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January 21, 2005 |
From
newstimes.com |
Hilary Duff comes clean
Pop star gets personal on
new album
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While fellow actress-singer
Lindsay Lohan has yet to
tour, Hilary Duff said she
loves being on the road and
performing her music. "It‘s
a big part of my life now,"
she said.
In addition to having some
of the catchiest songs on
radio in recent years,
pop-rock singer Hilary Duff
is one of the more
refreshingly honest music
stars.
She doesn't claim to know
much about classic rockers
The Who, despite the fact
that she covers their song,
"My Generation," in concert.
(Her manager is a big fan
and suggested it). And
though she counts Eminem, 50
Cent, the Killers, Morrissey
and The Cure among her
favorite acts, she admits
she only got into music
recently.
Regardless, Duff is making a
huge impact on fans of all
ages, captivating them with
such hits as "Come Clean,"
"Fly" and "So Yesterday."
She'll headline Jan. 25 at
the Arena at Harbor Yard in
Bridgeport.
"You know what's funny — I
didn't listen to too much
music growing up," Duff, 17,
said in a Jan. 13 interview
as her tour bus headed for
Toronto. "I didn't even
watch TV. And it's not
because I couldn't, but I
was just more interested in
other things like being
outside and playing. I was
kind of a tomboy, you know?
My sister wanted to be an
actress, so I wanted to be
an actress. And she wanted
to be a singer, so I wanted
to be a singer. And I just
now started finding my taste
in music."
With songs that have
memorable lyrics and
infectious hooks, Duff's
albums can be classified as
pop. But she performs with a
full band and truly can rock
a crowd.
"I love singing and I love
being on stage," she said.
"And when there's a venue
packed with people that are
all there for me, I'm
totally pumped. I'm ready to
go play a show and have fun
and I'm very secure with
myself."
Born Sept. 28, 1987 in
Houston, Texas, Hilary is
the daughter of Robert and
Susan Duff. She's always
been close with older
sister, Haylie, now 19 and a
singer and dancer as well.
Haylie, left, and sister
Hilary Duff are both singers
and actresses. The pair
collaborated on a cover of
the Go-Go‘s "Our Lips Are
Sealed" for the soundtrack
to "A Cinderella Story."
"You know, when I was 4, we
lived in Houston and my mom
moved us to San Antonio in
the country just so we'd get
out of the city and be able
to be kids," Hilary Duff
said. "So all we really had
out there was each other.
From the time we were
little, we just had each
other to play with, to hang
out with, to talk to, to
learn from. I think it was
really, really good for us
because now, especially with
the lives that we lead and
the stressfulness, we always
are there for each other and
we always get each other
through."
After appearing in films
that included "True Women,"
"Casper Meets Wendy" and
"The Soul Collector," Duff
took the lead role in
"Lizzie McGuire," a Disney
Channel/ABC Kids series that
ran from 2000 to 2002 and
won the 2003 Nickelodeon
Kids Choice Award for
"Favorite TV Show."
Filming the show, which
chronicled the lives of
junior high school students,
kept Duff extremely busy.
While she's glad she's been
able to move on to other
things, she considers the
learning experience to be a
big stepping stone in her
career.
She went on to land roles in
"Agent Cody Banks," "Cheaper
By The Dozen" and "A
Cinderella Story," which had
a soundtrack featuring
Hilary and Haylie's cover of
the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are
Sealed."
Hilary initially got into
singing after watching
Haylie's girl group at the
time rehearse song and dance
routines.
"I saw that and watched that
and I was like, 'Oh, my
gosh, I want to do that
too,'Ÿ" Duff said. "I
started watching more TV and
seeing all these people on
TV singing and doing their
thing. And I'm like, 'I can
totally do that. I know I
can do that.'
"I've always had a big
drive," she added. "When I
felt like something looked
fun or I wanted to
accomplish something, I
really just go for it. I
throw myself out there and I
work really hard until I can
get it. Of course, I have
people helping me. I didn't
really know what it was
gonna be like, but I knew I
wanted to try it and I knew
that I could do it."
Duff's first release was
2002's gold-selling
Christmas album "Santa Claus
Lane." After that, she had
singles on the platinum
soundtrack to "The Lizzie
McGuire Movie."
All of this led to her
official debut,
"Metamorphosis," which has
gone triple platinum and
reached No. 1 on the
Billboard chart since its
2003 release. The song "So
Yesterday," produced by The
Matrix, reached No. 15 on
the Top 40 chart, while
"Come Clean" reached No. 9
and served as the theme song
to the MTV show "Laguna
Beach."
"Ÿ'Come Clean' is obviously
about a boy and a girl's
relationship and it's just
talking about how somebody
thinks they're in the dark,"
Duff said. "She's tired of
it and he's tired of it and
they're coming clean,
whether it means they're
gonna be together or not.
They're laying all the cards
out on the table and coming
out with everything that
hasn't been said basically.
"The video really shows that
she's kind of in this
monotone mood throughout the
whole thing," Duff added.
"She doesn't show too much
emotion except that she's
waiting for this boy, this
guy, to come. You can't tell
when they're running toward
each other if they're gonna
kiss or they're gonna hug or
they're gonna hit each
other. It's a bunch of
different emotions."
With her second album,
"Hilary Duff," released in
September on Hollywood
Records, the singer draws
upon more personal topics
and experiences. For
example, the song "Hideaway"
is based on Duff's life
figuratively being under a
microscope where everyone
has an opinion about
everything she does. The
song is about a relationship
that isn't working because
of what third parties are
continuously saying.
One of my favorite songs
from Duff's new album is
"Weird," which she performed
at the 2004 Z100 Jingle Ball
show at Madison Square
Garden.
"Thank you!" she said.
"That's actually a song that
I'm doing in this set for
this tour. I love the song
too. It is really weird when
you listen to the beat and
the words. It's about
someone that she's still
obsessed with. And
everything he does is like
he says this, but he does
this. And he does this but
he says this. It's all
twisted around and
backwards. She's not really
sure who he is or what he
does, but she likes it."
In the coming months, Hilary
and Haylie Duff will begin
filming a new movie called
"Material Girls." Haylie is
almost finished with her
debut album and will soon
shop for a label. And Hilary
plans to do a full-scale
summer tour.
"I hope (fans) get
inspired," Duff said. "I
hope they look at me and
think that I'm normal just
like them. And if they have
something that they've
wanted to do in their life
... I think so many
especially young people
think, 'Oh, my God, I want
to do that' or 'I can do
that.' But then they think
it's so untouchable and so
unreachable. That's not how
it works. You've gotta fight
for what you want."
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