Ah, yes, for the third time in a year and a half, American teen queen Hilary Duff brought her live show to town, packing 10,000 strong into the Saddledome on her Still Most Wanted Canadian tour.
Prior to taking the stage, the slight, pretty star of film, TV, radio, video and department store aisles sat down with the Sun for an exclusive print interview to ponder, among other things, why she keeps coming back.
Is it possible Duff is ready to renounce her citizenship and become a passport-carrying Canadian?
“No,” Duff laughs. “I want to be an American — I’m happy where I’m from. But I think that if I can’t be home, this is a good place to be.
“I’ve spent so much time in Toronto and Vancouver (making films, including the Ontario-shot Cheaper By the Dozen 2), and just touring here so much — I love it.
“I like the cold and it’s a good change from being in L.A.
“And the fans here are just amazing, at every single show, I can’t believe they keep coming back each time, sold out venues and they know every word.”
As to why that is, the star, who has a case of the sniffles after a fire alarm sent her scurrying from her local hotel underdressed, even for a mild Calgary winter (“I grabbed my dog and I didn’t grab my jacket,” she sniffs), is at a loss to explain it.
“I don’t know what it is,” she says. “I just know the fans are really supportive of me and really loyal, and I think it takes a long time to build up something like that.”
Well, a long time is a relative thing — Duff, who shot to fame as a result of her role in the Disney series Lizzie McGuire, has only released three albums in the past four years.
That said, her three discs, including her latest greatest hits package Most Wanted, have debuted in this country at No. 1, with the trio, as well as the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, selling more than a million copies combined.
Musically, the next thing we can expect from the Duff camp is a cover of Madonna’s Material Girl she’s recording with her sister, Haylie, for the soundtrack to the film Material Girls, starring the pair, which will be released sometime later this year.
“Timbaland is producing that — which is really cool,” she says of the song.
But whether or not the hip-hop superstar will be behind the boards when it comes time to record a full-length followup, Duff isn’t so certain.
“I think I want to take a little bit of time and really work on an album and do it myself, maybe with just one other producer and songwriter and do it just a little bit different from how I’ve done it in the past and see what we come up with.”
Who that other songwriter and producer are is still open to speculation — her boyfriend Joel Madden, of Good Charlotte fame, would be a safe guess — with Duff, again, seemingly interested in taking her time and weighing her options, not wanting to go into the studio just for the sake of releasing another album.
And while she waits, she’ll busy herself with other projects such as her clothing line, Stuff, available at Zellers and HBC, with a new line launching later this year and a fragrance from Elizabeth Arden.
It continues the Duff trend of going from project to project, film role to album to tour to whatever, seemingly unable to enjoy or have the time to appreciate all she’s accomplished.
“I do,” she says. “I am so busy that I don’t think I get a lot of time to sit down and say, ‘Oh, wow, I can’t believe I got asked to do this.’ Or, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this or this or this.’
“When people ask me about it, that’s when I sit back and go, ‘Wow, I have gotten to do that.’
“But I don’t want to keep thinking about all that … I think if I think too much about work, then I’ll be unhappy. If I just show up and know what I’m doing and be satisfied with the things that I’m doing, then I’m good to keep working.”
Well, later today, she’ll head up to Red Deer for a sold-out show and continue working the music part of her career.
But before she does, Duff hints she may get an hour or two to lead a normal life and be the 18-year-old she’s rarely able to be.
“Maybe we’ll go exploring or shopping,” she says. “Some adventure.”
Like she needs any more.
http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/pu...cles&s=showbiz
I'm really excited that she's gonna try to start REALLY working on her albums instead of just singing and not writing barely anything.
