It’s been 11 years since Mandy Moore has dropped an album — and now, she’s coming back swinging. The singer, 35, opens up exclusively in the latest Us Weekly about her journey to Silver Landings and why now is the right time for her new sound.
“I have missed music for a very, very, very long time. And I think [I waited] for a multitude of reasons — fear, notwithstanding, is one of the reasons,” the This Is Us star says. “I was really hesitant and confused about how to find my way back into music. And I didn’t know if anybody cared anymore — not that that is necessarily a reason, but I think I really leaned on the excuses. ‘Oh, well I don’t have a manager,’ ‘I don’t have a record label,’ ‘I didn’t know how to start from square one.'”
However, once she realized she just needed to start writing, she did just that — and had quite the support team in her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, and best friend Mike Viola.
“I was able to really lean on my husband and Mike, who produced this record. We wrote it all together, the three of us,” the two-time SAG Award winner says. “They are two of the most profoundly talented people and my favorite singer/songwriters and musicians. Being able to work with them and know that I was sort of safe to be wading back into the musical waters was the perfect way to kind of step back into this chapter of my life.”
It also makes it easier for her when she thinks of heading back on tour — her first in 13 years.
“The nerves are alive and well but I’m a big believer in, like, ‘Cool, I’m gonna use that to fuel the experience and fuel the performance,'” Moore shares with Us. “I’m going on the road with my husband, my brother-in-law and some of my closest friends in the world. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because they’re usually always on the road touring themselves so to get to like live this, out with them, is going to be the most fun way to spend my hiatus away from work [on This Is Us].”
Plus, fans should expect some of her old hits when she gets on stage, as she’s currently “figuring out new arrangements for older songs so people will not be disappointed.”
For more from Moore, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
Silver Landings drops on Friday, March 6.
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
