- 2 days ago
It was all "highlights, ten out of ten," at this year's 'Leading Ladies' event with Hilary Duff at Hard Rock Hotel New York. The "Roommates" singer sat down with NEW 102.7's Karen Carson to talk about her journey through the industry, discuss the making of her latest project, and celebrate the important women in her life during Women's History Month.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Are you guys ready? Can you show Miss Hilary Duff a New York welcome?
00:08Introducing Hilary Duff, ladies and gentlemen!
00:12Hello!
00:14Hi guys! Hi everyone!
00:17Can you hear me?
00:21Hi guys!
00:24How lucky are we?
00:26Is this amazing? Hilary, thanks for being part of our leading ladies tonight.
00:31I'm honored! I'm so happy to be here!
00:34This is so fun and so intimate and I love it.
00:38You have the best fans.
00:40I have to tell you, people were calling the radio station from Argentina trying to get into this and I
00:47don't blame them.
00:48I don't blame them. They really love you.
00:50I have to tell you, like, I still am in shock by the response and I know, you know, people
00:59have seen me say this multiple times in interviews, but you don't know how you're going to be received after
01:0510, 20 years of a big break.
01:08And so, my mind has been absolutely blown by you guys. Like, really, genuinely...
01:15They love you.
01:16Makes me shy!
01:17They absolutely love you.
01:18You guys make me shy!
01:18And there's so much excitement about your new album, Luck or Something. I mean, after 10 years, right? We wanted
01:27Hilary back and we have her and...
01:31Can you tell us why you think you were ready for this now, after 10 years, and how it's going
01:37for you?
01:39Well, I think there was a...
01:43There's a comfort in my age, I will say for sure.
01:46You know, just having lived more life and having more stories to tell and more experiences that I've lived through.
01:56And, you know, after having my fourth child, I think I got really itchy to, like, purge and perform and
02:06just have a serious, like, creative outlet.
02:12And to, like, express myself and connect with people again. I don't always know the why. I just, like, looked
02:20at Matt one day and I was like,
02:22I want to make a record. And he was like, great, let's do this. How do you want to do
02:26it? What do you want to say?
02:27I think I felt safe and I maybe didn't, you know, 10 years ago quite have that confidence in myself
02:37and, you know, didn't feel as ready to, like, share then. And I did now.
02:45It's amazing. Mama of four, okay? Mama of four.
02:51Look at her. Look at her. She's beautiful. You just brought up your husband, Matt. And he co-wrote and
02:57produced the new album with you.
02:59What was that experience like collaborating? I mean, you just said, it's time, let's go. So was it more fun
03:08or was it sometimes more stressful?
03:09Yeah. You know what? We are collaborators in life and our family and, you know, we are obviously married.
03:19I think that we work really well together. I know how he works. He understands completely how I operate, how
03:29I deal with certain things.
03:31You know, it was just a really easy, I don't want to say easy. It felt really natural. Like walking
03:40into the studio and starting the process, I wasn't like, oh my God, you know, I'm, obviously I felt a
03:47little dusty.
03:48I was like, I don't, he speaks my language and that was a really safe place to start. You know
03:53what I mean?
03:53And then the topics kind of just started coming up and it wasn't like, I think people have an idea
04:01of our household just being like musical and we're writing and we're this and more like we're texting in between
04:07school drop-offs.
04:08Like, oh, what if it was actually this or we were stumped on this one thing and then we talk
04:13about it right before we go to bed and then it's suddenly something different.
04:16You know what I mean? It was a really, just kind of folded into our everyday life and then all
04:22of a sudden we had a record and I'm downplaying it because it was a lot of freaking work.
04:26Yeah.
04:27It was so much work.
04:28You have so many great songs.
04:31It's amazing the work you guys did and it's so fun to see Hillary back, isn't it?
04:36Yeah.
04:40Speaking of your new album, is there one particular song on the new album that makes you feel?
04:46Especially empowered, strong, just a little badass when you sing it.
04:52Oh, I'm so excited actually for, well, by the way, these, the Small Rooms Big Nerves Tour has been so
05:00much fun and has just gotten me in my body and my voice and, you know, able to connect with
05:08people and really play a lot of the old songs.
05:10But I'm so excited for the summer once people, you know, the album's out now and people know the new
05:16stuff and there'll be plenty of old stuff, of course, because that's really fun.
05:19But I would say some of my favorites are Weatherford Tennis I love and I haven't done it live yet,
05:31but something about the bridge in adult size medium.
05:34I can't wait to be, like, in a big room, like, getting down to that part.
05:40It just builds really nicely and is, like, powerful.
05:44That's beautiful.
05:45What do you think for yourself does empowerment look like for you right now in this part of your career?
05:53How are you feeling empowered?
05:56I mean, you're just back at it, but what makes you feel good?
