about what lent to the album's middling success. And now, she's pinpointed the source of her dissatisfaction: The producers.

"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 told Marie Claire in an upcoming November 2015 cover story. "As an artist, that can be jarring. That's why I'm more hands-on on this."

Louder, it seems, did not accurately represent the essence of Lea: "That album — a collection of conventional pop songs designed to lure her youthful Glee audience — was not a true Lea Michele album, as she now insists: 'I have a better idea what that is'."

She went on to compare her first and upcoming second album to children: "This is about experience, about confidence. I'm sure it's like—kids? The first time around, you're just kind of winging it. You're like, 'I hope I don't f--k up this kid.' The second time around, you're not as intimidated, so you know how to handle each thing...I have a clearer vision."

There you have it: Louder, the f--ked up first child. Better luck on the next go-around, Lea!

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