Pop Quiz: Hilary Duff

Pop Quiz: Hilary Duff

Aidin Vaziri | Hilary Duff, best known for her roles in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" and "Cheaper by the Dozen," grows up in more ways than one on her new album, "Dignity." Not only is she edging out frothy bubblegum pop in favor of sleek electro grooves and songs inspired by the exotic decade she just missed (you know, the '80s), but the 19-year-old singer-actress is also nursing a broken heart with appropriately darkened hair and fingernails to match. Recorded while coming out of a long-term relationship with Good Charlotte front man Joel Madden (now hobnobbing with Nicole Richie), Duff could provide us with the moment we've all been waiting for on this disc -- the moment the teenage star comes of age.

Hilary Duff
Q: You started out making this album while you were still going out with Joel Madden. Did you have to hurry up and write a bunch of mean songs after you broke up?
A: That was a big question when I finished the record and I had these songs. I had broken up with Joel, and I thought to myself, "I have all these songs about being in love and it being great, and they don't make sense anymore." But everyone deals with that. There are people in relationships. There are people going through a breakup. There are people going through all of those things. So I feel like I got to cover a lot of ground, and everybody could relate.
Q: Were your parents secretly happy that you broke up with Joel, you know, because his arms are covered in tattoos, he's so much older and he wears baseball caps the wrong way?
A: No, my mom loves him. She misses cooking for him and his brother Benji. Even from the beginning, I did warn her before they met that he has a lot of tattoos and he's much older than me, but my mom knows that I'm smart. She's always trusted me, and we've always had a very honest relationship. She never wanted us to break up. She loves him. My dad might be a different story.
Q: I'm with Dad.