Duff appreciates a boyfriend’s positive influence (“With Love”) and pledges to support her man (“Never Stop”). The title track criticizes superficial celebrities (Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, etc., though she’s not naming names) who squander self-respect with tabloid-ready behavior. “Gypsy Woman” warns a guy to resist a charmer who’ll hurt him and destroy his reputation. Brave people confront personal challenges head-on according to “No Work, All Play” (“Work on yourself/ Don’t run from the pain”). The singer does just that by telling a stalker to get a life (the autobiographical “Dreamer”). On “Stranger” Duff realizes that a beau who’s only kind to her for the cameras isn’t worth her time. Breakup tunes capture a range of emotion, maturely coping with pain (“I Wish”), focusing on the upside (“Happy”) and refusing to “fall for a boy’s game” by giving him another chance (“Play With Fire”).
While not explicit, “Play With Fire” and “Danger” contain mild sexual overtones. A profanity (“d–n”) mars “Between You and Me.” Two uncharacteristically slinky music videos appear on a companion DVD.
Lyrically, most of Dignity preserves the wholesomeness of previous efforts. The latest entries in her videography, on the other hand, signal a shift from perky pop princess to a more openly sexual Hilary.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.