Mandy Moore: Teen Idol

I have to go on record and say that of all the teen idols that have come and gone, Mandy Moore has been my favorite. And no, it's not because she is perhaps one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid eyes on.

Well, not JUST because of that.

The fact is, she is the only teen idol whom I have never heard regretted her choices that led her to be a teen idol in the first place. While Christina Aguilera was quoted as saying that "Jeanie In A Bottle", and many other of her early songs, were not the real "her", Mandy Moore seemed to embrace her bubblegum style from her early works. The only other singer/teen idol that I ever heard embrace their young teen cheesiness was Debbie Gibson.

Also, Mandy Moore did not "sell out" by taking off half her clothes to prove how "sexy" she was. The truth is, taking off your clothes (or even half of them) isn't being "sexy", it's being "slutty". With Mandy Moore, what you see is what you get. And that's more than enough. Mandy seemed to hold true to what she believes in and to her personality. For that, she has earned my respect. Her music may have evolved, but she didn't have to evolve it by dancing naked in her videos, or singing about how many guys want to do her. 

Still, those Mandy eyes are all the sexy any guy can handle - if you ask me - and her natural beauty shines with every wink and smile that she hands out. I also happen to own just about every movie she ever did, except her voice over work. But she made me cry with her "Walk To Remember" film. 

Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer. Raised in Florida, Moore first came to prominence with her 1999 debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her subsequent album, So Real, went on to receive a Platinum certification from the RIAA. Two more singles, "Walk Me Home" and "So Real", were released but failed to have the success of their predecessor. Her 2000 single, "I Wanna Be with You", became her first Top 40 hit in the US, peaking at number 24 on the Hot 100 chart. The parent album of the same name, was released that same year to generally mixed reviews. The album went on to achieve Gold certification. After revealing her displeasure with her early works, Moore's self-titled third album, Mandy Moore (2001), featured a change of sound that drifted away from her "bubblegum pop" roots. The album spawned the single "In My Pocket", which became her third Top 20 hit in Australia. The album itself was her final album to be certified by the RIAA, receiving a Gold certification.

In 2003, Moore released her fourth studio album, Coverage, featuring covers of classic 1970s songs. Following the album's release, Moore parted ways with her record label, due to creative differences. The split prompted the label to release the compilation albums The Best of Mandy Moore (2004) and Candy (2005), both of which have sold an estimated 100,000 copies to date. Moore did not return to music until the release of her 2007 album Wild Hope, which failed to have much success. To date, the album has sold an estimated 200,000 copies, and failed to receive an RIAA certification. Similarly, both of the album's singles failed to chart worldwide. In 2009, Moore released her sixth studio album, Amanda Leigh, which peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200 and sold an estimated 100,000 copies. In 2012, Moore confirmed that she was working on her seventh studio album, currently slated for a 2014 release. As of 2009, Moore has sold more than 12.5 million albums worldwide, according to Billboard. In 2012, Moore was ranked #96 on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Women in Music", as well as #63 on their Sexiest Artists of All Time List.

Aside from her musical career, Moore has also branched out into acting. She made her film debut in the 2001 film Dr. Dolittle 2, though it was only a minor voice role. Later that year, she appeared as Lana in the comedy film The Princess Diaries, alongside Anne Hathaway. She had her first starring role in the 2002 romantic film A Walk to Remember, which was based on the Nicholas Sparks book. Between 2003 and 2006, Moore appeared in various films, including Chasing Liberty, Saved!, and How to Deal. She later appeared in the 2006 film American Dreamz, which was both a critical and financial failure. The film failed to make back its $17 million budget, and debuted at number 9 at the box office. The following year, Moore appeared in the romantic comedy Because I Said So, alongside Diane Keaton. The film was negatively received by critics, but was a financial success, earning over $69 million worldwide at the box office. In 2010, Moore portrayed Rapunzel in the animated film Tangled, in which she performed the song "I See the Light"; the song won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Amanda Leigh Moore was born on April 10, 1984 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her mother, Stacy (née Friedman), is a former news reporter who once worked for the Orlando Sentinel, and her father, Donald "Don" Moore, is a pilot for American Airlines. Moore's father is of Irish and Cherokee descent, and her mother is of half-English and half-Jewish ancestry. She is the middle of three children with an older brother, Scott and a younger brother Kyle. When she was only two months old, Moore and her family moved to Orlando, Florida due to her father's job.

