Live Review + Gallery: Hilary Duff at Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Hilary Duff. Photo credit: Kelsey Doyle (@kjdoyle)
Butterfly clips, glitter, sequins and the unmistakable influence of Lizzie McGuire formed the unofficial dress code for a night that had been years in the making, 18 years in fact.
For those who grew up alongside Duff, this was more than another arena concert. It was an opportunity to revisit the music that shaped us, the memories and the younger versions of ourselves.
I was one of those girls who was obsessed with everything Duff released throughout the 2000s. Every album, movie, tv show. Lizzie McGuire and Cadet Kelly were my idols, and, much like I imagine many in the crowd last night did too, I would spend hours next to my CD player with my Hilary Duff lyric booklets in hand reciting every word while playing each track at full volume. I begged my parents to take me to every Hilary Duff movie at the cinema and then borrow them all out again from the video store.
Duff was the soundtrack to so many of our childhoods. She was the girl that we all wanted to be, and honestly still want to be.
Having missed out on her previous Brisbane concerts in 2005 and 2008, I had long since resigned myself to the possibility that I might never get to see her perform live. That made finally standing in Brisbane Entertainment Centre last night, surrounded by thousands of people who had grown up loving her just as much, all the more special.
Duff’s return to Australia with The Lucky Me Tour follows an extended break from touring, with her latest album, Luck… or Something, marking a new chapter in a career that began when she was barely a teenager. Following the tour’s Auckland stop, the Brisbane show brought together two distinct eras of her musical identity: the bright-eyed pop star who soundtracked the early 2000s and the woman she has become, now writing from a perspective shaped by adulthood, relationships and motherhood.
The show opened against a pastel-pink backdrop, with Duff striking a pop-star power pose as the opening notes of “Wake Up” rang out. The arena erupted. Within seconds, the crowd was transported back 21 years, when the song first became a fixture of early-2000s pop. “So Yesterday” followed, with both classics greeted by screams from the crowd that made it clear just how deeply these songs remain embedded in the memories of her fans. Following the opening double dose of nostalgia, Duff paused to greet the Brisbane crowd, sharing her excitement at finally returning to Australia after so many years away. The brief exchange soon gave way to “Roommates”, a track from her 2026 album, Luck… or Something. The stage shifted into a dreamy wash of bubblegum pink and pastel blue, with smoke rolling across the floor as Duff moved effortlessly from one side of the stage to the other.
The significance of the evening extended beyond the thrill of hearing old favourites. The kids and teens who once found comfort in Duff’s songs are now navigating careers, relationships, parenthood and the strange realisation that the adults they imagined becoming are, in fact, themselves. That is perhaps the most compelling aspect of seeing Duff perform in 2026. The music remains familiar and nostalgic, but the people singing along have grown up. Many in the crowd now pregnant or with their own children who are the age that they were when they first discovered Hilary, also dressed as little Lizzie McGuires.
Rather than distancing herself from the girl who first captured audiences through Lizzie McGuire, Duff is comfortable embracing every chapter of her story. The Disney teenager, the early-2000s pop sensation and the artist returning to music with a more mature outlook all coexist, making the show feel less like a trip backwards and more like a celebration of everything that has come since and the person she is today.
That self-awareness was particularly evident during “With Love”, when Duff acknowledged the song’s viral afterlife and its famously understated dance routine, inviting fans to join her in recreating the choreography. There were moments of theatricality too, with “Play with Fire” and “The Getaway” bringing an unexpected edge to the production. Pyrotechnics burst behind Duff, which was a fiery contrast to the pastel hues and glitter that had defined much of the evening while nodding to the rock-influenced sound of her earlier albums.
Duff’s newer releases blended seamlessly with the nostalgia of the evening, adding another dimension to a set that celebrated both Duff’s past and present. Favourite tracks such as “Fly” and “Come Clean” sat comfortably alongside her latest releases, highlighting how her music has evolved over the years.
The night was filled with a perfect mix of new and old intertwined and accompanied by stunning visuals, lighting and numerous outfit changes to match.
Duff made a point of regularly engaging with the crowd throughout the evening, with one moment seeing her get comfortable on the stage floor in front of a couch to do a Tim Tam Slam. Naturally, the audience was quick to offer advice on the proper technique, agreeing that a cup of hot tea was the only way to do it and not with the glass of wine that her team had placed with the biscuits. She nailed it.
Between songs, snippets from different stages of Duff’s career gave fans a chance to reflect on just how much has changed since her rise to fame. For those who have followed her since the Lizzie McGuire days, it was a reminder of the journey from teenage idol to established artist, adding a personal layer to a show that marked her return.
By the time the familiar opening notes of “What Dreams Are Made Of” arrived, the evening reached the moment that had been quietly building since the first song. Forever linked to The Lizzie McGuire Movie, the track represents the clearest connection between Duff’s musical legacy and the fictional character who introduced her to an entire generation.
The crowd was louder than ever, singing and screaming every lyric in unison, and the Brisbane crowd could sing. As the chorus hit, pink and orange balloons floated down from the ceiling filling the arena as thousands of arms in the air bouncing them back and forth above the crowd followed by and explosion of butterfly shaped confetti. The perfect end to a perfect night.
For a generation that grew up dreaming along with Lizzie McGuire, the night felt like something of a full-circle experience. The years may have passed, our lives may look vastly different to the early 2000s, but the feelings Duff’s songs gave us back then have never disappeared.
For one night in Brisbane, we were all allowed to be those young fans again.
