Get ready for more of Mandy Moore. Not only is the 34-year-old poised to once again hit you in the feels on TV with the third season of This is Us coming this fall, but she’s also about to put out new music.
Some of you may not remember that before she was the matriarch of the Pearson clan on This is Us, Mandy was a pop diva whose name was often mentioned with Britney and Christina. Her first album, So Real, was released in 1999. She had hits with “Candy” and “I Wanna Be with You” (featured in the movie Center Stage). She also voiced Rapunzel in the animated film Tangled and contributed songs to the soundtracks for The Princess Diaries and A Walk to Remember. She released six albums from 1999-2009, her last being Amanda Leigh.
Mandy caught the acting bug and left music behind for a while, but portraying an aspiring singer on This is Us may have inspired her to head back to the recording studio. Last year, she recorded a cover of the 1971 Little Feat song “Willin,” which was featured on the show’s soundtrack. Last July she told People “I want to return to music. I don’t have a record label, but I have a lot of music written. Next year, I’ve decided I’m putting it out there!”
Well, it appears Mandy followed her plan. On Thursday, in response to an Instagram follower asking her if she was planning to make any new music, she replied, “I’m currently trying to figure that one out. I miss it. I am surrounded by it. Work sure does keep us busy but I want to make it a priority.”
Then, on Friday, she shared a quick video clip of an audio board, with a new song as the soundtrack. She said in the caption, “Getting back to it. It’s time. I miss it. I’m not scared anymore. No more excuses. No more allowing someone’s else insecurities to dictate my relationship to music and singing. Boom.” The new song, what little of it could be heard, sounds promising.
Mandy worked on the new tune with producer Mike Viola, who also worked with Mandy’s ex-hubby, Ryan Adams, as well as Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco and many more artists. As someone who enjoyed hearing Mandy sing on the show, I’m kind of looking forward to hearing some new material from her.
Mandy also used her social media to share some love with her This is Us family, sending out a tweet on Thursday congratulating the behind the scenes crew and co-stars Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Ron Cephas Jones and Gerald McRainey on their Emmy nominations. A gracious and sweet gesture, considering she wasn’t nominated, but she seems like a class act and very proud of her colleagues, so that’s cool.
Congrats to our remarkable #ThisIsUs family, cast and crew on 8 #emmy nominations including drama series! @MiloVentimiglia and @SterlingKBrown plus #roncephasjones and #GeraldMcRaney (plus costumes makeup and music). So much gratitude for the recognition!! 💗💗💗💗
— Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) July 12, 2018
Photos: Getty Images, WENN.com
I love her. I would also be 100% okay for her to not try to be a Top 5 pop tart too.
Yay! I’m so happy for her.
I love her voice and I felt bad for her during her singing career. Every young woman in the late 90’s and early 00’s like Michelle Branch and Mandy were being made and managed to “compete” against Britney (who was also put in a box by her own label), and they didn’t have the freedom to showcase their own personalities and styles as they wanted.
Only after being dropped by their first record companies, they managed to do what they love how they wanted, without the pressure of making bubblegum pop music.
I always liked her singing and I like the clip. I’d love for her (or someone) to bring back music that isn’t polished and autotuned and over produced to the point where I can’t find any authenticity.
Funny story: My (now 20 something year old) daughter and I were talking about Mandy Moore about eight years ago and she said, “Mandy Moore is a singer??” and I said “Mandy Moore is an actress?” Our frame of reference was completely different. I only knew her as a singer and she only knew her as an actress.
By the way, no one actually uses those sound boards anymore. They keep them in recording studios just for show. Kind of like museum artifacts.
YAWN
She can’t sing though
She actually sings in Disney’s Rapunzel movie/show and the Sheriff Callie Shows.
I think she has a sweet voice.I loved ‘I wanna be with you’
I’m happy for her. I have a feeling Ryan Adam’s was the type of hipster A-hole who put her down for the music she liked & gave her those insecurities.
I wondered if that was who she seemed to be shading with the “someone else’s insecurities” comment.
Listen to the song Chaos and Clothes by Jason Isbell. It is written about RA and MM relationship and separation. Great song. Jason is both RA and MM’s friend, both of whom helped him get clean and sober and that being said, the song is honest.
What an awesome song! Thanks for mentioning it
I worked for Mandy’s first record label when she was just starting out. She was 15 years old and I was taking her around to radio stations to promote “Candy”. Her voice is the real deal and I’m looking forward to seeing the music that will come from a more mature Mandy with so much more life experiences.
By the way, she was incredibly sweet and one of my favorite artists to have worked with.
Awww, that’s a sweet story. I love hearing nice things about celebrities that I enjoy. Too often, it’s the opposite. Thank you for sharing, Ms Petit.
I’ve loved Mandy since her Candy days and love the movie Center Stage, too. I started watching This Is Us just because of her (now hooked for many more reasons). She put out a great CD of covers (Coverage) and then one of my all time fave albums, Wild Hope. Still kicking myself for not seeing her at a small local venue when she toured for that one..,hoping she goes in the road for her new music!
Right anout the time she put out her 70s cover album she was so dismissive of everything she had done before. She insisted anyone who liked those songs were tasteless. I wrote her off. I loved Tangled but won’t be supporting her.
I never thought her voice was anything special, but I guess it makes sense to capitalize on her TIU fame.