Hilary Duff - Hilary Duff (2004) [Initial Japanese pressing / Bonus Tracks]

Hilary Duff is the self-titled third studio album by American actress & recording artist Hilary Duff. Overall Hilary Duff is dominant on pop rock. The production included writing credits by Charlie Midnight, John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi with Duff co-writing three tracks. The album, debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 192,000 copies in its first week. It was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. Hilary Duff was number sixty-five on Billboard magazine's year-end top albums chart in November 2005.

What a difference a year makes! In 2003, Hilary Duff crossed over from television to music with the light, effervescent Metamorphosis, a post-Britney teen pop album that kept things bubbly and cheerful. Not only was its innocence a bit of a relief after the highly charged sexuality of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, it was a hit, embraced by a new generation of preteens who were born in the waning days of The New Mickey Mouse Club. Despite its success, it seemed a little antiquated by the spring of 2004, when Avril Lavigne returned with a somber sequel to her trendsetting debut, Let Go, and when Jessica Simpson's little sister Ashlee turned into a star with her rock-based Autobiography, ushering in a new phase of teen pop – one that was more mature than the bubblegum of Metamorphosis, but only in the sense that it dealt with the angst and preoccupations of early adolescence. Gone were the fluffy party tunes – gone too was the overamped sexiness of Britney and Xtina – and in were heavy guitars, anthemic choruses, rock beats, and songs about growing up and finding your identity. Hilary Duff and her producers were smart enough to have her go with the flow, shedding all the bubblegum trappings of her debut and releasing a second album that's a virtual companion to Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography, from its rock/dance-pop fusion to its earnest demeanor, right down to Ashlee's producer John Shanks helming a couple of tracks. This makeover may be trendy, but it's also admirable since it results in a varied, ambitious album, even if that ambition sometimes gets the better of Hilary. At 17 tracks, the album is way too long and its straight-faced seriousness can be a little oppressive at this length, particularly since Duff can't quite pull off everything she tries. While she has a likeable, girlish voice, she's not a great singer and that occasionally hurts the album – witness how she struggles to reach her lower register on the dirge "Hide Away". Nevertheless, those very limitations are quite appealing when they're matched to the right song, whether it's a sweet ballad or on the heavy rockers, of which there are many. There's silliness here, such as the hipster putdown "Mr. James Dean", but that makes the album feel endearingly adolescent. And that's the greatest charm of Hilary Duff – it might take itself a little seriously, it might be a little uneven, but it feels like the soundtrack to the life of a smart, ambitious, popular teenager trying to sort things out.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, all media guide

Tracklist:

01. Fly
02. Do You Want Me
03. Weird
04. Hide Away
05. Mr. James Dean
06. Underneath This Smile
07. Dangerous To Know
08. Who's That Girl
09. Shine
10. I Am
11. The Getaway
12. Cry
13. Haters
14. Rock This World
15. Someone's Watching Over Me
16. Jericho
17. The Last Song
18. Who's That Girl (Acoustic Mix) [Bonus track]
19. Our Lips Are Sealed [Bonus track]
20. My Generation [Bonus track]


Executive Producers: Andre Recke and Jay Landers
Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Masteing, Hollywood, CA.
All additional information read inside the booklet.

Original Release Date: September 28, 2004
Released in Japan: September 15, 2004
Label: Hollywood Records / Avex Trax
Catalog No.: AVCW-12401