Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock bandParamore and has released several solo albums.
Hayley Nichole Williams[2][3] was born on December 27, 1988 inMeridian, Mississippi, the daughter of Cristi and Joey Williams.[4] She has two younger half-sisters.[5][6] Her childhood neighbor wasNBA playerRodney Hood.[7] After her parents' divorce in 2002, when she was 13, she moved with her mother toFranklin, Tennessee.[8][9][10] At her new school, she met future Paramore bandmatesJosh andZac Farro.[11][12] Shortly after settling in Franklin, she began taking lessons with vocal coach Brett Manning.[13][14][15] While still at school, Williams tried out for a localfunk cover band called The Factory, where she met future Paramore bandmateJeremy Davis.[12][15][16]
Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, who signed the 14-year-old to a two-year production deal.[17][18] At the time she was writing pop songs with songwriters inNashville.[18] Williams was introduced toAtlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams' attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label byJason Flom.[15] The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo pop artist, but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and playpop punk music.[19][15][20]
Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed Paramore withJosh Farro,Zac Farro, andJeremy Davis.[18] The music of Paramore was originally supposed to come out on Atlantic Records, but the label's marketing department decided it would be better for the image of the band to not have them attached to a huge label. They instead released their music through a "cooler" niche label,Fueled by Ramen.[18] According to Williams, the name "Paramore" came from the maiden name of the mother of one of their first bass players.[21] Once the group learned the meaning of the homophone "paramour" ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using theParamore spelling.[15][22] The band's debut album,All We Know Is Falling, was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old. Paramore has since released five more studio albums,Riot! (2007),Brand New Eyes (2009), the self-titledParamore (2013),After Laughter (2017) andThis Is Why (2023). In June 2009, the band welcomedTaylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007. In December 2010, Josh and Zac Farro left the band. The news was posted by Williams on Paramore's website, with Josh later posting a blog post confirming their departure, calling the group "a manufactured product of a major label, riding on the coattails of 'Hayley's dream'".[23][24]
In 2006, Paramore toured outside of the US for the first time, which included a headline tour of the UK and supporting post-hardcore rock bandThe Blackout on theGive It A Name Festival in Europe.[25] The following year, she and the rest of Paramore made an appearance in the music video for "Kiss Me" byNew Found Glory.[26] In the 2007Kerrang! Readers' Poll, she finished second toEvanescence'sAmy Lee in the "Sexiest Female" category,[27] going on to win the first place spot for "Sexiest Female" a year later in the 2008 poll,[28] and again in the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 poll. She also appears as a playable character in the video gameGuitar Hero World Tour after completing "Misery Business" in the vocalist campaign.[29][30][31]
Williams was honored with the "Trailblazer Award" in the 2014Billboard's Women in Music Awards for making a unique mark in music and paving the way for other artists.[32] In 2015, Williams starred as the 'Crimson Curse' inTaylor Swift's music video for her single, "Bad Blood", alongside sixteen other celebrities.[33] Along with band member and co-writer Taylor York, Williams was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the2015 ceremony for the song "Ain't It Fun".[34][35][36] In July 2015, Williams won theAPMA for Best Vocalist.[37][38]
In a 2019 interview withl'Odet, Williams was asked if she would "stay in Paramore for a long time" and answered, "In moving forward, if the three of us are happy, then we will just do whatever we want to do. If that means collaborating with each other, bringing other friends in to collaborate—there are seven band members when we tour. We're all friends and we all make music in different parts, together. So I feel like, yes, I want to be in Paramore... I've been in a band with them since I was 12. I don't think the band is going anywhere. As long as we're friends, the band just is. It's just in us."[39]
