Mandy Moore has released her first new song in a decade!
The This Is Us star, 35, premiered her single “When I Wasn’t Watching” on Tuesday, over 10 years since she released her last song, “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week,” off her sixth album Amanda Leigh in June 2009.
The song is set to be on her forthcoming album, her first in over a decade, which will be released on Verve Forecast early next year. In addition, Moore dropped the accompanying music video, directed by Lauren Dukoff.
“The idea of diving back into music after so much time and personal change was really intimidating to me for a while,” Moore said in a statement. “But then I finally realized: I’m the only person who can make this move. It all has to start with me.”
The actress has been teasing and previewing new music for the last several months, sharing photos and videos of her in the recording studio with longtime collaborator Mike Viola, who produced “When I Wasn’t Watching,” and her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith.
Goldsmith spoke to PEOPLE about collaborating with his wife on her new music. “It means so much to me because I know it means so much to her,” he said.
“I watch her light up as she gets to express herself again as a songwriter and singer in the way she hasn’t in a long time. It’s so inspiring,” he shared. “Everyone that is a part of it, we’re always just making sure it’s something she identifies with. She’s our captain, she’s steering the ship and that’s how it should be. We’re really just there at her service and it’s been a true joy.”
As for more of Moore’s new music, Goldsmith teased: “Who she is as a songwriter now is so night and day from where she started as a singer.”
Moore is scheduled to release another single before the end of the year.
RELATED: Mandy Moore Talks Recording ‘Emotional’ New Music with Husband Taylor Goldsmith
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“I wanted to make a very California-sounding record — something that feels sunshiny and airy and natural, something you could listen to driving up and down the PCH with all the windows rolled down on a beautiful weekend day,” she said about her upcoming music project.
“I very much feel like I’m at the helm of the ship now, where I’m stepping back into music completely on my own terms. Everything that’s happened up until this point has gotten me to where I am today, and I’m so excited to just keep moving forward,” the star added.
Moore launched her music career in the late ’90s with her debut single “Candy.” (This December will mark 10 years since Moore released her debut album, So Real, in 1999.)
In June, the actress opened up about the songwriting process, telling PEOPLE, “It’s been a really long road. I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s happening and [Taylor’s] a part of it. It’s so special.”
Moore spent her recent hiatus from This Is Us by songwriting and recording before she and the cast resumed filming season 4. “Working on my music and being in the studio, it makes me emotional to think about it,” she said.
And reflecting on the 20th anniversary of “Candy” in August, Moore revealed she’s still “proud of that bop!,” revealing: “It’s the reason that I’m standing here today so I don’t begrudge it.”
Season 4 of This Is Us premieres Sept. 24.