Moore became interested in acting and singing at a young age, and cited her grandmother, a dancer in the theater district of The West End of London, as one of her inspirations. Moore stated "My parents thought It was just a phase I'd grow out of. But I stuck to it and begged them for acting lessons, for voice lessons." Moore began starring in numerous local productions, as well as performing the National Anthem at numerous Orlando based events. She was only twelve years old when she attended the Stagedoor Manor theater camp, where other celebrities including actress Natalie Portman had once attended. Production director Konnie Kittrell said of Moore "She was a quiet, sweet girl", and stated that even though she earned numerous solos "She wasn't a spotlight seeker." When Moore was thirteen, she began working on music by herself. One day, while working in the studio, she was overheard by a FedEx delivery man, who had a friend in A&R at Epic Records. The delivery man, named Victor, later sent this friend a copy of Moore's unfinished demo, and Moore went on to sign with the label.

Moore branched into the fashion world in 2005 with her own fashion line named Mblem., a brand of contemporary knitwear and cashmere. One of her aims was to provide clothing for taller women (Moore is 5 feet 10 inches.) In February 2009, Moore announced that the line would be shutting down, but that she hoped to reenter the fashion world again under different circumstances in the future.

Moore has worked with and highlighted nonprofit organization Population Services International (PSI), and its subsidiary, Five & Alive, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families. Moore has served as the Honorary Chairperson of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's division on awareness for youth. She served as a spokesperson by helping young people be aware of the seriousness of leukemia and lymphoma. She also serves as the spokesperson for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, held every January. In addition, to increase cervical cancer awareness, Moore teamed up with Dr. Yvonne Collins, The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Moore is the ambassador for the UN Foundations’s Nothing But Nets malaria prevention campaign. Moore is also the spokesperson for Dove's self-esteem movement and the "Women who should be famous" campaign.

At the start of her career, Moore was known for her bubblegum pop sound, which she revealed was not the type of music she prefers, saying, "[The record company] was like, 'Here are your songs.' I was like, 'Hi, I'm fourteen. I'll do anything.' Those albums are why I'm here today, but god damn, I should give a refund to anyone who bought my first record."

Moore has often been praised by music critics for branching off and making her own music. Billboard stated, "She has successfully dropped all the tacky accoutrements of her past and turned into a sweet, classy singer-songwriter whose charms are readily apparent." AllMusic claimed, "Moore smoothly evolved from adolescent starlet to mature songwriter, continuing to distance herself from the scene that had launched her career one decade prior."

Moore has noted that she was inspired by television and film as a child. She has also stated, "I’m stuck in the ’70s. I think I’ll always have that kind of influence. Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Harry Nilsson, McCartney – that’s the sort of stuff I’m really inspired and influenced by." Moore has also revealed how her husband, Ryan Adams, has had a huge influence on her music, and that he has begun to introduce her to heavy metal. "Not that I can necessarily differentiate between speed metal and black metal…" she said. "I'll tolerate it, but I turn it down.

Moore has said that she has been influenced by female singers such as Alanis Morissette, Blondie, Carole King, Debbie Gibson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell and Tiffany.

Moore dated tennis player Andy Roddick for a little over a year from 2003 to 2004. In 2007, Moore dated Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, for two months but with whom she remained close after breaking up. In 2008, Moore flew to be by Goldstein's side while he was in hospital after suffering burns from the 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash.

In 2008, Moore began dating singer-songwriter Ryan Adams. They became engaged in February 2009 and married on March 10, 2009, in Savannah, Georgia.

There has been, and there will continue to be, many young, beautiful and talented girls to compete for the commodity of fame, but none will find it easy to match the beauty, talent and grace of my Mandy Moore. While many girls work to be called the queen of rock, queen of pop, queen of country, queen of trampville, or whatever, Mandy Moore settled on just being a queen. IMO!



Sources: Wikipedia

This work released through CC 3.0 BY-SA - Creative Commons