Hilary Duff: 'Best Of'

There's a certain type of "Hollywood stock" that follows a well-trodden career path. Like the Olsen Twins and Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff found fame and fortune appearing on children's television in the US. And like her peers, she grew up in a highly commercial environment where she was branded from a young age, earning major corporations a very large amount of money indeed. With acting roles, a clothing range and fragrances all under her belt, it's hard to view her music career without a certain amount of skepticism.

Although she's a household name in many corners of the world, Duff's pop career has never really taken off over here. She's netted the odd top 40 single, but never cracked the top five or come close to establishing herself as an "artist". Listening to her Best Of album, it's not hard to see why. In the six or so years she's been with Disney's Hollywood Records, her sound has changed as often as Posh Spice's hairstyle. One minute she's all sweet and innocent, the next she's an indie chick hanging out with Good Charlotte's Madden brothers, and then quick as a flash she's an electropop vamp.

Thankfully, her try-anything approach has paid the odd dividend. 'Stranger' pulls all the right strings with its swirling Indian vibes, while the indie-tinged 'Fly' could fit quite easily onto a Natalie Imbruglia record. The album's highlight is probably 'Dignity', a great piece of electropop that wasn't even released as a single, on which Duff takes a dig at Nicole Richie with some surprisingly scathing lyrics. "You'd show up to the opening of an envelope, why does everyone care about where you go?" Duff sings, "It's not news when you've got a new bag, it's not news when somebody slaps you." Who'd have thought she had it in her?

Despite the odd smattering of fun, the album's highs are vastly outnumbered by the lows. Any 'Best Of' compilation is bound to bounce around between genres, but when Duff jumps from the provocative and innuendo-laden 'Reach Out' to the twee and sweet 'Holiday', a track that's musically akin to S Club Juniors, the effect is beyond jarring. 'So Yesterday' and 'Wake Up' may have been her only UK top ten hits, but time has done them few favours, with both sounding tired tucked away at end of the album. Meanwhile, 'Why Not' hits a nerve with its mindlessly annoying chorus: "Why not take a crazy chance? Why not do a crazy dance? If you lose a moment you may lose a lot, so why not, why not?"

The US has produced some great female pop singers over the past ten years - Britney, Christina and more recently Lady GaGa – all of whom, for better of worse, have carved out a distinct identity. While there's no doubt that Duff has achieved a lot in her 21 years, her Best Of shows that she can't really be considered a proper popstar. Having been tweaked and tampered with to suit every passing fad, "Brand Duff" has ironed out any smattering of personality that would allow her to develop as an artist. What's left is a relatively uninteresting product that leaves you wondering, 'Who is the real Hilary Duff?'