Live Review: Hilary Duff Is What Dreams Are Made Of
By Sheldon Ang
Hilary Duff – the lucky me tour – 29 October 2026 – at RAC Arena Perth Western Australia
Hilary Duff has grown up. Now 39 and a mother of four, she feels a lifetime removed from the star who lit up our screens during our school years. For the fans gathering in Perth, Western Australia, though, those memories were about to come rushing back.
So how did I end up at her show, feeling like one of only 15 guys among 15,000 fans?
I cover 99% of major shows that come to Perth, but this time I wasn’t there on an accredited assignment. Sad, I know. I wasn’t there to photograph the concert or write a review – at least, that wasn’t the plan.
After a few after-work drinks with friends in the city, I noticed groups of fans walking past in sparkling outfits, pink hats and high-cut boots. As the evening wore on, my fear of missing out intensified. Out of curiosity, I checked ticket availability and, to my surprise, a handful remained, including three with an unrestricted view. I usually avoid making decisions after a few drinks, but this time I thought: why not? Running my own media platform means I never pay for concert tickets. Tonight would be an exception.
One $170 ticket later, I was marching towards RAC Arena with the Duff Army, looking decidedly out of place with my laptop in tow.
Add another $70 for a T-shirt from the merchandise stand, and there I was, taking selfies with a life-size poster of Hilary Duff. My spontaneous night out was quickly becoming a full fan experience.
Even the queues told the story: the men’s toilets were initially empty, prompting fans to use them as an alternative. Meanwhile, the foyer was packed with what a friend of mine Carla Basden aptly described as a “disproportionate number of butterfly clips to people”. The early-2000s revival was already in full swing.
Just before 9 pm, the lights went down and 15,000 voices erupted. Think a Wiggles concert for adults, only louder.
Duff opened with her breakthrough hit Wake Up, driven by guitar and percussion. On stage, she wore a modern take on early-2000s pop fashion: a white bandeau top, a flowing sheer train and oversized Y2K-style cargo jeans. She was as fit looking as those Aerobics Oz Style fitness gurus. For a crowd raised on Most Wanted and Metamorphosis, it was a chance to relive a high-school dream.
“Tonight is the last show for me in 2026. We did something like 46 shows.” This was also her first Australian tour in 20 years and her first performance in Perth, making the stop especially significant.
The set soon turned to her latest album, luck… or something, with back-to-back performances of Roommates and Weather for Tennis. Rather than lingering entirely in the past, Duff made room for the music shaping her return.
Then came So Yesterday, taking us straight back to her mid-2000s heyday. The title could hardly have been more fitting for a crowd revisiting its school years.
Up to this point, there had been no pyrotechnics. The single-level stage lacked the elaborate production associated with a Taylor Swift concert, but spectacle wasn’t the main attraction.
We were there for Hilary and, for many, the memories of Lizzie McGuire. Still, there were theatrical flourishes: flames appeared during Play with Fire, and by Future Tripping, from the latest album, Duff had changed outfits. She danced with an easy rhythm, smiling out at the crowd. Having barely listened to the new record beforehand, I left with Future Tripping among my favourite Duff songs. It’s an earworm.
The new material also arrived with chart success behind it. Duff’s latest album, luck… or something, peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming her first Australian chart-topping album. It also reached number three on the Billboard 200 and debuted in the top five in several other countries, including the UK. Nine songs from the record featured in the tour’s setlist.
This, then, was a tour supporting an Australian number-one album, not simply an exercise in nostalgia. The memories may have drawn many of us through the doors, but the new material was central to the show. Of course, there were videos of Lizzie McGuire on the big screen, thus the after school memories flooded in.
“I just want to thank you so much for showing up for me the way you have…” Duff told the crowd. She described the tour as a celebration filled with love and welcomed those who had attended her concerts before.
That connection came to life during With Love (Mine), a segment in which Duff typically invites a lucky fan to dance with her on stage. This time, around 20 fans joined her, and she embraced each of them. Fan Kim Donnelly explained the backstory: a routine Duff performed on a morning show in 2007 resurfaced years later on TikTok, where its restrained choreography became a meme. Rather than distancing herself from it, Duff joined in, reclaiming the dance and turning it into a fan favourite. What had once attracted jokes was now a shared moment between artist and audience.
After that burst of crowd participation, the night took a gentler turn with Someone’s Watching Over Me, making its tour debut. The ballad brought a Disney-like moment to the arena, with voices rising from across the room. It was made for a mass singalong, and the audience became a choir.
During We Don’t Talk, Duff sat on a yellow couch while a camera operator followed her, creating the feel of a television set. Initially, I wondered whether it was a nod to Lizzie McGuire; to my eye, the warm yellow furniture instead echoed the 1970s-inspired feel of her home. After four outfit changes, she appeared in a favourite baggy T-shirt, giving this part of the show a more relaxed feel.
There was a local flavour, too. Duff held up a plush quokka, playfully brandished a can of liquor and a pair of desert boots, and did a shoey. The night closed with more classics, including Come Clean and What Dreams Are Made Of, amid a sea of confetti and balloons. Even those who had arrived knowing only a handful of songs had a familiar finale to sing along to.
The sold-out Perth stop on the Lucky Me Tour was a feel-good show that tapped into nostalgia without being confined by it. Despite the affection for Metamorphosis and Lizzie McGuire, luck… or something album was the most heavily represented album in the set. New material can be a difficult sell when fans are attached to an artist’s earlier work, but here, they embraced it.
As for this photojournalist, I arrived knowing only a handful of songs and relied on the setlist to guide me through the rest. I left a Hilary Duff fan. Her music played all day afterwards, recalling the same post-concert obsession I experienced after seeing Taylor Swift in Sydney. What began as an impulsive ticket purchase ended with a new favourite on repeat.
Hilary Duff Setlist in Perth 2026
Wake Up – Most Wanted (2005)
So Yesterday – Metamorphosis (2003)
Roommates – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Weather for Tennis – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Play With Fire – Dignity (2007)
Breathe In. Breathe Out. – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Sparks – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Future Tripping – Dignity (2007)
With Love – Dignity (2007)
Beat of My Heart – Most Wanted (2005)
You, from the Honeymoon – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Someone’s Watching Over Me – Raise Your Voice OST (2004)
Growing Up – Hilary Duff (2004)
Fly – Hilary Duff (2004)
Holiday Party – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
We Don’t Talk – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
Why Not – The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack (2003)
Adult Size Medium – Dignity (2007)
The Math – Metamorphosis (2003)
Come Clean – Metamorphosis (2003)
Mature – Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015)
What Dreams Are Made Of – The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack (2003)
About Sheldon Ang Media: Sheldon Ang, photojournalist, writer and the founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to over 250 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Iron Maiden, RHCP and P!NK with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Roxette. He has interviewed the late Ace Frehley (KISS), Suzi Quatro, John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
