Mandy Moore Reflects on Her Early Days in Pop Music Alongside Britney Spears

Author: Jess Cohen / Source: E! Online

Even though Mandy Moore and Britney Spears got their start in the music industry around the same time, the two have never actually met.

The This Is Us star revealed that tidbit, as well as more details about her early days in pop music in the late ’90s and early 2000s, while on Jennifer Zaborowski‘s We Need to Talk About Britney podcast this week. During Mandy and Jennifer’s hour-long chat, they talked about everything from Mandy’s song “Candy,” to the “leader” of the pop pack, Britney.

“We’ve never met each other. I’ve never met her,” Mandy shared. “I think she’s like the leader of the pack, she started it all. She was at the forefront of crushing the pop music scene, opening the door for everyone, men and women alike.”

“She just sort of came out and started getting traction as I was making music,” she continued. “She was out in the world so I guess absolutely her influence would be felt I think on anybody that was making music because she was so popular. It was instant. It felt like she came out like a bullet, right to the top.”

Mandy was just 15 when she got her start in the music industry alongside Britney, Jessica Simpson and Christina Aguilera. So did she feel pressure to compete with the other girls?

“I knew once I had been signed and once I was aware of Britney and then Christina came out shortly thereafter, I knew I was my record label’s answer to that,” she explained. “So I was aware that that’s what my record label was doing but I also knew that I couldn’t compete in that sense. I’m not Britney, I’m not a great dancer. I don’t have that same showmanship quality. That was never gonna be me.”