In December 2019, on her 31st birthday, Williams announced she would be releasing solo music in 2020, with a "taste" of it to come in January. Flyers consisting of a picture of Williams under the titlePetals for Armor began appearing in several US cities and abroad. Her debut solo single "Simmer" was released on January 22, 2020, with its accompanying music video.[48][49][50] That same day Williams announced that her debut studio album,Petals for Armor, would be released on May 8, 2020.[51] It was later revealed that she would release an EP,Petals for Armor I, on February 6, 2020, in an interview withZane Lowe onApple Music. On March 19, she announced that she was postponing the release of the second half of the EP, and instead released the song "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" featuringBoygenius.[52] A solo tour in promotion of the album was postponed from May 2020 then canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[53] In December 2024, on her 36th birthday, Williams announced plans to play the cancelled shows in 2025.[54]
In January 2021, Williams started teasing a project titledFlowers for Vases / Descansos.[55][56] She unofficially released the single "My Limb" by giving a CD with the track on it to a dedicated fan.[57] Williams released the album on February 5, 2021.[58]
2023–present: Further collaborations andEgo Death at a Bachelorette Party
On June 5, 2023, it was announced that Williams would be featured onTaylor Swift's re-recorded album,Speak Now (Taylor's Version), on the song "Castles Crumbling".[59][60] In February 2025, she helped her 78-year-old grandfather, Rusty Williams, release his long-lost debut album,Grand Man, on her Paramore bandmateZac Farro's Congrats Records, tellingGarden & Gun magazine writer Jim Beaugez that his songs were an early inspiration for her own musical ambitions.[61] Along withBlood Orange, Williams provided vocals on theTurnstile track "Seein' Stars", which released on April 30, 2025, ahead of their new albumNever Enough.[62] On June 5, 2025, in aBrooklyn show celebrating said album's release, she joined Turnstile onstage for a live performance of the song.[63] Williams collaborated withMoses Sumney on his song "I Like It I Like It", which released on May 8, 2025.[64] She was featured onDavid Byrne's albumWho Is the Sky? andJay Som's albumBelong, released on September 5 and October 10, 2025, respectively.[65][66]
On July 23, 2025, Williams shared a single entitled "Mirtazapine" exclusively on Nashville radio stationWNXP,[67] two days later performing the song at theNewport Folk Festival withBleachers.[68] On July 28, she made the song and 16 additional new tracks available to stream on her website. Access to the website was restricted, requiring a passcode distributed through her hair product company, Good Dye Young.[69] On August 1, Williams released all 17 songs on streaming services as stand-alone singles via her own label, Post Atlantic,[70][71][72] with their digital distribution being handled bySecretly Distribution.[73] The album was released asEgo Death at a Bachelorette Party on August 28, containing an additional eighteenth song.[74] Also in August, it was reported that she and David Byrne would collaborate on the song "Open the Door" forNetflix's animated filmThe Twits, based onRoald Dahl'snovel of the same name. The song was released on October 12, and the film was released on October 17, 2025.[75][76]
On November 10, 2025, Williams officially announced a tour in support ofEgo Death, entitled Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party, and set it for the following year.[77]
On January 30, 2026, Williams andEgo Death at a Bachelorette Party producerDaniel James appeared onApple Music 1 to launch their new band, Power Snatch, premiering their debut track "Assignment". Another of the band's songs, entitled "DMs", was quietly published on the band'sBandcamp page the month prior.[78] On February 2, they officially released "Assignment" onto streaming platforms alongside a three-songextended play entitledEP1.[79]
In March 2013, Williams announced she was partnering withMAC Cosmetics for the release of a new makeup collection on April 9, 2013.[80][81] The four-piece collection included a bright orange lipstick, an orange nail polish, a shimmery coral eye shadow and a beauty powder.[82] Hayley appeared on the April 2013 cover ofNylon magazine to promote Paramore's self-titled album.[83][84] In October, she partnered with the Hard Rock Café's PINKTOBER charity campaign to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer and its research.[85][86]
In 2015, she launched the online beauty and music seriesKiss-Off on Popular TV.[87][88]
In November 2020, Williams released a candle in collaboration with home fragrance brand Apothekeco.[89]
