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Biography
Hilary Ann Duff was born in Houston,
Texas the second child of Bob Duff, owner of a chain of convenience
stores, and his wife Susan, a homemaker. After her mother encouraged her
to take an acting class alongside her older sister, Haylie Duff, both
girls won parts in various local theatre productions. At the age of six,
the Duffs participated in the ballet The Nutcracker Suite with Columbus
Ballet Met in San Antonio.
The siblings became more and more
enthusiastic about the idea of acting professionally, and they
eventually relocated to California with their mother. Bob Duff stayed at
the family home in Houston to maintain their business. Through years of
auditions and meetings, both sisters managed to clinch appearances in
several television commercials
Life is sweet – and getting even
sweeter – for the pop world's favorite girl-next-door. Sure, Hilary
Duff starred in a monstrously huge TV show but that's, like, so
yesterday 'cause Hilary's exercising her right to change her mind and
act her age. No more trying to fit a circle into a square. With her
first real pop-rock album, Metamorphosis, and the #1 single "So
Yesterday," Hilary is finally free to be who she wants to be.
"Change is a very important and natural thing," says Hilary.
"We called the album Metamorphosis because it's about changes that
everybody experiences. It's not just about me, but it is very personal.
The change might seem a little sudden because most people are used to
seeing me as a character through Lizzie McGuire and movie roles that I
played. So this music is a good way to get everyone to know the real me.
Everyone evolves and changes."
A triple-threat talent, Hilary has become a music, film and television
phenomenon thanks to an unbroken string of hits that began with her
starring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Lizzie McGuire, the
record-breaking #1 show in its timeslot. Hilary made her singing debut
on that hit sit-com, lending her fresh vocals and sunny style to "I
Can’t Wait" from the RIAA-certified platinum Lizzie McGuire
Television Soundtrack. In her motion picture debut, Hilary co-starred
with Frankie Muniz in this summer's action-adventure hit Agent Cody
Banks. Next came singing and starring roles in The Lizzie McGuire Movie,
in which Hilary played – prophetically enough – an American tourist
mistaken for a huge singing star.
Proving that life imitates art, Hilary’s singing career is exploding
on Top 40 radio, MTV and Top 200 retail charts. Metamorphosis – her
amazingly appealing debut solo album of 13 songs – shipped well in
excess of gold with 800,000 copies on August 26, 2003 and charted #2 on
the Billboard 200 its first week of release. Its debut single, "So
Yesterday," became an instant #1 retail hit at Walmart.com, and
stormed the pop singles charts on July 29, hitting the #1 spot after
quickly making top-request waves at national Top 40 radio and on MTV’s
signature program "Total Request Live," where Hilary's
"Why Not" music video (from the RIAA-certified platinum The
Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack) had already been a Top 10 staple for
months.
MTV also hosted a prestigious premiere for the "So Yesterday"
music video on its July 21 presentations of Making The Video and TRL
All-Star Backyard BBQ and featured Hilary in MTV Diary. Duff recently
was a presenter at both the MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon
Kids Choice Awards, where she accepted the trophy for "Favorite TV
Show" on behalf of Lizzie McGuire. And although there’s not one
molecule of space left for another top award her shelf, "So
Yesterday" has become the #1 most-streamed video on AOL.
"I’ve always sung, ever since I could talk," says Hilary.
"At home, at school, in the choir, everywhere. But about two years
ago I decided to be a real singer, and started working with really cool
singers, musicians and songwriters. Best of all, I started working in
the studio, experimenting and putting material together. I’ve really
fallen in love with the studio. I just know that a lot of my fans relate
to the album."
What kind of music can fans expect from Hilary on Metamorphosis? A
chameleon-like variety of changing moods, from the romantic ballad
"Where Did I Go Right?" to the ultimate break up song,
"So Yesterday." From the tough-talkin' "Party Up" to
the hard rockin' "Little Voice."
"The music on the album is a little different from the pop songs
everyone’s heard from me before, because Metamorphosis has all the
kinds of music I like to listen to," Hilary explains. "There
are a lot of different sounds, from rock to eletronic – with a whole
range of tempos from some deep, slow songs, to some high-energy rock
songs to give me a boost. Everybody goes through different moods and
different feelings and sometimes when you put on your favorite song it
makes you feel a little bit better."
