The 10 Best Hilary Duff Songs of All-Time

Hilary Duff is an American entertainer who started as a child actress before becoming a singer. She was influential in the 2000s, so much so that several subsequent Disney teen stars have named her a source of inspiration. Duff hasn’t released a new studio album since 2015. However, she remains active as an actress and a businesswoman.

Here is our opinion of the ten best Hilary Duff songs ever released:

10. “Reach Out”

“Reach Out” is unusual because it was a new song released on a greatest hits album. As the story goes, it was supposed to rebrand Duff, thus preparing her for the next segment of her singing career. Sadly, “Reach Out” didn’t quite achieve its aims. Still, it reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, meaning it had its audience.

9. “Tattoo”

Duff’s last studio album received a less enthusiastic reception than its predecessors. However, it’s far from meritless. For instance, “Tattoo” is often considered one of Duff’s most memorable songs, particularly since it stands out from most of its album-mates. That makes more sense when interested individuals realize she was going in a folk-influenced direction before pivoting toward dance music for her last studio album.

8. “Sweet Sixteen”

“Sweet Sixteen” came from a much earlier part of Duff’s career. Specifically, it was a song on her 2003 studio album Metamorphosis. This song was never a single. It received widespread attention anyway because it was the theme for MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen.

7. “Anywhere But Here”

“Anywhere But Here” is also from Metamorphosis. It’s a light-hearted song more reminiscent of the 1990s than the 2000s. Luckily, Duff interpreted it well, meaning it still comes off as pleasant rather than old and stale. This song closed one of the entertainer’s movies, A Cinderella Story.

6. “Sparks”

As mentioned earlier, Duff pivoted toward dance music for her last studio album. “Sparks” is one of the products of that artistic shift. It stopped at the number 93 position on the Billboard Hot 100. That means “Sparks” failed to match the performances of its higher-ranking predecessors. Still, not just any song can make it onto the Billboard Hot 100.

5. “So Yesterday”

Metamorphosis was when Duff made her name known as a singer. Unsurprisingly, that means its singles did well. For proof, look no further than “So Yesterday,” which rose to the number 42 position on the Billboard Hot 100 on the strength of more than 252,000 sales in the United States and other impressive performances. It’s an excellent example of the pop rock that was popular in the early 2000s, though it’s of a sweeter sort than most of its counterparts.

4. “Wake Up”

“Wake Up” is a song from the compilation album Most Wanted. Like “Reach Out,” it was supposed to showcase a new point in Duff’s progression as an artist. However, “Wake Up” was successful in a way that “Reach Out” wasn’t, as shown by how it was gold-certified in the United States. This song marked Duff’s transition to a more mature sound, which is why it’s about heading out to have fun. As such, “Wake Up” was a notable moment in her transition to the dance-pop that was characteristic of a considerable portion of her singing career.

3. “Stranger”

“Stranger” was the final single from Duff’s fourth studio album, Dignity. Funny enough, it wasn’t her and her record label’s pick. Instead, her fans voted for the final single, which led to “Stranger” by an overwhelming margin. It was notable for demonstrating the more mature music put out by an older Duff. In any case, “Stranger” is about a narrator who realizes she never knew her significant other as well as she thought. Some people have speculated that the song was about Duff’s relationship with Joel Madden. Duff herself has said she wrote the song in a way that would suggest it was about one of her relationships, though the truth is that it’s about her parents’ strained relationship after her father cheated on her mother. “Stranger” struggled a bit on the charts because of a lack of promotion. Despite this, it sold more than 253,000 copies in the United States.

2. “Come Clean”

“Come Clean” is one of those cases in which a song does better in one country than in others. It had a fantastic reception in the United States. There, it beat its immediate predecessor, “So Yesterday,” by reaching the number 35 position on the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, it sold more than 655,000 copies, thus making it her single best-selling song ever released. Strangely enough, “Come Clean” doesn’t do quite as well in other countries, as shown by how it often did worse than its immediate predecessor on the relevant charts. Regardless, this song remains well-liked by Duff’s fans.

1. “Fly”

“Fly” came from Duff’s third self-titled studio album. It’s been compared with “Come Clean,” which makes sense because the songs are about letting go of things that hurt and hinder. Specifically, “Fly” urges people to reach for something more while forgetting past fears and doubts, meaning it’s very much meant to be inspirational. This song did well enough when it came out. It didn’t make it onto the Billboard Hot 100, but it did reach the number 29 position on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. On top of that, “Fly” sold more than 284,000 copies just in the United States, which isn’t considering its performance in other countries.

You can also read:

• The 10 Best Jackson Browne Songs of All-Time
• The 10 Best Ricardo Montaner Songs of All-Time
• The 10 Best Too Short Songs of All-Time
• The 10 Best Jewell Caples Songs of All-Time
• The 10 Best Leon Russell Songs of All-Time