05:59Yeah.
06:02Gosh, I think it looks different every day.
06:06And I think there's, I'm like, how do I want to answer that question?
06:14I think it looks different every day and I think it looks like an acceptance of yourself.
06:18And, like, some days you do feel really strong and really powerful and some days you don't and it's okay
06:24to have both, like, existing at the same time.
06:27It's normal.
06:28It's natural, right?
06:29Yeah, but I think when you're a little younger, that feels, like, uncomfortable.
06:32And when you're older, you're like, oh, I recognize what this is.
06:36And, like, tomorrow doesn't mean the same thing.
06:40But I think getting older and saying no a little more often feels very powerful.
06:45Becomes easier.
06:46I think being less apologetic for how you feel or what you want feels, you know, very powerful and just,
06:56like, living and being your authentic self.
06:59Well, I've seen you in so many interviews and you just look like you came into your own, man.
07:05You're just loving life and feeling good about who you are.
07:09And it's just amazing to watch.
07:11And, of course, we're so excited about the Lucky Me Tour.
07:17Right?
07:18Oh, my God.
07:20She's coming to Madison Square Garden in August.
07:27As a mom of four, and I'm a mom of three, so I'm just imagining you, and I looked at
07:33all the tour dates, and I was like, how is she going to do this with four babies?
07:37Are they coming with you?
07:39Well, they're not all babies, but.
07:41Just so you know, I'm looking at all the dates, and I'm like, how am I going to do this?
07:48I haven't quite figured it out.
07:50We talk about it daily.
07:52I have.
07:53Are the kids excited for you?
07:55They're so excited, and I think they would come out the whole time if they wanted.
07:59Not Luca.
07:59I also have a teenager, and he's like, I don't need to live on a bus.
08:04Like, that's basically the size of this stage with, like, my whole family.
08:09But I'm sure he's going to come out for parts of it.
08:12But the girls, like, love to tuck away in the bunks and have their little, like, little, we call it
08:18like a mouse house.
08:20Like, love the tour bus.
08:22But I think that's a lot of pressure for me, too.
08:25So I'm lucky that I have a base of people that we lean on and we love, and they're my
08:32kid's family as well.
08:33And, you know, they'll come in for a few days, go away for a few days.
08:39You know, I'm playing shows almost every night.
08:41So it's a lot of demand on me and my body, and I miss them.
08:45But it's easy to, it's not easy, but it's something I have to, like, compartmentalize and be like, okay, this
08:51looks like a crazy month.
08:54Next month I'm going to have a lot of time with them, you know?
08:56Yeah, and talk to them about it.
08:58Of course.
08:59We're constantly prepping them in advance so there's not, like, anxiety around me leaving and stuff.
09:05Yeah.
09:05But it's hard.
09:06It's really hard.
09:07I honestly get really emotional thinking about missing the things that, you know, for the past 10 years I've chosen
09:14them and building our family and our life and being a mother.
09:18And I will always be a mom, but I'm putting myself first for a little while, and it's very hard
09:23to do.
09:23So you're going to do a great job.
09:25Look at all the support you have.
09:28It's amazing.
09:29So, Hillary, you grew up in the spotlight, and it's been amazing to see your success.
09:35Looking back now, what advice would you give your younger self as a woman navigating this industry, which is kind
09:45of crazy?
09:45I mean, you turned out amazing, but what advice would you give your younger self, if anything?
09:53I guess the typical stuff of just trying to quiet the noise of, you know, feeling insecure or uncomfortable or
10:05measuring yourself with someone else, you know, comparing your successes with your peers.
10:11Like, I would love to have quieted that noise a little bit, and I guess just having my older self
10:20tell my younger self, like, it's supposed to feel this way, and it, like, gets easier.
10:25It works itself out, and the way that you're feeling is normal.
10:30You grew up with a lot of peers in so many different shows and things.
10:36I'm sure they felt the same thing.
10:38You know what I mean?
10:38For sure.
10:39I think it's just way easier to walk into a room, like, of a, you know, work-type, like, whether
10:47it be, like, the Grammys or something, and just being like, why am I here?
10:53But I'm sure everyone's feeling that way, you know, and at this age, I'm like, oh, I have a spot
10:59here, and everybody's probably feeling kind of weird about this.
11:02I love it.
11:03But, so, we were talking about this just a little bit ago, but I think it's really important.
11:08Do you feel like you're in a phase of your life where you can just truly be yourself unapologetically, and
11:15how does that change your experiences?
11:18I feel like you are.
11:21Well, one, I started my career so young that I truly don't remember certain things, and people will be like,
11:30remember that?
11:31And I'm like, no, I don't at all.
11:33How could you?
11:34How could I?
11:35Yeah.
11:36You know, some things were 25 years ago, and certain, like, broad strokes stand out, but, like, there are major
11:45holes, and I wish I remembered some of them because they were really cool.
