Hilary Duff
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
At the same time Lizzie was taking off, Duff also appeared in the indie film Human Nature, reflecting her continuing big-screen aspirations. Lizzie McGuire mania continued through 2002, and Duff began her first steps toward her singing career with the song Santa Claus Lane, which appeared on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2, as well as her own Christmas album, also named Santa Claus Lane. That year, production ended on Lizzie McGuire, freeing up Duff to pursue other opportunities. Episodes of the show continued to run into 2003, but by that time Duff had begun to move on, appearing in the teen spy movie Agent Cody Banks and playing Lizzie one last time in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, where funnily enough, she goes to Italy and is mistaken for a een pop star. The soundtrack to the movie also featured several songs by Duff, including the singles Why Not and I Cant Wait, which were both successes in their own right; the soundtrack went platinum in summer 2003.
Around that time, Metamorphosis, Duffs bona fide debut as a singer, was released. The album had a hipper and more eclectic sound than any of the material she had been given previously, and helped establish her as a personality outside of her Lizzie McGuire fame. The album charted number two on the Billboard 200 on the week of its release, and its single So Yesterday topped the pop singles chart earlier that summer. Duffs omnipresence in 2003 continued with appearances at that years MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, where she accepted Lizzie McGuires trophy for Favorite TV Show. She also appeared in that years film Cheaper by the Dozen and embarked on a tour that fall.
2004 was just as busy for Duff. She appeared in movies like A Cinderella Story, Agent Cody Banks, and Raise Your Voice, and also released her self-titled second album, which exchanged the neutral fluffiness of Metamorphosis for an anthemic rock-pop style consistent with efforts from Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne. The record continued to shape Duffs public persona, which was a continually evolving dynamo of branding, image, and teenage ambition. Released on September 28th (her 17th birthday), Hilary Duff eventually peaked at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the Top Internet Albums charts, and helped Hilary net Most Searched by Kids and Teens on AOL honors and more Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Publicity for the album continued into 2005. That June, The Perfect Man debuted; in a bit of genius casting, it featured Heather Locklear as Duffs unlucky-in-love mother.
In July, Duff started preparing for the August release of Most Wanted. The collection included three new songs -- including the single Wake Up, written by Benji and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte -- as well as remixed versions of past Hilary hits like So Yesterday and Come Clean. There was also the Most Wanted tour, which stretched into September, ending just in time for her 18th birthday. By this point, the Hilary Duff promotion machine was in overdrive: her website offered a pay-as-you-go mobile phone branded with her name and bundled with Hilary-themed ringtones and wallpapers.
