Miranda Cosgrove might be the star of the hit Nickelodeon show iCarly, but if you want to make it in Hollywood, you’ve got to face the hard truth: you have to expand your brand to stay ahead of the game. And that means recording an album.

It appears Miranda is ready to compete with the likes of other teen double-threats Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato by releasing her first full-length solo album, Sparks Fly. She debuted her single “Kissin’ U” on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show this morning, and you can hear the pop tune below. Pucker up!

Miranda Cosgrove – “Kissin’ U”

When last we left Miranda, she had recorded a cutesy cover of Sugababes #1 smash “About You Now” for the 2008 iCarly soundtrack. (She also re-released the Sugababes cover as part of her first EP, About You Now, which made nary a peep when it was released last year). But from the sounds of her new single, her voice has matured into something like a yearning Michelle Branch yelp — but it’s not bad. “Kissin’ U” (co-written with hitmaker Dr. Luke, who also co-wrote “About You Now” with Cathy Dennis) is a zippy if cookie-cutter pop song — not terribly exciting or risky, but with enough listens you’ll find yourself singing along with the chorus. Add some Auto-Tune and maybe throw in a line or two about falling out of the closet without wearing pants, and we could imagine Ke$ha singing it. (In fact, it sounds not entirely unlike Ke$ha’s ballad “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes.”)

Miranda will host a live chat tonight (7pm EST/4pm PST) on her Facebook page, where fans can ask her questions, like who the 16-year old is kissing exactly. (Could it be the very “sweet” Justin Bieber? Maybe not—the dude’s only got eyes for Beyoncé.)

[Via Just Jared Jr.]