Mandy Moore: More edgy and gutsy

Mandy Moore will not look good with a nose ring so I presume she is unlikely to get one anytime soon. It is also doubtful she will get anything pierced except perhaps her earlobes so she can wear little studs. And I cannot imagine her dancing around in the briefest of lame shorts or teetering on impossibly high platforms. If ever she bares her navel, it can only be while wearing low-slung jeans or a modest bikini, preferably in pink or another pastel color.

Mandy, a Penshoppe image model, in town for a concert at the Araneta Coliseum, will launch her new album Coverages. She is the total antithesis of today’s pop star. She smiles brightly from under a neat cap of dark brown hair. Her speech is gushy but with well-thought out sentences. She still lives with her parents, albeit in a new house she bought herself. She has a boyfriend, but while also famous in his own right, the relationship has remained untainted by juicy tabloid items. Mandy seems too good to be true but she looks and sounds real and it must take a lot of gumption on her part to go against the flow and stay her wholesome self.

Gutsy too is Mandy’s decision to make Coverages her next album release. As the title implies, it is made up of covers of pop/rock favorites from the ’70s and ’80s. While there is nothing earthshaking about the concept, it still takes a lot of nerve from somebody like Mandy to cover the hits of the likes of Elton John, (Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters) and Todd Rundgren (Can We Still be Friends). More so, the classics of some of the greatest girl singers of all time. Think Carole King (I Feel the Earth Move), Joan Armatrading (Drop the Pilot), Carly Simon (Anticipation), Joni Mitchell (Help Me) and Debbie Harry (One Way or Another).

Coverages is tantamount to tampering with pop music history that could have brought on the wrath of all the rockers who ever lived. As Mandy mentioned during last Tuesday’s presscon, "I did the album on my own with producer John Fields, whom I met when he did some of the songs in A Walk to Remember. I didn’t tell anybody what I was doing." Right she didn’t because any manager or producer in his right mind would have dissuaded Mandy from doing this album. It would be folly for any artist to take on these songs until such time as they have earned their spurs. "They knew at Epic I was recording something in the studio but not what it was. But they later decided to release it,"she said.

Thankfully, Mandy’s spurs are in the right places and reactions have been very positive including that from Sir Elton. She has not heard from any of the singing/writing divas, but I believe that if that happens, the remarks will also be most encouraging. "I have the greatest respect for them and I hope they’ll like what I did," she said. Hopefully too, Mandy, who has started writing songs, will someday be part of this exclusive club of females who make the music happen.

Singing-wise, I believe that she has reached a new milestone with Coverages. It is always interesting finding out how young females will interpret such tunes and while retaining her trademark sweetness, Mandy proves here that she can also rock as hard as the best. Also adding to the album’s appeal is that the materials chosen are not quite what one would expect from Mandy. She sings Joe Jackson’s Breaking Us in Two and she sounds great.

The Real Winners

Due to some careless cutting and pasting, I came out with the list of last year’s winners at the American Music Awards last Wednesday. I apologize for the mistake and here are the correct ones. Star World aired the event live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in the morning of Monday, Nov. 17. It was a sentimental evening with Alabama receiving its 23rd AMA trophy, with Mary Vandross accepting two awards for her ailing son Luther, the late Aaliyah being proclaimed Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken winning the Fans’ Choice Award. Here is the list:

Pop or Rock

• Favorite Male: Kid Rock
• Favorite Female: Jennifer Lopez
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Fleetwood Mac
• Favorite Album: Justified by Justin Timberlake

Soul/R&B

• Favorite Male: Luther Vandross
• Favorite Female: Aaliyah
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group: The Isley Brothers
• Favorite Album: Dance with My Father by Luther Vandross

Rap/Hip Hop

• Favorite Male: 50 Cent
• Favorite Female: Missy Elliott
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Lil Jon & the East SideBoyz
• Favorite Album: Get Rich or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent

Country

• Favorite Male: Tim McGraw
• Favorite Female: Faith Hill
• Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Alabama
• Favorite Album: Unleashed by Toby Keith
• Favorite Artist, Alternative Music: Linkin Park
• Favorite Artist, Adult Contemporary: Celine Dion
• Favorite Artist, Latin: Ricky Martin
• Favorite Artist, Contemporary Inspirational: Steven Curtis Chapman
• Fan’s Choice Award: Clay Aiken
• Coca-Cola New Music Award: Bomb Squad