Sing to us, Paolo! This is, indeed, what dreams are made of. Bringing you this week’s ultimate #ROTW, here is Maddy Shiffer:
“Like most young girls in the mid-2000s, I had one queen and one queen only. Hilary Duff was truly the full package – she had the quirky, yet attainable, style, she had one of the most endearing shows on cable television in addition to blockbuster movie hits. And by 2003, she had one of the most influential albums on my tiny self. Metamorphosis came into the pop music scene with such a lasting impact that almost every 20-something woman today can tell you exactly why you’re not getting your old black hat back.
Duff was an icon, but she was an icon who came fully prepared with banger after true banger – a debut album rarity these days. Sure, she also came fully manufactured by Disney’s invisible hand, but who were we to judge at eight years old? We were too blessed with pop music genius like “Come Clean”, “Little Voice” and the ever so cotton-candy soft jam “Anywhere But Here”. She was too good to us. We simply were not worthy. How were we supposed to be prepared to have the most educational algebra lesson packed into three minutes and nineteen seconds mid-album? (“The Math” is one of the best pop songs of that entire year, don’t even try to argue).
But the longest lasting mark that Queen Hilary left on all of our hearts was her ability to go from girl next door to a rock legend in record time. Every time somebody asked me where my more ~punk~ phases came from the answer was always the Hershey, PA date of her Most Wanted Tour in the summer of 2004. Ask my mother and to this day she will tell you that I truly peaked at that concert, just a mere five days before my ninth birthday. And as much as I loved me some classic Britney and *NSYNC, Hilary’s debut as a solo artist was the first time I can remember actively following an artist’s work. She was on my TV almost every afternoon and now I got to have a piece of her own personal work, of course it was a big deal. My small music brain was still in utero, but my mother Hilary was beginning to birth the knowledge that you’re all being blessed with today. So thank you, Miss Duff. Thank you for the bops and the jams and the confidence to turn me into a fishnet-sleeve-wearing fourth grader. She got to turn into a somewhat reliable music junkie and writer. And for that, I am thankful.”
We encourage you to relive your wonderful, Hilary Duff-infused youth by streaming Metamorphosis below:
- Today in Music History: April 7 - April 7, 2023
- EP Review: Michigander’s It Will Never Be The Same - March 31, 2023
- Deep Dive: Spotify’s ALT NOW Playlist - March 30, 2023
