| So Real | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Mandy Moore | ||||
| Released | December 7, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Teen-pop, dance-pop, bubblegum pop | |||
| Length | 44:30 | |||
| Label | Epic/550 | |||
| Mandy Moore chronology | ||||
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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.[1] The album spawned a Top 40 hit with "Candy" and went gold within three months in the RIAA,[2] although such success was considered trivial compared to the overwhelming popularity of teen pop's biggest stars at the time.[3]
Contents |
After several public exposures where she sang the national anthem 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, Moore 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.
The opening track of the album, "So Real", was also the third single released from 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, "Candy", 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.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [4] |
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."[5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So Real" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher | The Wasabees | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Candy" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher, Jive Jones, Denise Rich | JIVE, Charlie, The Wasabees | 3:56 |
| 3. | "What You Want" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher, Skip Masland | The Wasabees | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Walk Me Home" | Tony Moran | Tony Moran | 4:23 |
| 5. | "Lock Me in Your Heart" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher | The Wasabees | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Telephone (Interlude)" | 0:15 | ||
| 7. | "Quit Breaking My Heart" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher | The Wasabees | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Let Me Be The One" | Ian Foster | The Wasabees | 3:50 |
| 9. | "Not Too Young" | Tony Battaglia, Obie Morant | The Wasabees | 3:52 |
| 10. | "Love Shot" | Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken | Rogers & Sturken | 4:24 |
| 11. | "I Like It" | Howie Dorough, Mike Lorello, Tony Moran, Denise Rich | Tony Moran | 4:26 |
| 12. | "Love You For Always" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher | The Wasabees | 3:22 |
| 13. | "Quit Breaking My Heart (Reprise)" | Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher | The Wasabees | 1:01 |
The song was her most successful song internationally, but peaked outside the Top 40 in the US. It is known as one of her signature songs. Although she stated that she dislikes her debut album, even if it was appropriate 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 Top 100 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.
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 31 | Debuted at number 77 |
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