You Wanna Know Why I Look Sad and Lonely

There is a long standing train of thought that all actors want to sing and all singers want to act. But as for the latter, from Don Johnson to Jared Leto, they have all sucked massively. Granted that hasn’t kept actors from trying. In recent years there is a special case of actor turned singer, the brand name. You know the “artist” that blankets all forms of media and lends their likeness to anything that there name can fit on from sleeping bags to perfumes. And an album is just another avenue to promote themselves.

Hilary Duff certainly wasn’t the first to do this but she stared the most recent onslaught of Disney approves entities that included Lindsay Lohan and numerous High School Musical alums. And did Disney certainly milk that cow for all its worth releasing three albums in the span of two years (in addition to the five movies released during that period), one of which was actually a greatest hit package despite the little amount of song in her library.

With the year and a half lay off since her last album, a lot has changed as the High School Musical cast have successfully taken her tween queen crown and Duff has wisely gone in a different direction with her new disk, Dignity. She slightly moves away from the pop setting she started out in going for more of a dance vibe complete with Euro-trash beats and layered vocals, another wise decision as Duff really wouldn’t win any singing contests so anything that hides her weak vocal styling is a good idea. Certainly the more upbeat tracks like Never Stop, Outside of You, and the will.i.am produced Play with Fire will have all the Middle School girls dancing this spring.

This time around, Duff even sits in on the writing process getting name credited to all but one of the songs on the album. But with at least two co-writers on each song, you have to wonder just how much input Duff actually had on the album. And in a chicken or the egg scenario, I wonder if Duff named her perfume, With Love after the song or the song was written for extra promotion for the fragrance. God bless synergy. The most noteworthy song on the album is the title track where Duff takes pot shows at people famous for being famous (most likely including Nicole Richie who just happens to be dating Duff’s ex) with lines like, It’s not news when you got a new bag. It’s not news when somebody slaps you.” Oh snap. Maybe if Duff filled the album with more biting and vengeful lyrics, it would have been more enjoyable. Maybe she should have Alanis Morissette help write the next album.

Song to Download - Play with Fire

Dignity gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.