Q & A With Mandy Moore

By Rebecca Winters

On her album Coverage, out Oct. 21, Mandy Moore sings hits by Elton John, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell and others.

You're 19. Nixon was President when Moonshadow came out. How did you get into this music?

I didn't grow up listening to any of this. But I thought, I have a duty to know this stuff. So I perused the aisles at record stores and picked up some greatest hits.

You didn't tell your record company what you were up to. I was afraid I'd end up doing, you know, Olivia Newton-John.

You play the President's daughter in an upcoming film. Is your character more Chelsea Clinton or Jenna Bush? Jenna Bush.

I'm the regular 18-year-old who wants to discover who she is. You look at the Bush twins, and it's like, yes, O.K., so maybe what they're doing is not right. But what teenagers at parties aren't drinking?

Whose fans are more aggressive: Your boyfriend (tennis player) Andy Roddick's or--

His! His! On his website people are like, "I just don't like Mandy. She seems so fake."

Tell me about Andy.

Basically, he's good at everything: board games, debates, bowling. He's perfect! It drives me crazy! I want to win in Scattergories sometimes! It's my goal in life to find something he can't dominate.

I'm not sure I'd want to hear him sing Joni Mitchell.

Yeah, I guess I've got that covered.