Wild Hope

Wild Hope is the fifth studio album by American singer Mandy Moore, her first in four years. It was released via her new label, The Firm Music, a division of EMI USA, on June 19, 2007 (see 2007 in music). It was released digitally in Australia on June 18 with the bonus track "Swept Away". Counting her compilation and cover albums, it is Moore's seventh album and her first to be fully co-written.

Background

Moore began writing new material for the album in 2004. She originally signed with Sire Records and released a single via her site entitled "Hey!" which was written by James Renald, the writer of her 2002 single "Cry". In early 2006, Moore posted the cover of "Beautiful Man" on her MySpace and later informed her fans that she departed from Sire Records due to creative differences. Moore then signed with EMI and a UK magazine assumed after hearing the song "Slummin' In Paradise" that that would be the title of the album.

For Wild Hope, Moore collaborated with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, Liz Phair) and has written material for the first time: she wrote/co-wrote songs with Rachael Yamagata, Chantal Kreviazuk, Michelle Branch, Lori McKenna and indie pop-folk duo The Weepies, all chronicled in a promotional video available for viewing on her official website. This is the first album that Moore co-wrote entirely and the first time she released songs that she co-wrote since "When I Talk to You", which appeared on her self-titled album, in 2001; many of the songs are about her breakup with ex-boyfriend Zach Braff. "Extraordinary," one of the tracks she co-wrote with The Weepies, was premiered via her MySpace profile on January 29, 2007. Moore has also put another song on her MySpace profile called "Nothing That You Are." The new track premiered on February 9, 2007. Moore explained how the album helped her cope with depression and self-discovery.