MUMBAI: Singer-actress Mandy Moore says she "really apologised" for a lot of her early work because she was embarrassed about it.

Moore grew up in the musical spotlight after her 1999 hit "Candy", which was released when she was 15. The single was part of her debut studio album "So Real".

Moore has returned to music after a decade for her album "Silver Landings". In the album, she is more honest and in control of her own sound. Her track "Fifteen" is very close to her heart.

"It's sort of rumination on coming of age in this industry," usmagazine.com quoted Moore as saying.

"I think I really apologised for a lot about my early work because I was embarrassed and being a teenager, not having creative control and not fully standing behind some of the choices that were made on my behalf," added the 35-year-old.

Moore signed with Epic Records in 1999 and dropped "Candy" that year. Now, she is able to positively reflect back on the experience.

She feels lucky that some people love her older music, and is glad that she is now able to distance herself from her past.

"The only reason that I'm here today, 20 years later, is because of 15-year-old Mandy and the music that she was singing and how I started out," said the star, adding: "I love her. She's a part of me and always will be and I carry her around. It's important to acknowledge that and have affection for that time of my life."

Talking about "Silver Landings", she said: "I didn't feel like I had to meet anybody's expectations. If I was going to make music again, I wanted to make it on my own terms -- so that's what I did.

"I made a pop record the way that I love pop music… The band and I recorded live on the floor, figured out the arrangements and then we recorded it to tape. Nothing sounds like that anymore! We just didn't want to do it digitally. It was so much fun, it was challenging and a new experience. I had never made an album like that before, but that was kind of our biggest mandate."

On the acting front, she is seen in popular show "This Is Us", which airs in India on Star World.

 (Source: IANS)