Hilary Duff’s ‘Luck…or Something’: All 11 Tracks Ranked

On “Tell Me That Won’t Happen” Duff seeks comfort in hearing that her worst fears hold no weight. Throughout the album, she explores and shares the various woes that occupy her mind (most of which are highly relatable, especially for women in their 30s) – yet, it’s on the album’s softest track, “The Optimist,” that such fears hit hardest.

This reflective track is a sonic trip down memory lane, from the beachy, daydream-like production to the way Duff drags out the vowels of certain words, as if the thought lingers just a second too long. As she thinks back to the “you” from her relationship’s honeymoon phase – “your kind of freak matched my kind of freak… in some ways I miss us then,” she sings – she later lands at the conclusion that while it’s unfair to judge the present against her past, it’s certainly worth honoring.

On Luck, Duff treats insecurity like a superpower, as if giving it a voice actually helps loosen its grip. On “Holiday Party” she opens with the gut punch of an imaginary worst-case scenario: “In my head you live another life/ where you f–k all my friends and wish someone else could’ve been your wife… I’m sorry for letting it get the best of me again.”

It makes sense that “Holiday Party” is positioned just before lead single “Mature,” as the two share the same thought – and while the idea of insecurity is embedded throughout the album, placing these two tracks back to back is no coincidence, and proves that trying to ignore such a feeling only feeds the beast.

While “Adult Size Medium” may not sound like it at first, it is a perfectly fitting end to Luck. The song itself isn’t intended to be some light at the end of the tunnel that is growing up – because Duff herself is still walking through it. “No one runs faster than time,” she sings, before choosing to repeat a phrase as her parting words, “I remember it all, and I remember nothing.” And as she wonders if it was “luck, or something” that brought her here, it becomes clear that the album was an effort to not necessarily find the answer, but to celebrate the journey.

“Growing Up” is about the unspoken shift that happens with age, as some friendships fade while one begins to burn a bit brighter. “I know you’ll understand/ You will until the end/ And when everybody’s gone, got busy and moved on/ We’ll face it on our own,” sings Duff, with a calming clarity that a shrinking circle isn’t something to fear, but rather an opportunity to embrace what’s right in front of you – and always will be.

There’s a certain comfort that comes from hearing that even Hilary Duff isn’t immune to future tripping. The only difference, perhaps, is that she manages to make it sound like a good thing – and even fun. Here, her future trip is soundtracked by glossy, synth-rooted production, providing the perfect track to dance to – or, as Duff sings, “do laps” to – around the house.

On the album’s opening track fans are greeted by Hilary Duff’s syrupy sweet vocals, paired with sun-soaked production. It’s a fitting start to Duff’s first album in over 10 years, as the pop icon has managed to maintain a cheery demeanor and generally high approval rating throughout her two-plus decades long career. But, that’s not to say it’s been smooth sailing all the way — and “Weather for Tennis” hints at some of the less cheery growing pains Duff explores on the album. “Keep the peace, ‘cause I’m a kid of divorce,” she sings on the chorus, before showing off the kind of humor and wisdom that only comes with experience: “You calling me bats–t is the fastest antibiotic for thinkin’ you’re different this time,” she says, evidence of a lesson learned the hard way.

On “The Optimist” Duff flexes the depths of her songwriting with lines like, “You’ve got a tiny splinter on the tip of your finger/ It demands all the attention in the room.” Opening with a vivid, tangible tale of a trip to see a hypnotist, “The Optimist” unfolds into a confessional, as Duff shares her wide-ranging desires, from wishing she could sleep on planes to wishing her father would love her. One of the more melancholy songs on the album, “The Optimist” is sandwiched in the middle, acting as the emotional glue of the project and even offering a possible answer to the “or something” in its title. Because if it isn’t luck, it sure could be optimism.

As rumors swirl about the intended “we” in this track’s title and lyrics (with many wondering if it’s about Hilary’s older sister Haylie), the genius is that it holds up no matter who it’s about. While the chorus evokes the same plinky production of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” (a song with a similar sentiment), it’s the verse when Duff admits, maybe even to herself — “The truth is that I need you but there’s no way to relay it” — that tugs at the heart the hardest.

The album’s second single is one of its catchiest tracks. On “Roommates” Duff recalls an uninhibited version of herself – “Back of the dive bar, giving you h–d,” she sings, before later revealing, “I’m touching myself looking at p–n.” Sexplicit lyrics aside, the song’s chorus sounds like a charged up Taylor Swift track, as Duff plays with the double meaning of becoming “Roommates” with a partner – and how quickly it can go from hot to not.

“Mature” smartly arrived as the lead single from Duff’s comeback album – and proved she has a few things to get off her chest. The uptempo pop track is complete with a TikTok-primed lyric, as Duff sings, drenched in sarcasm: “You’re so mature, for your age, babe.” And while she spends the near four-minute song singing about a girl who looks “a little like me, just younger…like she could be your daughter/ like me before I got smarter,” the song is less a dig and more a declaration.

It’s a testament to the album overall, on which Duff grapples with her own younger self – carefree yet insecure – and how that not only shaped who she is today, but how those qualities can still show up in her day-to-day life. And really, that seems to be what Luck…or Something is about, with Duff letting listeners in on a life-changing secret: the “or something” is where the work happens – and the “luck” is just the pay off that comes along with it.