• More
Back to PopWatch Main
Complete Archive
Get Latest Headlines

Snap Judgment: Mandy Moore's 'Extraordinary'

Jan 31, 2007, 11:37 AM | by Helin Jung

Categories: Music

When it was mentioned last week that Mandy Moore had said she felt "bad that people wasted their money on such trite, blah pop music," I thought to myself, really? What about "Candy," "Crush," and "Cry"? Then, I found out that Mandy has an album, Wild Hope, due out in May this year, and she's put her first single "Extraordinary" up on her MySpace page. This begged the question: Did Mandy feel bad too soon, or was her new stuff going to be better than blah?

I went on a quest to find out. I was greeted at Mandy's page by her face, mouth slightly open. (She reminded me of Robin Wright Penn's character Jenny in Forrest Gump—the hippie days, to be precise, except with brown hair.) The song started to play. I was not ready for the John Mayer pastiche that was about to stream into my ears lightly, but Mandy kept telling me that she was ready, ready, ready to be extraordinary.

I wondered, why is this song so lame—I mean, blank? How can she sound this young and underdeveloped when she sounded somewhat mature on her 2003 covers album? The press release on the website stated that she wrote her own music (surprise!). There was also this line: Mandy Moore is "a young woman figuring out life and where she fits into the scheme of things about love, relationships, and about being disappointed." I suddenly remembered—oh, yeah. She's 22 years old.

There's still the rest of the album to consider, but the song suggests that Mandy's going through a quarter-life crisis and is yet waiting for an identity to form. As for the apology, I give her credit for her candor, minus points for her premature use of the past tense. What do you think, PopWatchers? Is Mandy Moore's new music "Extraordinary" or just extra ordinary?

StylishHolly Mon, Sep 24, 2007 at 05:15 PM EST

Dear friends! Please help me - I want to choose stylish [url=http://www.stylishgarments.com/]motherhood clothes.[/url]
But I cannot do it! I think tat i am not stylish in all this ugly dresses (
Where you buy your clothing? I do it here - http://www.stylishgarments.com/
Plese, give me your advices about choosing motherhood clothing.

Katelyn Sat, Aug 4, 2007 at 09:56 PM EST

i love this song. i dont c what is wrong with it. she's a good singer and actress. and is a good romodel for nebody. specially compared to all of those loser hollywood stars that get canned and go to rehab over and over again. now i feel bad i said that.. my bad, but its true.

jango Mon, Jul 30, 2007 at 12:26 PM EST

I first heard Extraordinary in a movie theater waiting to see "sunshine" I had no idea who it was, but it was catchy as hell. The last 2 records I bought were by Babyshambles and The Magic Numbers, but here I was downlaoding Mandy Moore on I Tunes. Don't care for the rest of the record but that song is one of the best pop records I have heard in quite awhile.

elijah Tue, Jul 3, 2007 at 02:24 AM EST

i detest virtually all pop music, but for some reason i love "extraordinary". i love the melody first of all, and i think the lyrics have more depth to them than you people give mandy credit for. the lyrics are unpretentious, yet introspective and meaningful. listen to the actual words before writing the song off as a bubble gummy pop song.

Steven Thu, May 10, 2007 at 08:32 PM EST

its defintely different from her earlier stuff, but then again i absolutely hated her earlier stuff, made me barf...

she first got my attention when she released coverage and i was left pleasantly suprised at a singer who had a voice that was so unpretentious, it wasnt a power house voice like aguilera but it wasnt pretending to be that either, which already makes it stand out from the various aguilera/mariah copycats out there..its more reminescent of karen carpenter, joni mitchell and as some have said jewel...its also not skanky like britney or out of key like jessica's music and it certinaly has more depth than ANY of the mentioned people, and i think i like the direction shes taking.

the song will probably drive some of her old poppy fans away as it isnt as commercial but hopefully draw some new ones (like myself), its got some poetic lyrics and grew on me after some time, mandy should be very proud of herself and i cant wait for the album to come out

Josie Wed, May 9, 2007 at 10:37 PM EST

I don't like the new single that much, but the rest of the album rocks. i really hope y'all are kinder to it than extraordinary. I seriously suggest checking out Gardenia, Nothing that you are, and Ladies Choice. I'm not a big fan of pop, so never listened to her earlier stuff, but this CD is amazing!!!

mark Sun, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:34 PM EST

i've listened to the song for quite some times now.. i think it's good.. really.. there's maturity with the lyrics.. if you appreciate poetry, you would appreciate this one.. additionally everyone of us has different reactions to everything..
hey, extraordinary is better thatn some of her bubblegum pop earlier.. i asdmit i lon\ve cry and crush and from loving you an dthe like.. but this one is good.. really.. extraordinary..

