DESC: Recording information: 2004. Hilary Duff led a pretty charmed childhood, with her performing career moving from a successful television show as a pre-teen to blockbuster movies and a major recording deal as a teen. Just shy of 17 years old, Duff released her second record, a self-titled follow-up to the hugely successful METAMORPHOSIS. 2004's HILARY DUFF discards the bubble-gum edges of its predecessor and sets forth a certain rock power. Duff's music is no vanity project, and her sophomore release reveals a creative, self-aware artist. Duff opens with "Fly," an intricately layered, soaring ballad. Throughout the record, Duff's topics focus on the trials of growing up, learning to understand the world, and, of course, love. The songs are exceedingly catchy (the best co-written by Hilary and her sister Haylie) without slipping into repetition. While she shares common ground with Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne at times, Duff has her own pop-rock vision, and she follows it boldly here.