[Filling the Space is a flexible column where our writers could vent, deconstruct, and work their way around the emotions brought on by TV, films, books, music, and key moments in pop culture. This isn’t meant to be analytical, but instead, a way for us to explore our feelings.]
The trend on social media where people keep looking back to 2016 is understandable, but that’s not a year I want to remember. I don’t want the nostalgia of that era. And while the world is burning—while everything is a literal cesspool, Hilary Duff’s return to music with her new album, luck…or something, is what’s sparking the joy I need.
There’s always been something about Duff as an actress that’s been so comforting, and maybe it’s because we grew up with her. Maybe it’s because in those moments, unlike in 2016, things were actually good—because Lizzie McGuire had an impact, and though it was dramatic, singing a song like “Come Clean” at the top of our lungs actually helped in some way. I’m not quite sure how, but it did. That’s the beginning that I’m okay revisiting because right now, it’s hard to create.
It’s hard to make art and consume it when there are terrible things around us, and we’re also dealing with our own individual issues. It’s hard to feel inspired or okay. It’s hard to let art be this all-encompassing thing that can actually maybe heal us when it all feels so dire. But as our Jamie Whitebread said in her feature about Bridgerton being the Cinderella story that we all need, “A story about a spirited maid and a dashing artist falling in love is better than whatever the hell is going on in far too many of the interactions women are having with men in the real world these days. Whether we like it or not, we have a sincere need for some good escapism.”
For me, right now, these small moments of escapism have been watching Hilary Duff hit the stage and sing all her old songs. It’s the gift of social media, where people can upload videos of how excited she is, how giddy the crowd is, how proud her kids are, courtesy of her husband, Matthew Koma’s Instagram stories. There’s something really hopeful about her musical after all this time. Like maybe things will work out later down the line. It’s also easy to appreciate the fact that she’s adding her older songs into the mix with her new singles because she’s aware of how vital they were to us.
The past can be tricky for us all. But sometimes we do need to hold onto it. We need the nostalgia in the same way we need Cinderella stories. We need songs like “So Yesterday” and “Fly” alongside “Mature.” We need joy and art and laughter, and however that comes to us, it’s worth acknowledging that it means something. It means something even when we aren’t sure how to put the joy into words. All I know is that any time a new video crosses my dash, no matter the angle, I stop to watch it, and I’m so grateful for it. I’m so grateful for Hilary Duff.
Related Content: Filling the Space: Now Is the Perfect Time To Rewatch Lizzie McGuire
Duff’s new album, luck…or something, releases on February 20.