Isle fans find singer
Duff down to earth

Taylor Freeman has been waiting a long time for Hilary Duff to do a concert here. "My friends in school told me about it when they said that tickets were going to go on sale (last month) and I knew I had to get tickets," the 12-year-old said of tomorrow's show.

Hilary Duff Where: Blaisdell Arena When: 7 p.m. tomorrow Tickets: $48 Call: 591-2211

No fan-come-lately, Freeman has been following Duff's career since "the first episode of 'Lizzie McGuire' " on the Disney Channel, the show that jump-started Duff's career as a name-brand child star in 2001.

"I like that she's not really into Hollywood stuff, and sings from her heart. She sings about her life, not dumb songs that don't have to do with anything. She can relate to people -- and she has a dog," said the Le Jardin Academy sixth-grader, who has a dog of her own.

She found Duff's latest movie "Raise Your Voice" (she was in "A Cinderella Story" earlier this summer) worthy of greater praise than it received from older reviewers.

"I liked the plot of it and I liked the car accident (scene), because it made it more exciting," she says. Freeman's mom, Cass Dunham, saw the movie with her, and says she found the story entertaining and well-written for the intended audience, although, with that audience in mind, she also questioned the age-appropriateness of a scene in which Duff appears to engage in prolonged open-mouth kissing with her co-star Oliver James.

Back to her singing career, Duff -- who'll perform here en route home from concert performances in Japan and Australia -- just released a new self-titled album, her follow-up to last year's debut "Metamorphosis."

There are a couple of interesting songs on "Hilary Duff": Is "Haters" an attack on her fellow actor Lindsay Lohan? And who was Duff thinking of when she co-wrote "Mr. James Dean," a brutal put-down of a handsome cad?

Duff has said she ignores reviews. Why shouldn't she? She's been slammed by patronizing adults who've described her music as rock-lite, labeled her G-rated public persona as a fantasy for pre-teens, and await the day her popularity wanes and she follows in the problematic footsteps of Britney Spears.

But, careerwise, Duff is hot and getting hotter. "Metamorphosis" went triple-platinum, with sales topping 3 million, and her new album got off to a good start sales-wise when it was released last month on her 17th birthday. Her next movie, "The Perfect Man," is scheduled for release on Valentine's Day.

While Duff could basically coast and watch the money keeping rolling in from her films, CDs, her growing product line and related commercial endorsements, it's important for her to stay connected to fans like Freeman, who faithfully buy her albums, see her movies and go to her concerts because she's "a good role model."

"She tries really hard at what she does and she's like a regular person. Even though she's famous, she can relate to people," Freeman said.