Mandy Moore Looks Back at ‘Wild’ and ‘Unthinkable’ Music Career (Exclusive)

Mandy Moore made an impact playing Rebecca Pearson in the hit NBC series This is Us. But before the 39-year-old was earning Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her work on TV, Moore was gaining attention in the music industry. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Moore, who reflected on her music career, which dates back to the ’90s. 

“I mean, it’s so wild to think back. It was such a place in time, the late 90s, early 2000s, and what the world looked like, what the music industry looked like,” Moore exclusively told PopCulture. “I mean, it’s unthinkable really. Everything has shifted in such a monumental way. It’s just a completely different world out there. So thinking back to the days of MTV and music videos and hosting shows, and my gosh, touring with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. 

“There was a real chapter of my life that almost feels as if somebody else lived it. I can’t wait to tell my kids about it one day and show them pictures. I’m not sure it will translate or resonate in any real way. But even talking about it now, it feels like it happened to someone completely outside of myself. So those are things that I’ll never, ever forget because it’s such a specific period in pop culture as well that doesn’t… the landscape doesn’t look like that anymore. This is pre-social media, pre-9/11. It was a different world in every way.”

Moore came onto the music scene with the 1999 hit “Candy” which reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She followed that up with “I Wanna Be with You” which peaked at No. 24 in 2000. Moore has released seven studio albums, including In Real Life, which was released last year. 

While Moore was first starting out making music, she starred in multiple television shows and movies, including A Walk to Remember, Chasing Liberty, Saved!, 47 Meters Down and Midway. Moore has had a lot of success on the big and small screen, but music will always be her passion. 

“Music has always been an extraordinary passion of mine,” she said. “It’s how I started in this industry as a young person. And I feel like it’s also a touchstone in my life. It’s something I’ll always come back to. I’ll always pick it up again and find a way for it to sort of figure into my life. And I’m also married to a musician, an incredibly prolific musician and writer who’s constantly writing and creating and playing. So it’s like that through line is in our house and in our lives in such a real way as well. So I’m very proud of the music, especially these last two records that I’ve made.”