15-05-2025
Inside Hilary Duff's pop comeback as star, 37, plans to cash in on millennial nostalgia with new music
Hilary Duff is plotting a pop music comeback exactly one decade after the release of her last studio album.
Her musician husband Matthew Koma is a huge driving force behind her new music and has already been in the studio with her working on fresh material.
As part of her pop plans, the actress has also just signed a deal with CAA for representation.
Since the release of her last album, 2015's Breathe In Breathe Out, Duff has focused on her acting career and motherhood.
Sources tell that the mom-of-four is 'nervous' about releasing new music, but feels that now is the perfect time to stage her comeback.
'She wasn't sure if she'd ever do music again, but all the stars just aligned so perfectly that it felt like now or never,' the insider said.
'Matthew really encouraged her to get back into the studio and has made her feel comfortable to explore new sounds,' they added.
Duff doesn't have a specific musical direction yet and hasn't even committed to a full album.
'There's no pressure this time around. The goal is just to make good pop music that she's proud of and that her fans will love,' the source explained.
While Duff was initially on the fence about whether or not people would even want new music from her, her team believe that there's enough 'millennial nostalgia' right now that she has a real shot at getting back on the charts.
'All the girls from Hilary's era are thriving. Lindsay Lohan's acting career is back on track, Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan just did a song together. Even Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton have dropped new albums. There's no better time than now for Hilary to come back,' the insider said.
'Acting is still her main passion but she hasn't had a big role in a while, so she figured that it was smart to get back in the studio now while she has the time,' they added.
Fans got a sneak peek at Duff's pop star return over the weekend when Koma posted a photo of her in the recording studio.
'Please go save millennial pop music, it needs you now more than ever,' he captioned the post.
Duff believes that Koma can write her a hit, much like her ex-boyfriend Joel Madden helmed one of her biggest songs back in the day, 2005's Wake Up.
Koma is already a well established name in pop music on the writing and production side.
The 37-year-old co-wrote Zedd's monster hit Clarity and has worked with pop stars including Britney Spears and Carly Rae Jepsen.
Koma first met Duff while working on her 2015 album Breathe In Breathe Out.
He was called in by Duff's label at the time to produce some more commercial tunes for the album after Duff had recorded a number of folky, acoustic pop songs that failed to impress fans and had little impact on the charts.
Duff's team believe that there's enough 'millennial nostalgia' right now that she has a real shot at getting back on the charts
The couple finally revealed that they were dating in January 2017, though they briefly split later that year, before reuniting in October.
Matthew proposed in May 2019, and the couple tied the knot just days before Christmas in 2019.
The lovebirds went on to welcome three children: daughters Banks, six, Mae, four, and Townes, 11 months.
The So Yesterday hitmaker also shares an older son, 13-year-old Luca, with her ex-husband Mike Comrie, whom she was married to from 2010 to 2016.
Since the release of her last album, Duff spent most of the last decade focused on acting thanks to her role in the hit series Younger.
After Younger wrapped for good in 2021, Duff spent two seasons as the lead on How I Met Your Father until the sitcom was canceled in 2023.
Outside of acting, the star also works as the chief brand director for home fragrance company Below 60.
At the height of her music career, Duff was one of the biggest pop stars of the 2000s.
She had two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 with Metamorphosis and Most Wanted and toured the world multiple times.
Her biggest hits include Come Clean, So Yesterday, Wake Up, With Love, Why Not, and Sparks.
Duff also spent the mid-2000s as a major box office draw with films like A Cinderella Story, Cheaper By The Dozen, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and The Perfect Man.
