Pop Singer Mandy Moore Signs with Sire
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Mandy Moore has signed with Sire Records, the Warner Bros. imprint whose roster includes the Distillers, the Von Bondies and Hot Hot Heat, she told Reuters on Friday.
Moore, 20, recently parted ways with Sony Music’s Epic Records label, where she released four albums, the most recent being “Coverage,” a collection of ’70s cover tunes written by the likes of Todd Rundgren, Joan Armatrading and Cat Stevens.
Sire was recently reactivated by its founder, Seymour Stein, the veteran executive who helped shepherd the careers of such acts as Madonna, Talking Heads, the Ramones and the Pretenders.
Moore said she has started writing songs for her new album, but does not yet know how it will sound. She has been focusing on her movie career recently, and returns to theaters on May 28 with the arthouse movie “Saved!,” a satire set at a religious high school. The United Artists release was produced by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe’s Single Cell banner. She recently shot a John Turturro film, “Romance and Cigarettes,” with a cast including James Gandolfini and Steve Buscemi.
In some ways, Moore said she felt pressure following up an album featuring “11 or 12 of the best songs out there,” with a set of her own music. On the other hand, “I have no expectations, and people out there really have no expectations because I haven’t had great musical success. So that allows me the freedom and creativity to do whatever I want.”
Moore’s 1999 debut album, “So Real,” was certified platinum for U.S. shipments in excess one million copies. Her next two albums, “I Wanna Be With You” (2000) and “Mandy Moore” (2001), were each certified gold for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. Despite some critical acclaim, “Coverage” (2003), slipped off the charts quickly.
Dean Goodman
Reuters