The actress’s young costars planned the surprise for weeks, honoring the song that launched Moore’s music career in 1999
Credit: JC Olivera/Sony
NEED TO KNOW
- Mandy Moore’s young The Breadwinner costars surprised her with a choreographed dance to her 1999 hit, “Candy”
- The actress praised the girls after the performance, telling them they were “way better dancers” than she’s ever been
- The behind-the-scenes tribute included candy props and a heartfelt reaction from Moore, who hugged the girls after the routine
Mandy Moore got a sweet surprise from her youngest costars.
While filming The Breadwinner, Moore’s onscreen daughters — Stella Grace Fitzgerald, Birdie Borria and Charlotte Ann Tucker — surprised the actress with a choreographed dance performance to her 1999 debut single, “Candy.”
In a video shared to Tucker’s Instagram account, which is run by her parents, the three young actresses can be seen singing along and dancing to the pop hit while Moore watches from a chair on set. The girls even incorporated pieces of candy into the routine as props.
After the performance, Moore applauds before running over to embrace the trio.
“You guys are way better dancers than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” Moore tells the actresses. “That is so impressive!”
The behind-the-scenes clip was accompanied by a caption revealing that the surprise had been in the works for some time.
“When your movie mom is Mandy Moore… there’s really only one option—surprise her with a dance to ‘Candy,’” the caption reads. “The girls had been planning this for a while and couldn’t wait to finally perform it for her. Safe to say she was the best sport, and her reaction was even sweeter.”
Credit: TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
The post also praised the atmosphere on set, adding, “One of those fun behind-the-scenes moments that reminds me how lucky Charlotte is to work alongside such talented (and genuinely kind) people.”
In another video shared to Tucker’s Instagram Stories, the three girls can be seen sitting together in the hair and makeup trailer while singing along to “Candy.” A text overlay on the clip reads, “Truly couldn’t get enough of this song.”
Released in 1999 as the lead single from Moore’s debut album So Real, “Candy” launched the singer’s music career and peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard charts.
The album later went platinum, helping establish Moore as a pop star before she transitioned into acting, ultimately starring in A Walk to Remember and later earning an Emmy nomination for her performance in the NBC drama This Is Us.
Despite the song’s success, Moore recently admitted she had little personal experience to draw from when she recorded it as a teenager.
“Literally, I think back to singing ‘Candy,’ which is nonsensical ‘cause I don’t know what it f—ing means to ‘miss someone like candy,’ But like, that whole time in my life and chapter of my life, I’m singing about things that I had not experienced,” Moore said on the Yestergays podcast.
“I had kissed a boy but I don’t think I had French kissed a boy,” she added. “There was no tongue. I was a baby, so I had no frame of reference for what I was singing about. But somehow I still could figure out how to be somewhat sassy in a music video. But I had nothing to back it up with.”
Moore has also reflected fondly on the song’s enduring legacy. In a 2024 interview with PEOPLE, she admitted it’s still surreal to look back on that chapter of her life.
“I’m sort of mind boggled that that was a part of my life and history because it almost feels like it belongs to someone else, just because it was so long ago,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “But I also have such very tangible, visceral memories of that time and what it was and where I was.”
She also revealed that one of her favorite moments in the song remains its spoken-word bridge.
“I’m a big fan of the spoken word part,” Moore said. “I love [it] because it makes no sense to me: ‘You know who you are. Your love’s as sweet as candy. I’ll be forever yours. Love always, Mandy.’ I remember when I was doing that way back in the day thinking, this is insane. This is so strange. Will this work? Will people understand this?”
Credit: Mandy Moore/YouTube
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The answer, she said, turned out to be yes.
“I guess it’s stood the test of time with that song because people really love to chime in,” Moore said. “An audience loves to chime in during that part, so I roll with it.”
The Breadwinner, which premiered in May, stars comedian Nate Bargatze as Nate Wilcox, a longtime provider whose life is turned upside down after his wife Katie, played by Moore, lands a major business deal following an appearance on Shark Tank. As Katie leaves for an extended work trip, Nate is forced to navigate life as a first-time stay-at-home dad to the couple’s three daughters.
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