11:51So, I feel like now I get to soak it in and really, like, file away the stuff that has
12:00resonated with me and meant a lot and I've enjoyed.
12:03And I'm trying to just enjoy because this is such a fun chapter, and I'm so appreciative that it's right
12:11here in front of me and that it's unfolding the way that it is.
12:15Yeah, so I think it is easier, but I also didn't deal with social media back then.
12:21Right.
12:22So, that's this whole other layer that I'm like, whoa, okay.
12:26How do you feel about it now?
12:27I mean, I love social media, but I'd say it kind of is this part of your job that you
12:35can never shut it down.
12:37Like, you can never kind of escape it.
12:39Yeah.
12:40And that's been kind of tricky because sometimes I, like, don't want to see my own face on my social
12:45media anymore.
12:46I'm like, I just want to scroll and be, like, numb like everybody else for just, like, a few seconds,
12:52and, like, there I am.
12:54And I'm like, wait, what are they saying?
12:55I don't want to see that.
12:57Right, right.
12:58All of a sudden, you're in your face.
12:59Yeah, and sometimes it's really nice.
13:00So, there's, like, that whole juxtaposition.
13:04It was totally different back then with no social, that is for sure.
13:08I mean, you're an author, an actress, a singer, so many things, producer.
13:16And, yeah, you can't escape it for sure, but you wear so many hats, and a mom, and a wife,
13:22and who are some strong women that maybe inspired you?
13:26They could be musicians, or actresses, or, you know, just somebody that you looked up to and kind of really
13:35liked while you were navigating.
13:38This is a tough one for me to answer, because I feel like what people want to hear is I'm
13:44like, this famous person.
13:46Oh, it doesn't have to be famous.
13:48Yeah, I don't know why I feel the pressure to answer like that sometimes, because the truth is, as I've
13:53become a mother and made so many amazing friends who are mothers, I'm motivated and inspired by them all the
14:02time.
14:03Like, seeing all that they do every single day, and the way that they show up for their kids, and
14:07the way that they juggle a career.
14:09Like, it's really just my normal mom friends, people who have careers and juggle life and keep their family afloat
14:18and do so many things with, like, the pressures of how quickly the world moves these days.
14:25You know, like, those are the true people that inspire me, I get to lean on, I laugh with, like,
14:31my friends.
14:31Going through the same stuff at the same time, it's perfect.
14:34Yeah.
14:35Yeah.
14:35Good, I love that answer.
14:38What songs by female artists, since we're in International Women's Month, do you think should be on everyone's playlist?
14:49Current songs?
14:50Current, old, like Aretha, or?
14:54I'm always going to go with, I mean, I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, so that's always going to be,
15:04that's always going to be on there.
15:06We love Chapel Rhone in our house.
15:08Oh, yes.
15:10I mean, my end-all, be-all is Alanis, so she's always going to be on there.
15:18Were you listening to her, like, when she first came out with You Ought to Know?
15:23I think that was the first time we ever heard an angry woman singing about love like that, and she's
15:31one of my favorite, too.
15:32That's amazing.
15:32I love that you have Alanis.
15:33And you know what?
15:35You could play Stevie Nicks if we ever do a Fleetwood Mac movie.
15:40Oh, she's a goddess.
15:42Have you ever met her?
15:44I've never met her.
15:46No.
15:47You guys should sing together.
15:48I would love to.
15:48Yeah.
15:49Before we end, what's one message or takeaway you hope fans carry with them after hearing your new album and
15:58seeing you on tour?
15:59Oh, that's so nice.
16:00I hope they find themselves in the record.
16:05I think one of the biggest reasons for me to do this record was to meet people that have grown
16:14up with me at this stage in our life and just have that moment of, like, I feel like that,
16:21too.
16:22Oh, my gosh.
16:23That is this weird anxiety that bumps around inside of my brain, and that's really real.
16:31I hope there's, like, a nostalgic feeling that feels really tender and good to everyone.
16:37I hope there's a raw and open feeling that makes it feel okay to have kind of wild thoughts and
16:45feelings.
16:47And, yeah, I hope it feels like a celebration because that's really what I want.
16:53You know, this album has a lot of very, like, heavy themes on it, but it kind of is, like,
16:58dressed up in a sequin outfit or, like, a furry fun coat.
17:03You know, it's pop music, and we're having a good time.
17:05But there's a lot tucked away in there, and I hope it's resonating.
17:10Well, I've talked to a lot of your fans tonight.
17:15And that's what we're going to do.
17:16We're going to celebrate tonight.
17:18So we're going to take a little break so Hillary can just take five minutes, and then we'll be back,
17:26and she's going to rock you out tonight, okay?
17:31Thank you, guys, for being here, and I really appreciate it.
17:34This is very fun.
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