Hilary Duff is back — and older and wiser. The multi-hyphenate has shared her highly-anticipated single “Mature.” On the song, Duff takes a pop-rock jaunt through the past as she sings to a younger version of herself. “She looks like all of your girls but blonder/A little like me, but younger,” Duff offers over a glimmering blend of synths and guitar licks.
“‘Mature’ is a little conversation that my present self is having with my younger self,” Duff said in a release. “The two of us are reflecting on a past experience and sending love to each other. It’s a chuckle, a wink, and a sense of being grateful that we are sure footed in where we landed,” she added.
Duff shared a new video along with the song. Directed by Lauren Dunn, the visual finds two versions of Duff; one twirls around onstage in a gold, sequined dress performing the song while the other sits watching from an empty auditorium. In a teaser for the single, Duff shared a clip where she holds a butterfly in her hands and lets it fly away. The video closes out with the same clip in a sentimental nod to her 2003 debut album, Metamorphosis.
“Mature” marks Duff’s first new music since 2015’s Breathe In, Breathe Out, which the singer worked on with her now-husband Matthew Koma. Koma, a songwriter and producer who releases music under the name Winnetka Bowling League, also co-wrote “Mature” along with Duff and Madison Love.
“Mature” comes just two months after the singer-actress signed to Atlantic Records, kicking off her return to music. Duff will also star in her own upcoming docuseries. Directed by Sam Wrench — who recently worked on Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, and Laufey’s a Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl — the docuseries will chronicle Duff’s long-awaited return to music as she balances her family life, live show rehearsals, and prepares to perform on stage for the first time in over a decade.
In an interview with podcaster Jake Shane, Duff shared some insight about her musical return. “I have this crazy connection with fans that I’ve known since I was nine, 10 years old, and I just want to connect with them again,” she said. “Finally I felt safe enough and comfortable in my own family to step outside and open that part of myself up again.”
