Lea Michele And Matthew Morrison Test The Waters Outside ‘Glee’

Glee is up for a bevy of Golden Globes this weekend, but its hot cast isn’t putting all their eggs in one basket—your favorite Gleeks are using the hit show as a jumping off point for their non-TV careers: Matthew Morrison is recording a solo album, and Lea Michele (or at least her voice) is now headed for the big screen.

According to Just Jared, Matthew Morrison, up for a Golden Globe this Sunday for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, will release his debut album this fall through Mercury Records. Morrison spoke a little bit about it to Access Hollywood a few months ago, calling it “a classier Justin Timberlake album… it’s going to be me and a big orchestra, but also with beats.”

So, “SexyBack” with a big band? We’re definitely curious now. (Although we’d argue in Justin Timberlake’s defense that to release an album called FutureSex/LoveSounds without it coming off trashy is the epitome of class.) Just please, dear God, don’t rap on your debut album. We get enough of that on Glee.

And what of New Directions’ main soloist? Lea Michele — along with Glee guest star (and Tony winner) Kristin Chenoweth — will voice a character in the upcoming animated movie Dorothy of Oz. Lea will voice the ruby slipper-wearing protagonist, while and Chenoweth will voice a new addition to the land of Oz, a character called China Doll Princess. Chenoweth previously shined in the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Broadway’s Wicked, so she comes in with ample experience in the magical land of Oz. The movie has a planned 2011 release, but we can expect about two billion more Glee soundtracks by the time it’s in theaters.

But neither one of these kids has any motivation to walk out on their day job. Glee, flying high with word of its early renewal from Fox for a second season, is back on the air in April, by which time we hope the writers have come with something beyond pregnancy plotlines.