Hilary Duff is back — and it feels like she never left to begin with. On Nov. 6, the star officially returned to pop music with “Mature,” her first new song in over 10 years. The single sees Duff return to her pop-rock roots, but with a new outlook that could only come with age.
On “Mature,” which she co-wrote with her husband, Matthew Koma, and Madison Love, Duff calls out a man repeating his pattern of dating younger women and even nods to a famous playboy. “She’s me, I’m her in a different font,” she begins. “Just a few years younger, a new haircut/ Very Leo of you with your Scorpio touch.”
Duff embraces her full pop powers on the chorus, with a biting yet anthemic hook that’s just as catchy as her nostalgic hits, like “So Yesterday.” She also shows love to herself in the process. “She looks like she could be your daughter, like me before I got smarter,” she belts. “When I was flattered to hear you say, ‘You’re so mature for your age, babe.’”
Duff explained the inspiration behind “Mature” on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, saying she wanted to acknowledge both her past and how far she’s come. “It’s myself talking to my younger self about an experience that we had,” she says. “Being OK with it and having a little tongue-in-cheek moment with yourself, and accepting your past and being good with where you landed.”
Hilary Duff / Lauren Dunn
The “Mature” video, directed by Lauren Dunn, marks a full-circle moment for Duff. The music video begins with her getting glammed up for a show — and performing only to herself, as a sign of assurance that she’s on the right path. She slyly nods to her 2003 debut album Metamorphosis by setting a butterfly free at the end, completing the journey she started over two decades ago.
“Butterflies are big themes in my life since Metamorphosis, and there’s a little sweet butterfly moment in the video, which I really love,” she told Shane. “I like all those little nods and those little gifts that you can send back to yourself to be like, ‘Hey, it was cool we got here.’”
Hilary Duff’s “Mature” Lyrics
Read the full lyrics to Duff’s new single below.
She’s me, I’m her in a different fontJust a few years younger, a new haircutVery Leo of you with your Scorpio touchNow nowGoing down on her on your vintage rugBet she’s so impressed by your BasquiatAnd she thinks you’re deep in the ways you’re notNow nowI can’t put it on her, she’s a sweet kidBut she’s the taking the bait like we all didShe looks like all of your girls but blonderA little like me just youngerBet she loves when she hears you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeShe looks like she could be your daughterLike me before I got smarterWhen I was flattered to hear you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeYou dim all the lights, so you look real wiseAs they trace the lines underneath your eyesAnd mistake your charm for a cosmic signNow nowI can’t put it on them, it’s his best trickAnd they’re taking the bait just like I didShe looks like all of your girls but blonderA little like me just youngerBet she loves when she hears you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeShe looks like she could be your daughterLike me before I got smarterWhen I was flattered to hear you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeWatched the tide rise up as high as you got on meListening to Strawberry Letter 23Hid my car at Carbon Beach so I wasn’t seen at yoursYou knew better of courseOh, you’re so matureYou’re so matureShe looks like all of your girls but blonderA little like me just youngerBet she loves when she hears you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeShe looks like she could be your daughterLike me before I got smarterWhen I was flattered to hear you sayYou’re so mature for your age, babeWatched the tide rise up as high as you got on meListening to Strawberry Letter 23Hid my car at Carbon Beach so I wasn’t seen at yoursYou’re so mature for your age, babe
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