In March 2021, Williams announced her collaboration with Tea Huntress, a tea manufacturer in Nashville. Two new blends were available as part of the collaboration, called Bloom and Alibi. A portion of each sale was donated to Thistle Farms, an organisation that helps women survivors of trafficking, abuse, and addiction.[90]
In 2016, after over four years of planning, Williams launched the hair dye company Good Dye Young alongside her hair and makeup artist Brian O'Connor.[91][92][93][94] The colors offered by the company included an orange called Riot, a pink called Ex-Girl, a blue called Blue Ruin, a yellow called Steal My Sunshine, a red called Rock Lobster, a purple called PPL Eater, a green called Kowabunga, a teal called Narwhal, and a black called None More Black.[95][96] The dyes are vegan and cruelty-free.[97] In 2017, Good Dye Young launched a temporary hair dye line that disappears after one wash called Poser Paste,[92][98][99] and in May 2020, they released Lighter Daze, a range of five semi-permanent pastel colors.[100]
Williams is a soprano with a four-octaverange.[111] Emilee Lindner ofMTV News has noted her ability to sing in thewhistle register,[112] andMaura Johnston ofRolling Stone her "acrobatic" singing style.[113]Alternative Press wrote in 2007 that Williams "has more charisma than singers twice her age, and her band aren't far behind in their chops, either."[114] Singer-songwriterJohn Mayer praised Williams's voice in an October 2007 blog post, calling her "The great orange hope" (her hair being orange at the time).[115][116]
Williams performing atThe O2, inLondon, in January 2018
Williams has identified asChristian and regularly discusses her faith in relation to her music, but has often criticized the judgmental nature of some Christians.[117] The Farro brothers cited differing attitudes to faith as contributing to their exit from Paramore, with Josh Farro citing the lyrics of some songs inBrand New Eyes in particular, saying that they "contradicts [their] faith".[118][119][120]
In late 2007, Williams began datingNew Found Glory lead guitaristChad Gilbert,[121] though he was already married toSherri DuPree, the lead singer of the rock bandEisley.[122][123] They became engaged on Christmas Day in 2014,[124][125] and were married on February 20, 2016.[126] They formally announced that they had separated on July 1, 2017, with Gilbert's infidelity later being revealed as the reason,[127] and their divorce was finalized by the end of the year.[128][129] Williams's song, "Dead Horse", was inspired by their relationship and what she did to DuPree.[122][123][130] In September 2022, Williams confirmed she was in a relationship with her Paramore bandmateTaylor York.[131]
Williams previously publicized her decisions not to smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs, though she now drinks alcohol.[132][133] She has been vocal about her experiences with depression, which caused her to briefly leave Paramore in mid-2015.[134] In a 2019 interview, she discussed depression, mental health, and her divorce.[135] In a 2020 interview, she revealed she hadsuicidal thoughts but did not act on them.[136] In a 2021 interview, she discussed how she had been impacted bygenerational trauma and revealed that she has been seeing a therapist since 2018.[137] In a 2023 interview, she revealed that she had been diagnosed withPTSD in 2018.[138]
In 2015, Williams responded tofeminist criticism of Paramore's breakout song "Misery Business", citing her youth and inexperience as a contributing factor to the song's allegedlymisogynistic lyrics. In a blog post, she described herself as "a proud feminist [...] just maybe not a perfect one".[139]
In 2021, Williams announced that she would be abandoning her personal social media accounts due to her need for boundaries between her public and private life and her desire to "spend more time looking up and out, rather than down". She directed her fans to instead follow Paramore's official accounts, which remain highly active.[140] She later returned to using Instagram, but disabled the ability to leave comments on her posts.[141]
^abBayer, Jonah (February 2008). "Born for This".Alternative Press. No. 235.
^Hayley Williams (October 17, 2007)."Youth Gone Wild" (Interview). Interviewed by David Walter. Archived fromthe original on February 3, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 26, 2010.
^Josh Farro; Hayley Williams; Jeremy Davis (July 14, 2007)."Interview With Paramore" (Interview). Interviewed by cathyreay. Archived fromthe original on April 13, 2009. RetrievedJune 9, 2011.
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