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By Amy Farnsworth, Globe Correspondent

Starting over in the music world isn't easy, especially when you're a former pop princess. Mandy Moore was only 15 years old when she was signed to Epic Records in the late '90s, a sweet blond kid who became a mainstay on the covers of glossy magazines and MTV's "TRL." With her sugary hit single "Candy," she drew preteen fans in swarms, performed in arenas , and released three albums of pop tunes. Roles in the films "The Princess Diaries" and "A Walk to Remember," and her own MTV show , soon followed.

But it was a landscape crowded with blond pop princesses -- Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears -- and even then Moore knew she needed to find a way to stand out. "I was always the youngest [of them]," Moore says, "always the underdog. I didn't really know my place. But I also knew at the end of the day we were all going to differentiate ourselves and do our own things."

Simpson took on reality TV. Aguilera went "Back to Basics." And Spears, well, she's Britney.

Moore, too, has found her own way. In 2003, she released "Coverage" -- a collection of cover songs ranging from Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" to John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me" -- then took a hiatus from music to focus on her acting career. She began gravitating toward more mature parts. In 2004, she starred in the dark comedy "Saved!" as Hilary Faye, an Evangelical mean girl. A recurring role as herself on the HBO series "Entourage" won her some hipster cred. This summer she'll appear as a woman preparing for marriage in "License to Wed" and alongside Billy Crudup in the edgy romance "Dedication." And for the first time in four years, she has an album of new material, "Wild Hope," which comes out today.

"I feel like the roles are reflective of my age," Moore says. "It all has to make sense with the music I'm doing now too. It's just a tricky road to navigate. I don't want to play a high school kid anymore."

Now 23, her hair a dark shade of brown, Moore is also taking control of her musical choices. She switched labels to Firm Music, which gave her the freedom to choose her own producer. She selected John Alagia , who has worked with Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer.

"I wanted to try to make this a transition for her," Alagia says. "I heard some of her earlier recordings. I wanted to make a record she was really proud of and hopefully have some longevity with this record."

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