March 2020 | Rolling Stone | 37
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On making music again after becoming one of TV’s
biggest stars and why she’s all in on Mayor PeteBy BRITTANY SPANOSQ&A
Mandy Moore
M
ANDY MOORE is
more famous these
days as an Emmy-
and Golden Globe-nominated
actress on the hugely popular
family drama This Is Us, but
she’s never stopped thinking
about the music that came
first. Moore, now 35, became
a TRL-era superstar at 15
with the bubblegum-pop
hit “Candy,” and made a
series of more-adventurous,
indie-inspired albums like
2007’s Wild Hope. But she put
music on hold after marrying
Ryan Adams; Moore told The
New York Times last year that
his controlling behavior led
her to stop releasing songs.
Moore found a new team-
mate in Taylor Goldsmith of
Dawes, whom she married
in 2018. Together they wrote
and recorded Silver Landings,
which includes Fleetwood
Mac-inspired highlights like
“When I Wasn’t Watching,”
a sparkling, folky song
about personal growth. “I’m
looking at the mountains,
and it’s a beautiful sunny
day with beautiful skies,” she
says from her home in L.A.
“That’s what I imagined this
record to be like.”Your new song “ Fifteen”
makes being thrust into
fame at that age sound
overwhelming. How do you
feel about that time now?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve
looked back with greater af-
fection. Anybody would look
back on their high school
years like, “Why did I choose
to wear that outfit?” But in
my case, it wasn’t just the
clothes I was wearing — it was
the music I was recording. I
didn’t have a ton of creative
control. Gaining a little bit
more wisdom and distance
20 years on, I’ve learned to
embrace that part of me too.
She still lives in me. I was
doing my level best. There’s
people out there that really
enjoy those records and that
music. It’s not necessarily
my cup of tea!
You were constantly
compared to Britney
Spears and Jessica Simp-
son back then. Did you feel
like you were always fight-
ing for respect?
I was always third or fourth
in line, in terms of beingmentioned in the gaggle
of gals — Britney and Chris-
tina [Aguilera] and Jessica
Simpson. I think because I
never found the degree of
success that those women
did, that allowed me the
freedom to continue to make
music that I wanted to make
— but also as an actor. I was
able to find some success in
that arena because I wasn’t
a one-name pop star that
people would watch on-
screen and just go, “Oh, I
know everything about herlife.” I was a little bit more
of a mystery.
Did your roles as an
actor, in turn, help you
grow as a musician?
Everybody’s always going to
put everyone in a box. I want
to be able to do something
I’ve never done before. That
was something I found more
troubling until recently: Not
being able to get in the room,
because people only saw me
in one light. For what it’s
worth, nobody ever told me
how to answer questions orwhat to wear. They certainly
told me [what to] record, but
nobody gave me any direc-
tion otherwise.
You joined several other
women in speaking out
against your ex-husband
Ryan Adams’ alleged emo-
tional abuse in 2018. Were
you hesitant about coming
forward?
It’s so tricky to talk about.
I never had any hesitancy,
especially once I realized how
many people were speaking
out. I feel really heartenedthat emotional and psycho-
logical abuse is a topic of
conversation that women
are very hungry for. The
outpouring that I received on
social media, DMs on Insta-
gram... I’m still getting stuff.
Women are fighting to be
heard and to be understood
and to be recognized. A story
like this can make people
feel a little bit less alone and
recognize that it is not an
anomaly. I feel good to be a
part of something like that,
but it’s horrific, and I’m glad
that it’s behind me and I can
move forward.
What was it like to work
so closely with your current
spouse on the new album?
Taylor is truly one of the
most unbelievably talented
people on the planet. I feel
so lucky to be under the
same roof with him. For the
past five years that we’ve
been in each other’s lives,
he is always at a piano or
holding a guitar in his hands
— just noodling or practicing
or writing a song. It was a
foregone conclusion that we
were going to make music
together, but he has been
my biggest champion. He
was like, “I just want to play
guitar on your record. It
may be fun to go on the
road together!”
You’ve campaigned for
Pete Buttigieg, and you’re
close friends with his hus-
band, Chasten. What makes
Mayor Pete your ideal can-
didate for president?
I’m not the most publicly
vocal about politics, but I
remember when Pete ran for
the DNC chair in 2017. That’s
when I first heard about
him, and he was captivating
to me then. I’d never heard
him publicly speak until
about a year ago, here in
Los Angeles, and I just was
blown away. I was like, “He’s
our next president.” He’s a
Rhodes scholar who speaks
eight languages. He’s a veter-
an. He’s unbelievably qual-
ified — but he’s also a real
human being. I think he can
be the one to bridge the gap
and bring people from both
sides together. I’m excited to
see how the rest of this cam-
paign season evolves. And I’ll
be right there championing
him along the way.