Mandy Moore used to be embarrassed about her music

Singer-actor Mandy Moore says she used to be so "embarrassed" about her early work in music that she would often end up apologising for it.

The 35-year-old singer, who came out with her debut studio album, 'So Real', in 1999, said as a teenager, she didn't have the control over her career which made her feel awkward.

"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," Moore told Us Weekly.

She, however, credited the "15-year-old Mandy" for her survival in Hollywood.

"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.

"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," the "This Is Us" star said.

Moore, who released her new LP 'Silver Landings' in over 10 years on March 6, said she is proud that she recorded the album on her own terms.

"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," she added.