Chrissie Fri, Feb 23, 2007 at 02:47 PM EST

I like Extraordinary less than Nothing That You Are [sounds pretty much rockin':P] but is still ok. See? OK. I'm not saying GREAT,WOW, FABULOUS. Just ok, and that's not good. At all. Honestly I really miss songs like Crush, Candy, Cry, Only Hope.. I know there are a lot of pop singers out there like Jessica and Britney and it's so good that Mandy's not trying to copy them but I SO LOVE pop music and it's kinda sad what's going on with mandy.. she's becoming.. um.. I dunno what but I don't like it. She's got an AWESOME voice, sweet, and I think THAT kind of music she's making doesn't suit her well. Just my opinion. And I'm so so so scared for her.. she's a great girl, she deserves a lot more, she should be more popular and that's the problem. Will Mandy be more popular with this stuff? Will people consider her more? I hope so, cos I am a huge fan of her.. and I hope the whole CD will be better than I'm thinking right now. Wish her luck for everything.

kokioa Thu, Feb 1, 2007 at 01:23 AM EST

im disapointed in mandy morre all together..i actually think she has an amazing voice. but she has no depth..her songs and lyrics are very surface. very this song will sell because its safe. i actually think if she had of used lyrics with meaning, and meaning to her personally she would have grown as an artist and made more money. although agents do discourage artists from taking risks.

Mina Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 07:59 PM EST

You'd think that a song about being extraordinary would have more ballast. Mandy has always interested me because she sounds so self-aware and reasonably intelligent in interviews, but she never manages to express those sides of herself in her music.

Mina Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 07:59 PM EST

You'd think that a song about being extraordinary would have more ballast. Mandy has always interested me because she sounds so self-aware and reasonably intelligent in interviews, but she never manages to express those sides of herself in her music.

Phil Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 05:42 PM EST

I'm wondering why mandy didn't use this song in her new film, BECAUSE I SAID SO. I saw it last night & fully expect it to be the FEMALE flick through Valentine's Day. Its very feel good & the actresses all play their parts exceptionally well. This song would have fit perfectly over one the end credits or during one of the dramatic love scenes. I expect BECAUSE I SAID SO to rake in some big money over the next few weeks and can't even begin to understand why mandy wouldn't have attached this song for some cross promotion to the movie since it IS very Jewel lite, and the odds of being an actual pop hit without cross-over promotion seems unlikely. "Extraordinary" ?? Not so much, but there's still a few months til the album drops...

C Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 05:10 PM EST

I thought her last album showed a lot of growth (even though they were covers). I hope the next one has better songs than this, it seems bland. In My Pocket wasn't the best song ever, but it's still played and one of her better ones. She's a smart girl and has life experiences to write about (Wilmer Valderama, anyone?) I don't see why she doesn't pull from them.

Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 03:08 PM EST

I can't wait for the best of MM album to come out. **So excited!**

Nick R Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 03:03 PM EST

I oddly like the song. No one ever said that having a thin voice is a career killer. To me it sounds like the lovechild of Liz Phair and John Mayer, and you can be guaranteed that it's gonna play over every montage in a movie where the female lead is feeling good about herself and walking down busy city streets wistfully :p

NineDaves Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 02:50 PM EST

i'm kind of rooting for her. maybe it's because i want nothing than to see the britney's and jessica's of the world fail.

ian Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 02:34 PM EST

This is not that good, but is probably the best pop song out there which is pretty sad, and I agree with the Jewel comparisons.

Ed Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 02:10 PM EST

In My Pocket has to be one of the greatest Mandy Moore songs she ever made!
Love it, love the video!

Telly B Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 01:56 PM EST

Man, I love Mandy, but this is so Jewel-lite (Jewel fat-free actually, Jewel was laready as light as air)
I love the song in and of itself, but this will be so ignored by mainstream radio.
I think onlythe AC format will give it any support.

fredric Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 01:19 PM EST

I like the song, but agree that it's not as solid as her covers CD. It's a tough call because Mandy's always had a wholesome/likability factor that was lacking in the Jessicas and Britneys. I hope for her sake that she lands either a music or movie hit to launch her career - she deserves it so much more than her counterparts.

MICHAEL Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 01:04 PM EST

Im not a Mandy Moore fan, but I like the song. At least she's not trying top copy any of the other 20 something pop tarts out there.

e Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 12:22 PM EST

That static photo of her in the middle of her MySpace page is so awful - I can't believe she approves of it. This song is very 70's lite pop, minus the requisite saxophone. The only positive thing about the song is her use of harmonies.

http://www.allaboute.net/blog

Alicia Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 11:58 AM EST

I can understand feeling embarassed about "Candy," but I think her old songs were a hell of a lot more fun than this.

Fran Wed, Jan 31, 2007 at 11:42 AM EST

I love Mandy, but I'm disappointed by this song.

advertisement

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject — or we may delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk (*) indicates a required field.



  • 1000 characters remaining
      • When you click on the "Post Comment" button above to submit your comments, you are indicating your acceptance of and are agreeing to the Terms of Service. You can also read our Privacy Policy.
Copyright ©2008 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.