New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Singer/songwriter
Mandy Moore has shared a soul-stirring new single titled "When I Wasn't Watching." A classic piece of California pop centered on her captivating vocals, the song is set to appear on Moore's forthcoming full-length effort - her first album in over a decade, due out via
Verve Forecast early next year. The video for "When I Wasn't Watching" is a softly stunning visual directed by
Lauren Dukoff, photographer/director known for her work with Adele, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga.
Produced by her longtime collaborator Mike Viola (Jenny Lewis, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness), "When I Wasn't Watching" channels the intense self-reflection Moore experienced in making her return to her music. "The idea of diving back into music after so much time and personal change was really intimidating to me for a while," says Moore. "But then I finally realized: I'm the only person who can make this move. It all has to start with me."
Thanks mainly to Moore's gracefully crafted lyrics and warm vocal performance, "When I Wasn't Watching" also speaks to a more universal truth. "I think everyone's had the experience of feeling lost and not quite understanding how you've found yourself at a certain point in your life," Moore says. "And I think the key is not to judge yourself for that. I'm a big believer in the idea that what you've journeyed through is ultimately going to factor into the person you become, and how you'll greet whatever big challenge you face next."
Newly signed to
Verve Forecast (a label whose roster also includes such esteemed artists as T Bone Burnett and J.S. Ondara), Moore began recording her upcoming album earlier this year. In a purposeful departure from the more tightly structured pop of her previous material, she's worked closely with Viola and with her husband, Taylor Goldsmith (singer/guitarist/songwriter for L.A.-based folk-rock band Dawes), creating the album's lyrics on her own and recording each song live with a full band setup.
"No one's playing to a click track - it's all happening live on the floor, which gives everything a magic and spontaneity that's so different from what I've done on any other record," says Moore. "And on top of that we're recording to tape, so there's no reworking or editing: a take is a take. At first that was scary, but now it's become a fun sort of pressure that really fuels me."
As a result of that more organic production approach, songs like "When I Wasn't Watching" embody a bright vitality that wholly fulfills Moore's initial vision for the album. "I wanted to make a very California-sounding record - something that feels sunshiny and airy and natural, something you could listen to driving up and down the PCH with all the windows rolled down on a beautiful weekend day," she notes.
With her next single due out before the end of the year, Moore looks forward to embarking on the next chapter of her music career with a newfound sense of agency. "I very much feel like I'm at the helm of the ship now, where I'm stepping back into music completely on my own terms," she says. "Everything that's happened up until this point has gotten me to where I am today, and I'm so excited to just keep moving forward."
An Emmy-, Grammy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress, singer, and songwriter,
Mandy Moore first came to national attention with her platinum-selling 1999 debut album So Real. With her sophomore effort I Wanna Be with You arriving in 2000 and her self-titled third album released in 2001, she starred in the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's A Walk to Remember in 2002, winning an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance. Over the next decade, Moore appeared in a dozen films and released a series of celebrated albums: 2003's Coverage, 2007's Wild Hope, and 2009's
Amanda Leigh. Since 2016, she's starred on the critically acclaimed NBC series "This Is Us," earning Emmy and Golden
Globe nominations for her role as matriarch Rebecca Pearson. With the fourth season of "
This Is Us" premiering in late-September 2019, Moore will next be seen alongside Woody Harrelson in Roland Emmerich's feature film Midway.
