Hilary Duff

1	Fly 3:42
2	Do You Want Me? 3:30
3	Weird 2:55
4	Hide Away 3:47
5	Mr. James Dean 3:28
6	Underneath This Smile 3:38
7	Dangerous to Know 3:33
8	Who's That Girl? 3:26
9	Shine 3:29
10	I Am 3:43
11	The Getaway 3:37
12	Cry 3:47
13	Haters 2:59
14	Rock This World 3:46
15	Someone's Watching Over Me 4:10
16	Jericho 3:55
17	The Last Song 3:57

Barnes & Noble

There's nothing like rivalry to pique the record-buying public's curiosity. But in the case of actress-turned-pop superstar Hilary Duff, her feud with fellow teen phenom Lindsay Lohan -- which apparently started when both vied for the affection of "It" boy Aaron Carter and reached a feverish pitch during Lohan's mockery of Duff on Saturday Night Live -- only stokes the fire of her already sizzling career. Duff's blockbuster debut, Metamorphosis, positioned the former star of Disney's popular Lizzie McGuire series as the next Britney (pre the Madonna kiss and marriage antics), but her self-titled sophomore disc has more in common with the rock-and-angst-driven music of peers Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne. On the punk-lite "Haters," co-penned by her sister Haylie, the 17-year-old fires a lyrical missile at her Mean Girls nemesis with lines like "You're the queen of superficiality / Keep your lies out of my reality." And the guitar-fueled "James Dean" disses a former beau who thinks he's cooler than he actually is. The rest of the disc follows suit, with Duff musing on convincing rockers and winning, mid-tempo tracks about typical teen dilemmas like boy trouble ("The Getaway"), being misunderstood ("Do You Want Me?"), and, of course, competition ("Who's That Girl?"), all the while offering an edgier sound than fans might expect from the wholesome starlet. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

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