# Hilary Duff (album)
**Hilary Duff** is the second studio album by the American singer and actress [Hilary Duff](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-duff), released on [Hollywood Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-records) in late September 2004 as the follow-up to her 2003 debut *Metamorphosis*. It moved her sound from the bubblegum teen pop of that debut toward a rock-influenced pop style, and it was certified platinum in the United States within a month of release.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/hilary-duff/1417418962) • [3](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Hilary Duff, then known for the Disney Channel series *Lizzie McGuire* and her 2003 debut *Metamorphosis*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538) |
| Release | September 28, 2004 per AllMusic; Apple Music lists September 29, 2004, 17 songs, 59 minutes, on Hollywood Records[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/hilary-duff/1417418962) |
| Genre | Pop/Rock; styles listed as Contemporary Pop/Rock, Dance-Pop, and Teen Pop[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538) |
| Lead single | "Fly," produced by John Shanks and written by Kara DioGuardi and Shanks[4](https://musicbrainz.org/release/e0440635-800b-4b22-80fd-551d4abbdce9) |
| US certification | Platinum from the RIAA on October 29, 2004, for 1,000,000 units[3](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883) |
| Japan | Certified Gold by RIAJ with 126,087 copies sold[3](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883) |
| Aggregated reception | Album of the Year critic score of 36 from 3 reviews; user score of 64 from 126 ratings[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/5378-hilary-duff/) |
## Background
Duff crossed over from television to music with *Metamorphosis*, released in August 2003. The album was certified platinum in early October 2003, an achievement that made Duff Billboard's first Platinum Star of 2004.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-01-31.pdf) By mid-2004 [CBS News](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-news) reported that the debut had sold 4 million copies, and Duff described the new record as a rock album following her pop debut, on which she wrote some songs with her sister Haylie.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hilary-duff-raising-her-voice/)
The album was still untitled in July 2004, when Duff kicked off a 33-city concert tour with her sister and planned the release for September 28.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/07/16/keeping-up-with-hilary-duff/eafeae75-2a03-43e4-af34-b82471246d59) A Billboard report that month said Hollywood Records would release the album on October 5, before a spokesperson said that plan had fallen through; the album ultimately appeared at the end of September.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-07-31.pdf)
## Music and production
AllMusic's reviewer, the critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writes that Duff and her producers deliberately shed the bubblegum trappings of *Metamorphosis* and released a second album he calls a virtual companion to [Ashlee Simpson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashlee-simpson)'s 2004 rock-based *[Autobiography](https://www.edgepedia.org/autobiography-ashlee-simpson-album)*, from its rock and dance-pop fusion to its earnest demeanor, with Ashlee's producer John Shanks helming a couple of tracks.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538) Erlewine places this shift in context: by spring 2004 the bubblegum sound of *Metamorphosis* seemed antiquated after [Avril Lavigne](https://www.edgepedia.org/avril-lavigne)'s *Let Go* follow-up and Simpson's debut had ushered in a teen pop phase dealing with adolescent angst rather than cheerfulness.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538)
The release history is complicated by a revised version. MusicBrainz documents a later edition with more rock instrumentation on seven songs: "Do You Want Me," "Weird," "I Am," "Cry," "Haters," "Rock This World," and "Jericho."[4](https://musicbrainz.org/release/e0440635-800b-4b22-80fd-551d4abbdce9) The same database credits Jay Landers and Andre Recke as executive producers and lists [Kara DioGuardi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kara-dioguardi) among the songwriters on several tracks, including the Shanks-produced opener "Fly."[4](https://musicbrainz.org/release/e0440635-800b-4b22-80fd-551d4abbdce9)
## Commercial performance
The [Recording Industry Association of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/recording-industry-association-of-america) certified the album platinum on October 29, 2004, roughly a month after release, for 1,000,000 units in the United States.[3](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883) In Japan it reached Gold certification with 126,087 copies sold.[3](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883)
In the United Kingdom, "Fly" was the album's chart single, peaking at number 20 on the Official Singles Chart over six weeks; Duff's two UK Top 10 singles, "So Yesterday" (2003) and "Wake Up" (2005), came from her other albums.[10](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14393/hilary-duff/)
## Critical reception
Contemporary and aggregated appraisals were cooler than the album's sales. Album of the Year records a critic score of 36 based on 3 reviews, against a user score of 64 from 126 ratings.[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/5378-hilary-duff/) Erlewine's AllMusic review is more forgiving of the album's limitations than of its ambitions, arguing that Duff's vocal constraints become appealing when matched to the right song, whether a sweet ballad or one of the many heavy rockers on the record.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538)
## Place in Duff's discography
The self-titled album sits between *Metamorphosis* (2003) and *Dignity* (2007) in a run of Hollywood Records releases that sold a collective 15 million copies worldwide, according to [Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records), which signed Duff in 2025 for her comeback album *luck… or something* (2026).[11](https://press.atlanticrecords.com/sites/g/files/g2000014001/files/2025-10/Hilary%20Duff%20-%20Atlantic%20Signing%20-%209.9.25.docx.pdf) Among aggregated rankings, Best Ever Albums places the record at number 78 on one 2004 year-end list.[12](https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=35808)
## References
1. [Hilary Duff review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hilary-duff-mw0000713538)
2. [Hilary Duff, Apple Music album page](https://music.apple.com/us/album/hilary-duff/1417418962)
3. [HILARY DUFF certifications and sales, Best Selling Albums](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/18883)
4. [Release "Hilary Duff" (revised version), MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/e0440635-800b-4b22-80fd-551d4abbdce9)
5. [Hilary Duff discography, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/5378-hilary-duff/)
6. [Platinum Stars, Billboard, January 31, 2004](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-01-31.pdf)
7. [Hilary Duff: Raising Her Voice, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hilary-duff-raising-her-voice/)
8. [Keeping Up With Hilary Duff, The Washington Post, July 16, 2004](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/07/16/keeping-up-with-hilary-duff/eafeae75-2a03-43e4-af34-b82471246d59)
9. [Billboard, July 31, 2004 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-07-31.pdf)
10. [HILARY DUFF songs and albums, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14393/hilary-duff/)
11. [Hilary Duff Atlantic Signing press release, Atlantic Records, September 2025](https://press.atlanticrecords.com/sites/g/files/g2000014001/files/2025-10/Hilary%20Duff%20-%20Atlantic%20Signing%20-%209.9.25.docx.pdf)
12. [Hilary Duff (studio album) rankings, Best Ever Albums](https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?a=35808)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Pop albums › 2000s albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license