Mandy Moore turns to songwriting on new album

Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore is taking a walk on the slightly wild side with a new album borne out of heartbreak and frustration.

"Wild Hope" (Firm Music/EMI) marks the fresh-faced pop star's first studio release in four years. Led by the single "Extraordinary," it eschews the bubblegum sound of her previous albums in favor of a more serious tone.

Indeed, 23-year-old Moore hopes the album will show that she is no ordinary pop starlet. For starters, the Los Angeles resident co-wrote all but one of the songs, setting her apart from rival teen idols who rely on big-name producers and songwriters for cachet.

The album's grimly confessional tunes stand in stark contrast to Moore's infamously sunny public disposition. But will it kick-start a modest recording career spent in the shadow of Britney, Christina and pals?

"Wild Hope" debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 Wednesday; her previous studio album, the 2003 covers set "Coverage" opened at a career-best No. 14, selling twice as many copies, but it quickly stalled.

Moore has wisely diversified into acting, with films such as the teen romance "A Walk to Remember" and the religious satire "Saved!" She returns to theaters next Wednesday with the Robin Williams comedy "License to Wed." Moore and John Krasinski ("The Office") play a betrothed couple.

"FIRST REAL HEARTBREAK"

Her profile has also been boosted by product endorsements, and by gossip about her romances with the likes of "That '70s Show" star Wilmer Valderrama -- who claimed he took Moore's virginity, a boast she has angrily denied -- and tennis champion Andy Roddick.

Her 2004 break-up with Roddick, the year after he won the U.S. Open, was her "first real heartbreak," Moore said in a recent interview with Reuters at her publicist's office, and left her feeling "very, very devastated."

It was in this frame of mind that Moore began the 2 1/2 year recording process for "Wild Hope," retreating to a studio in upstate New York where she enlisted the help of such below-the-radar songwriters as Lori McKenna, Rachel Yamagata and Los Angeles duo the Weepies.

The first song she recorded, "Nothing That You Are," expresses the hope that an unidentified paramour will "burn in hell." It's a far cry from the sentiment of "Candy," the breakthrough single from her 1999 debut album "So Real."

Unlike Valderrama, Moore was not keen on naming names. She said that certain men privileged to spend quality time with her -- that list also includes "Scrubs" star Zach Braff and DJ Adam Goldstein -- probably won't be able to recognize themselves in the lyrics.

"It's not fair to completely say that all of these songs are about one or two people. It's an amalgamation of a bunch of different experiences," she said.

Lots and lots of guys?

"Oh yeah, I'm quite the hussy," Moore said with an ironic laugh.

But seriously, while some of the songs may have a sad undertone, she views the album as an uplifting experience overall.

"I'm not a really glass-half-empty kinda girl. I listen to the record and to me it's a lot about self-understanding and definitely hope."

After four albums she now largely disdains, Moore feels "Wild Hope" offers her a chance to redefine herself.

"Or just define myself for the first time, really."