Hilary Duff is dancing with "Dignity"

It's not easy being a scandal-free young woman in Hollywood these days.

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are among the pretty young things who've made headlines recently due to drugs, alcohol and driving under the influence.

But former Disney teen queen Hilary Duff ("Lizzie McGuire"), 19, is a different story. The most outrageous thing she's doing these days is appear in a men's magazine, Maxim, in revealing but still tasteful outfits.

Duff arrives Monday at the Everett Events Center in a tour for "Dignity," her latest and fourth release.

Fans who planned to see her in May as part of the Girls Night Out gig take note: Since Duff had to cancel that appearance, she'll hold a special afternoon listening party for ticketholders from the May 2007 show. (Go to www.kiss1061.com for information.)

In a recent phone interview from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she was prepping for a gig, Duff said she's adjusting to being back on tour.

"I toured so much before, but when you don't do it for a while, you fall out of practice," she said. "This show is more choreographed, with dancers and outfit changes. It's more stressful and less stressful in different ways and just not what I'm used to," she added.

A June appearance on NBC's "Today" show revealed Duff's new stage presence, complete with high heels, a Britney Spears-like dance routine and Justin Timberlake-ish sound. Duff rehearsed for two months to get ready and promises five wardrobe changes at every show.

"It's much more of a dance record, and I wanted the tour to have that vibe," she said.

Making a dance album, compared with a pop sound, wasn't necessarily a conscious choice, she said. It was instead just a matter of what she happened to be listening to at the time. Songs such as "Gypsy Woman" and "Stranger," for example (the latter of which is currently in Top 10 contention on MTV's "Total Request Live"), have a Balinese, belly-dancer feel to them, Duff said. The songs also deal with, respectively, a man running off with another woman and a boyfriend/man becoming someone you don't really know anymore.

Duff said the tunes reflect her parents' divorce and what she imagined her mom was going through. She has in the past said the songs mirror the breakup of her own relationship with rock musician Joel Madden, front man for pop punk band Good Charlotte (now romantically linked with the aforementioned Ms. Richie).

Her explanation is, perhaps, a reflection of her own kind of dignity. In the most grown-up of ways, she said dignity is a way of keeping her sanity. "I hope I strive to have it forever, you know?"