In 2001, Duff gained fame through her starring role in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire. She became interested in pursuing a music career after attending a Radio Disney concert in 2001. "There were all these pop acts backstage at the concert," Duff explained. "They were all getting ready backstage and warming up, and I was like, 'I want to do this so bad.'" One day, Duff met Andre Recke, who would soon become her manager. She told him of her interest in becoming a singer and briefly performed for him. This prompted him to tell her, "I want to work with you." Recke said of his encounter with Duff, "When I met Hilary, I knew she had something special. Sometimes you just have that feeling, that, 'Wow, she's a star.'" Duff's music career began with two soundtrack appearances. In 2002, she appeared on the soundtrack to Lizzie McGuire, performing a cover of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait", and the Walt Disney Records compilation DisneyMania, performing a cover of "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room". Recke noted of Duff's DisneyMania appearance, "That was the first test to see how her fans would react to her as a singer and not just an actress". Duff stated that she felt Christmas came early for her when she recorded Santa Claus Lane. She continued, "I really loved singing these songs. It was a lot of hard work, but also big fun!" "I Heard Santa on the Radio" and "Tell Me a Story" are duets with Christina Milian and Lil' Romeo, respectively, and "Same Old Christmas" features Duff's sister Haylie. Santa Claus Lane features production from Matthew Gerrard, Chris Hamm, Alain Bertoni, Charlie Midnight and Chico Bennett; on the 2003 reissue, the bonus track "What Christmas Should Be" is produced by Charlton Pettus. This song was featured on the end credits of her movie Cheaper by the Dozen. In a 2013 interview with the website Idolator, Duff expressed her dislike for "Tell Me a Story", saying that she "honestly hate that record — blocked it out of memory". Duff also remarked that she " even remember" the song.
Release and promotion
Santa Claus Lane was released in the United States on October 15, 2002 by Walt Disney Records. It was reissued on October 14 of the following year with the bonus track "What Christmas Should Be", and released by Buena Vista Records. Two singles were released from the album simultaneously on December 2, 2002. "Santa Claus Lane" was sent to pop radio stations, while "Tell Me a Story" was sent to rhythmic and urban radio stations. A music video for "Santa Claus Lane", featuring Duff performing on Disney's Movie Surfers to promote the film The Santa Clause 2, received airplay on Disney Channel. Duff filmed a music video for "Tell Me a Story" with Lil' Romeo which also received heavy rotation on Disney Channel.
Critical reception
Santa Claus Lane received mixed reviews by music critics. An AllMusic editor gave the album three out of five stars. Jaan Uhelszki, in an editorial review for Amazon.com, gave Santa Claus Lane a negative review. She wrote the album, consisting mostly of Christmas covers, "add little to the holiday music canon". She also felt that it only "perks up" on songs that feature guest musicians. Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times joked it was a "concept album" which was "loosely inspired by Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Myra." Christopher Thelen gave a more positive review to the album. While writing for the Daily Vault, Thelen gave a B- grade and wrote it "does show there is a voice behind the pretty young face, even if this is a strange place to start one's recording career."
Commercial performance
Santa Claus Lane debuted at number 154 on the Billboard 200, and also reached the second position of both the Top Heatseekers and Top Kid Albums charts. On December 9, 2003, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for 500,000 shipments to retailers. The album reached the 134th position of the Japanese Albums Chart in 2004. As of July 27, 2014, the album had sold 477,000 copies in the United States.
Track listing
;Notes
signifies a co-producer
Personnel
Credits for Santa Claus Lane adapted from AllMusic.
