HOLLYWOOD -- Sometimes life seems so surreal for Mandy Moore, the So Real girl.

Moore, whose debut album So Real went platinum in just three weeks, releases her third CD today.

The self-titled album Mandy Moore features the single In My Pocket, which was released last month and immediately skyrocketed to the top of the charts.

"There are days I can't believe it's all happening. It's a really surreal feeling, considering this is the life I always dreamed of having," says Moore.

When she was just another junior high school student in Orlando, Moore did more than dream.

She sang The Star Spangled Banner at so many sporting events around Florida that she became known as the National Anthem Girl.

Local Orlando record producers began giving her songs written by their clients, so Moore decided to cut a demo of three of the songs.

"I was 14 and went to a studio on my own dime to cut the demo. This FedEx guy heard my demo and called my parents to see if he could send it to a friend of his in the record business," recalls Moore.

Her parents agreed but did not tell their daughter, so she was flabbergasted when she got a call offering her a recording contract.

It was just the beginning of an avalanche of good fortune. Her debut album led to a second which also went platinum, and soon Mandy was hosting her own MTV program.

On Aug. 3 she makes her acting debut in Disney's The Princess Diaries and she's already completed her second feature film, A Walk to Remember. In July, Moore is off to Europe and Australia to promote her new CD and will do a quick concert tour in the U.S. in August.

Moore says there is absolutely no truth to the stories about rivalry between her and other young pop divas, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson.

"Jessica and I are the absolute best friends. I have her cellphone number and we talk all the time.

"Jessica and I aren't in the same league as Britney and Christina so the idea of rivalry and competition doesn't even enter the equation. They are the superstars. They don't have contact with me and Jessica."

Moore insists she is not about to pattern herself after Spears and Aguilera. "In a day and age where sex sells, I can understand why Britney rips her clothes off. It works for her. It wouldn't work for me.

"I'm just 17 and I don't have the confidence to do that kind of thing. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of using sex to sell my songs."

Moore says that like the tunes on her previous CDs, her new songs explore more traditional, tamer relationships. Her songs deal with how boys should treat the girls they love.

She refuses to say whether she got any inspiration for these new songs from her own boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Fez on That '70s Show.

Though she admits making movies is "a blast," Moore insists "there is no greater adrenalin rush than performing live at a concert. It becomes a love affair with your audience. The more they give you, the more you give back."