Feminists and emos alike can find a common fascination with Paramore’s lead singer, Hayley Williams. The fiery-haired singer first appeared in the Nashville music scene in 2003 when she was discovered by music producers and was signed to a label at just 14 years old. From the beginning, Hayley was determined to form a band. There was pushback from managers and producers as they fought hard for Hayley to be the next Avril Lavigne. Reluctantly, Atlantic records agreed and Paramore was born.
After two highly successful albums, Hayley Williams was a star. By 2008, Paramore entered the Billboard 200 and even collected a Grammy nomination. You don’t have to be a music expert to know how punk is historically a male-dominated scene. Many can recall their shock in the early 2000s to see a woman headlining a punk rock band. Hayley was no stranger to rude, sexist, and demeaning comments about her. Even with the frustration of being a woman in her field, she is someone who refuses to accommodate the male gaze.
Paramore has been famously criticized for the popular 2007 release “Misery Business”. In this particular song, Hayley sings about another woman using a fairly deeming term. In light of the Me Too era, Paramore retired from playing “Misery Business” at their concerts.
With the release of the band’s latest album, This Is Why, Hayley Williams has proven herself to be a fearless role model who has mastered her craft. This Is Why is a record full of honesty and defeat. With tracks like “Running Out Of Time” and “The News”, Hayley is expressive of her concerns about the world and her own well-being and isn’t afraid of asking herself, “Am I the asshole”? In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Hayley states…
“I’ve always been so afraid of what people said about me in the context of Paramore, like truly terrified of it and to be indulgent in that and to say “what if” was so freeing…”
Asking these important and very personal questions has always been essential to Hayley’s artistry. This new era for Hayley and Paramore represents accepting your mistakes and leaving them in the past. The aura of Hayley Williams follows young people everywhere and gives them the drive and motivation to fight for what they want.