Mandy Moore gets candid about her return to music

By Noah Mussay | Mar 9, 2020

THIS IS US -- "Katie Girls" Episode 303 -- Pictured: Mandy Moore as Rebecca -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC) /

On this week’s CBS Sunday Morning, Mandy Moore got candid about her divorce and highly-anticipated return to music after a 10-year hiatus.

According to Mandy Moore’s interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Moore’s career began at the age of 15 when she started performing the national anthem at local sporting events in her hometown of Orlando, Florida, and she eventually started garnering the attention of record labels.

She eventually signed with Epic Records, and in 1999 released her debut album “So Real” that featured her Top 50 hit “Candy.” The album would end up going platinum while, according to CBS Sunday Morning, the music video for “Candy” would enjoy a two-month stint as one of the top music videos on MTV.

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Moore also told CBS Sunday Morning that despite her career not reaching the level of success as a pop artist like Britney Spears, she was grateful she never felt the pressure of massive success:

"“[…] There wasn’t that expectation of like, ‘You’ve had hits. You have to deliver more hits.'”"

Moore says that because she didn’t feel pigeonholed as a pop artist, she felt able to branch out into acting. In 2001, she would appear in the Anne Hathaway-led Princess Diaries and in 2002, she would find success as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed A Walk To Remember, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name.

Between 1999 and 2009, Moore released six albums taking more creative control of her music with her eponymously-named third album. However, following her marriage to singer and producer Ryan Adams in 2009, Moore stepped away from the music world.

In February of 2019, Moore, along with six other women, came forward with allegations against Adams of sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse. In an interview with The New York Times, Moore claimed that although Adams became her producer and songwriting partner shortly after they married, nothing ever came of their collaborations as he’d often give studio time he’d booked for her to other artists. She also claimed that Adams would constantly undermine her talent as an artist.

Eventually, Moore revealed to comedian Marc Maron on his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, that she began to lose her sense of self as Adams urged her to halt her career altogether.

Moore continues to open up about her marriage to Adams:

"“It destroyed my sense of self. It destroyed my belief in who I was, as a musician and as a singer.”"

Following their divorce in 2016, Moore told CBS Sunday Morning that she was feeling discouraged, especially considering she’d had four failed television pilots. She was considering giving up on acting when she landed her role as Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us.

This role of a lifetime helped to reinvigorate her career, earning her a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2018 and 2019 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March of 2019.

Despite her struggles, Mandy Moore has been able to bring a grit to Rebecca Pearson that makes her easy to root for each week.

Next. This Is Us creator says Mandy Moore centers the show. dark

Moore’s new album entitled “Silver Landings” is out now.

Catch Mandy Moore on the small screen when This Is Us returns on Tuesday, March 10, at 9pm ET on NBC.

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