Cobra Starship scored a summer hit with their song, "Good Girls Go Bad," thanks in no small part to Leighton Meester's guest vocals. But bass player Alex Suarez admits he wasn't familiar with the Gossip Girl actress before they met.

"I’ve never seen the show," he tells Self.com. "Before we went to do the video shoot, I didn't even know what she looked like until they introduced me."

Not the case for singer Gabe Saporta: "He was insanely excited because he's a huge fan and he didn't want to geek out too hard in front of her," says Suarez.

Leighton Meester, 23, didn't disappoint: "She is so nice! She's so friendly and professional and awesome to work with," gushes the Cobra Starship bassist.

He did, however, find some of her "girly" behavior in the studio peculiar.

"She like, turned the lights down low in the studio and lit a few candles to set the mood," he says of Leighton. "I've never seen candles in the studio before."

The scene made a funny contrast to the song's lyrics, he adds.

"So she's like, 'You make me want to lose control,' alone in the dark surrounded by vanilla and lavender, clenching her fist, just really feeling it."

Cobra Starship's on-camera collaboration with Leighton scored the band two 2009 MTV Video Music Award nominations, for best pop video and best direction.

Suarez realizes they face tough competition from Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, but "we're just like hey," he says, "that's awesome we're getting nominated."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.