The long national nightmare of no new Hilary Duff music has finally ended with the arrival of “Mature,” her first new single in 10 years.
Duff, 38, released the new track and its accompanying music video on Thursday, November 6, after announcing its impending arrival earlier this week. While the song’s lyrics initially read like a conversation between an older woman and her younger rival for a man’s heart, Duff said in a press release that the words actually mean something different to her.
“‘Mature’ is a little conversation that my present self is having with my younger self,” the former Disney star explained. “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’s me / I’m her / In a different font / Just a few years younger / A new haircut,” Duff sings in the first verse. “Very Leo of you / With your Scorpio touch / Now now.”
The “Leo” in question appears to be Leonardo DiCaprio, who has become famous for dating women much younger than he is. (The Oscar winner, 50, is currently dating model Vittoria Ceretti, who is 27.)
Duff goes farther with the comparison to her past self in the chorus, singing, “She looks / Like all of your girls but blonder / A little like me just younger / Bet she loves when she hears you say / You’re so mature for your age, babe.”
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In the music video, the Younger alum performs on stage in a gold sequined mini dress while her black-clad doppelgänger watches from the audience. Later, the Duff in the audience starts singing too before walking out to the lobby for a solo dance party.
Duff cowrote the song with her husband, Matthew Koma, and Madison Love, the latter of whom has worked with artists including Kesha, Dove Cameron and Suki Waterhouse.
The former Lizzie McGuire star revealed in September that she was planning a return to music following a 10-year break that saw her star in shows including Younger and How I Met Your Father. Duff has also been busy raising her family with Koma, 38, whom she wed in 2019. The duo share Banks, 7, Mae, 4, and Townes, 18 months, and she shares son Luca, 13, with ex-husband Mike Comrie.
Duff hasn’t yet revealed whether a full album or tour is coming, but her fans remain hopeful.
“All of the things are happening,” she told Variety last month. “I can’t give up too much information or everyone’s gonna kill me, but I am dancing and … everything’s in motion. It’s exciting.”
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In the same interview, she said she “always knew” she’d return to music but noted she needed some time to herself before she could get back in the studio. (Her last album — titled Breathe In. Breathe Out. — dropped in June 2015.)
“I needed to feel safe and I needed to have the right people in my corner and be absolutely 100 percent ready,” Duff explained. “Honestly, I needed to have 10 years of life under my belt. I needed a lot to say. This album feels like the inner workings of my brain and I really am so excited to connect with people again on that level, that very forward-facing level.”
