So Real
Encyclopedia
So Real is the debut album of pop
singer Mandy Moore
. It was released in 1999 through Epic Records
. The album was certified platinum in the United States
. The album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. In the United States, it has sold 1 million copies. The album spawned a Top 40 hit with "Candy
" and went gold within three months in the RIAA, although such success was considered trivial compared to the overwhelming popularity of teen pop's biggest stars at the time.
at several Florida sporting events, Moore recorded some songs that were overheard by a FedEx
employee, who sent her CD tape to A&R
at Epic Records
. Then, Mandy was signed and started recording her debut album.
To start the promotion, she toured with the Backstreet Boys
throughout 1999 and the album was released in December.
, talks about her feelings, that she misses and craves for her love like "candy". "What You Want", the third song, Moore states that she can do what a guy wants, because she's the "girl of [your] fantasy". "Walk Me Home", the second single released from the album in late 1999, is a ballad which Mandy seems to daydream about her lover and she asks him if he "would walk with [her] home". The song was compared with some Janet Jackson
's ballads. "Lock Me in Your Heart" is a mid-tempo track where Moore asks her boy to "lock me in your heart and throw away the key". Its sixth track, "Telephone (Interlude) is a 15s song which consists of a prelude to its seventh song, "Quit Breaking My Heart", where Mandy states that she likes her boyfriend, but he always breaks her heart, so he needs to "quit breaking [her] heart". A Five Star
's cover, "Let Me Be the One", is an up-tempo song which Mandy seems to be jealous so she tells her lover to let her be the one he gives his love to. "Not Too Young", the ninth track, is another up-tempo song, which Moore states that a guy is trying to get to her and he thinks he can do that because she's younger than him. However, she sings that she's "not too young to know the right thing to do, and one of those things is not to fall for you". In Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken produced track, "Love Shot", Moore asks her boyfriend if can handle her, because she will not "stop in [her] love shot". The next song, "I Like It", which was co-written by the Backstreet Boys
member, Howie Dorough
, is related to when you like everything a person does and it feels right. Its twelfth track, "Love You For Always", is a mid-tempo track where Mandy wishes that she might be with her boyfriend forever, because she is going to love him for always. "Quit Breaking My Heart (Reprise)", which ends the album, is an acoustic-like track that repeats the chorus of its original song.
The song was her most successful song internationally, but peaked outside the top40 in the US. It is known as one of her signature songs. Although she stated that ske dislikes her debut album, even it was appropriated to her age at the time, she always sings some of its songs in her shows.
Released as the second single in the US, the song falied to chart when it was first released. Then, in 2000, the song was re-released to promote her second studio album I Wanna Be with You, but it failed to chart again, though it peaked at #38 on Billboard
Pop 100
chart.
The song was released only in selected markets such as Australia, New Zealand, France and Japan as the second single from the album. The song was less successful as her debut single, but peaked within the top30 in Australia and Top100 in France. It was also recorded in French under the name "C'est Si Facile", which is a rare song that is almost unknown among fans.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
. It was released in 1999 through Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. The album was certified platinum in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. In the United States, it has sold 1 million copies. The album spawned a Top 40 hit with "Candy
Candy (Mandy Moore song)
"Candy" is the debut single by American pop singer Mandy Moore, which was released from her debut album, So Real. The music video, which was directed by Chris Robinson, had a cameo by the girl group PYT....
" and went gold within three months in the RIAA, although such success was considered trivial compared to the overwhelming popularity of teen pop's biggest stars at the time.
Background
After several public exposures where she sang the national anthemNational anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
at several Florida sporting events, Moore recorded some songs that were overheard by a FedEx
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
employee, who sent her CD tape to A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
at Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. Then, Mandy was signed and started recording her debut album.
To start the promotion, she toured with the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
throughout 1999 and the album was released in December.
Songs
The opening track of the album, "So Real", was also the third single released off the record overall, the second in Australia. In its lyrics, Moore sings that what she feels about a guy is "so, so real". Its second song and lead single, CandyCandy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
, talks about her feelings, that she misses and craves for her love like "candy". "What You Want", the third song, Moore states that she can do what a guy wants, because she's the "girl of [your] fantasy". "Walk Me Home", the second single released from the album in late 1999, is a ballad which Mandy seems to daydream about her lover and she asks him if he "would walk with [her] home". The song was compared with some Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's ballads. "Lock Me in Your Heart" is a mid-tempo track where Moore asks her boy to "lock me in your heart and throw away the key". Its sixth track, "Telephone (Interlude) is a 15s song which consists of a prelude to its seventh song, "Quit Breaking My Heart", where Mandy states that she likes her boyfriend, but he always breaks her heart, so he needs to "quit breaking [her] heart". A Five Star
Five Star
Five Star are a British pop / R&B group, formed in 1983. Comprising siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson, they were known for their flamboyant image, matching costumes and heavily choreographed dance routines...
's cover, "Let Me Be the One", is an up-tempo song which Mandy seems to be jealous so she tells her lover to let her be the one he gives his love to. "Not Too Young", the ninth track, is another up-tempo song, which Moore states that a guy is trying to get to her and he thinks he can do that because she's younger than him. However, she sings that she's "not too young to know the right thing to do, and one of those things is not to fall for you". In Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken produced track, "Love Shot", Moore asks her boyfriend if can handle her, because she will not "stop in [her] love shot". The next song, "I Like It", which was co-written by the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
member, Howie Dorough
Howie Dorough
Howard Dwaine "Howie D." Dorough is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer, actor and member of American music group Backstreet Boys-Biography:...
, is related to when you like everything a person does and it feels right. Its twelfth track, "Love You For Always", is a mid-tempo track where Mandy wishes that she might be with her boyfriend forever, because she is going to love him for always. "Quit Breaking My Heart (Reprise)", which ends the album, is an acoustic-like track that repeats the chorus of its original song.
Reception
Reviews among music critics were generally mixed. Said William Ruhlmann of Allmusic, "fifteen-year-old Mandy Moore's debut album sounded like it was inspired almost entirely by listening to recent hit albums by 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and Britney Spears," citing stylistic similarities between album tracks "So Real" and "Let Me Be the One" to the Backstreet Boys' "Backstreet's Back," and saying that Moore's "occasional growls" were similar to Spears' "...Baby One More Time." Ruhlmann stated that Moore could "carry a tune," but "with no particular distinction," saying that aside from her singing, the music was "mediocre."Track listing
Singles
- "Candy" Released: August 17, 1999
The song was her most successful song internationally, but peaked outside the top40 in the US. It is known as one of her signature songs. Although she stated that ske dislikes her debut album, even it was appropriated to her age at the time, she always sings some of its songs in her shows.
- "Walk Me Home" Released: December 1999
Released as the second single in the US, the song falied to chart when it was first released. Then, in 2000, the song was re-released to promote her second studio album I Wanna Be with You, but it failed to chart again, though it peaked at #38 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
chart.
- "So Real" Released: June 13, 2000
The song was released only in selected markets such as Australia, New Zealand, France and Japan as the second single from the album. The song was less successful as her debut single, but peaked within the top30 in Australia and Top100 in France. It was also recorded in French under the name "C'est Si Facile", which is a rare song that is almost unknown among fans.
Charts
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
31 | Debuted at number 77 on Billboard 200 |