JPI

Andrea Bowen's TV mom, Teri Hatcher, showed off her pipes during Fox's "Idol Gives Back" special in April -- but now it's Andrea's turn to wow an audience. The actress, who costars as sweet, level-headed Julie Mayer on "Desperate Housewives," announced her summer plans to begin recording an album while at the Step Up Women's Network awards luncheon in Beverly Hills last Friday.

"I've been a singer since before I was an actress," she told E! Online. "It's something I'm exploring and playing with and having fun with." She hasn't yet decided on a genre for her debut disc, however. "I don't really know for sure what route I'm going to go down," she admitted. "Right now, it's kind of all over the place."

But Andrea, 18, is no stranger to singing for her supper: She debuted in "Les Miserables" on Broadway when she was only 6 -- and continued to perform on the Great White Way, in the 1998 revival of "The Sound of Music" and in the 2000 musical version of "Jane Eyre," before joining "Housewives" in 2004. While on hiatus from the hit ABC series, Andrea will be treading the boards again -- in the plays "Speech & Debate" and "Dog Sees God," this month in Los Angeles.

We can see Andrea's recording career opening new doors for her character: How about Susan and Julie Mayer winning a mother/daughter singing competition and leaving Wisteria Lane for Hollywood Boulevard? Stranger things have happened ...

Will you buy Andrea's forthcoming album?