Mandy Moore

When Mandy Moore was just 15, she released an album So Real and a single "Candy". Both were criticised for being transparent attempts to cash-in on the recent wave of teen-pop princesses (particularly Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera). The song was a huge hit in Australia and the UK, though it didn't do so well in the US. Moore is now old enough to admit that So Real was a 'so bad' album, but it was also a platinum-seller that laid the foundations for the rest of her career.

In 2000 the album was re-packaged and re-mixed as I Wanna Be With You, which achieved gold sales, but was ravaged in the press. A self-titled album in 2001 was slightly more appreciated by critics, and was very successful in Asia, but it didn't achieve as much success in the US and UK as the previous CDs. A covers album, Coverage (2003), was again met with reasonable reviews from critics, and it charted highly for Moore (No.14), but overall sales were poor enough to persuade Epic Records to drop her contract.

After signing with EMI, Moore's fifth album was Wild Hope (2007), on which she completely shed her teen-pop past in favour of a singer-songwriter vibe. The album was met with cautiously positive reviews and poor sales, suggesting that it is still proving difficult for Moore to escape her previous image.

In addition to her music, Moore has also starred in several romantic movies aimed at teens, including A Walk To Remember and Chasing Liberty.