So Real (album)

So Real is the debut studio album by American pop singer Mandy Moore. The album was released on December 7, 1999, in the United States by Epic Records. The album's lyrical and visual representations maintained the common theme of virginal innocence in the late 1990s teen pop revival. The album was released mainly due to the success of teen artists Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who released their debut albums that same year to commercial success. So Real became a moderate hit in the United States, reaching a peak of 31 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as well as being certified Platinum by the RIAA, for shipments of over 1 million.

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.

Background

Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the musical Oklahoma!. She was also encouraged to perform by her English-born maternal grandmother, who was her inspiration. 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. Moore was then 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.

So Real

So Real may refer to:

Music

Hymns (Bloc Party album)

Hymns is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It is the first album to feature new members Justin Harris (bass, keyboards) and Louise Bartle (drums). It was released worldwide on 29 January 2016 through BMG. The album was recorded between March and August 2015, at Lynchmob Studios in London, following a hiatus that saw band members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes depart the band. Hymns was inspired by many sources and focuses more on electronic music compared to the album's predecessor, Four (2012), which featured a return to Bloc Party's rock style after experimentation with electronic music on their third studio album, Intimacy (2008). Upon release, the album received generally mixed reviews from critics. Three singles were released from the album: "The Love Within", "The Good News", and "Virtue". All singles received poor commercial success.

Background and recording

During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band. Lissack told a Canadian newspaper, the National Post that the band were planning to take an indefinite hiatus following their appearance at the Latitude Festival on 19 July. In October 2013, Kele assembled a DJ Mix for !K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name. In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album. In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party.

So Real (Mandy Moore song)

"So Real" is a pop song performed by American singer Mandy Moore and included originally on her debut album, So Real. The song written by Tony Battaglia and Shaun Fisher.

It is her second international single and her third and final single to be released overall. In the United States, "Walk Me Home" followed "Candy" as the second single. A video, directed by Gregory Dark, was also released for the single, but was not released in the United States. The single was recorded in French and released very scarcely in France. In addition, "So Real" was released to radio stations in Japan as well.

"So Real" was a moderate success and reached number 21 on the ARIA chart in July 2000.

Composition

"So Real" is a teen pop song that draws influences from R&B. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "So Real" is composed in the key of E♭ major and runs through a moderately slow dance beat infused metronome of 92 beats per minute. In its lyrics, Moore sings that what she feels about a guy is "so, so real". The song was written by Tony Battaglia, Shaun Fisher and produced by The Wasabees. In March 2000, was recorded a French version of the song, called "C'est Si Facile".