The 13 pop-rock songs on Metamorphosis were produced, arranged, written
and mixed by the very best in the business. The album’s
behind-the-scenes-talent includes Charlie Midnight (Joe Cocker, James
Brown, Joni Mitchell) who contributed to nine tracks; The Matrix (Avril
Lavigne, Christina Aguilera), the producing masterminds behind "So
Yesterday," "Where Did I Go Right?" and "The
Math"; Chico Bennett (Madonna, Usher, Destiny’s Child); Matthew
Gerrard (Nick Carter); John Shanks (Michelle Branch); Kara DioGuardi (Celine
Dion, Enrique Iglesias); singer-songwriter-producer Meredith Brooks;
plus some of the best pop-rock musicians anywhere.
"Can I tell you how awesome everyone’s been to work with? They
are the very best writers and producers and musicians ever, and
they’ve been so open to my opinions," Hilary says. "It was
important to me that all the songs we recorded really meant something
special to me personally. I got to talk with some of the writers and
say, 'You know, I feel like this . . .' and they really got it, which is
so cool. I loved the whole process. It’s so exciting. I love that the
whole album really relates to me and my life."
Two songs were special contributions from Hilary’s number one idol:
her talented big sister, Haylie Duff. "Since she knows me better
than anyone else in the world, Haylie wrote 'Sweet Sixteen,' a really
fun song that totally relates to my life right now. She also came up
with 'Inner Strength' and it's really beautiful. Very empowering and
uplifting."
Speaking of idols, here's what another one has to say: "Hilary is
just completely a light to the world," no less an authority than
Britney Spears told Popstar! magazine. "So beautiful and so
incredibly sweet. Her music is amazing . . . she should just be herself
and never change."
It's difficult to comprehend all that Hilary Duff has accomplished in
the past few years. Prior to Metamorphosis, Hilary had already sold 2.2
million albums, spent six weeks in the Billboard Top 10 and earned two
platinum album awards. She has starred in one #1 television series, two
hit movies, and has already made two more major films (20th Century
Fox’s Cheaper By The Dozen with Steve Martin, and Warner Bros.' A
Cinderella Story) to be released later this year. Plus, not one but two
television specials will honor the big day she turns "Sweet
Sixteen."
Not bad for someone who really just wants her driver's license.
Metamorphosis became the eighth highest
selling LP of the year, with over 2.4 million copies purchased in its
first four months of release. It has since gone three times platinum.
Her success as a singer helped her to be ranked #96 on the Forbes Top
100 Celebrity List of 2003. Subsequent singles from the album include:
* Come Clean, which reached the Top 10 in Canada, Top 20 in Australia
and New Zealand and No.1 of the Billboard Hot 100; and
* Little Voice, which reached the Australian Top 40 in May 2004.
Metamorphosis was nominated in the Juno Awards of 2004 for International
Album of the Year, losing to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
On May 31, 2004, the music video for her cover version of "Our Lips
are Sealed" by the Go-Gos, which she performed with her sister
Haylie Duff, made its MTV debut. The song was commissioned for the
soundtrack of Duff's film A Cinderella Story, which came out the
following July. The single was a smash success, going to No.1 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
On September 28, 2004 (her seventeenth birthday), she released her
second album, the self-titled Hilary Duff. When describing the album to
her fans, Duff noted that she felt it has an edgier, rock feel to it.
The album's working title was The Girl Can Rock. Its first single is
"Fly", and it also includes "Haters", the lyrics of
which were once rumoured to be about Lindsay Lohan, who is often
considered by the media to be Duff's rival.
She accepted an invitation to perform at the youth concert which formed
part of George W. Bush's 2005 Inauguration Day celebrations.
On August 16, 2005, Hilary Duff will release her third official album,
Most Wanted. This will be a compilation of her most popular hits, along
side three new songs, which she is working on in the studio. Hilary gets
help from Joel Madden, her current boyfriend, to make her three new
tracks edgier and more rock. For inspiration, she is listening to stuff
by The Killers, Muse, and more. As well, the CD will be released in two
versions.
One will be a standard version which will
include her famous hits and three new songs including first single Wake
Up and the other will be a Collectors Edition which will include four
new songs, bonus packaging, and bonus material. Both will be available
August 16th 2005.
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