Hayley Williams

For other people named Hayley Williams, see Hayley Williams (disambiguation).

Hayley Williams
Williams performing in April 2023
Williams performing in April 2023
Background information
Birth nameHayley Nichole Williams
Born (1988-12-27) December 27, 1988 (age 35)
Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
OriginFranklin, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active2003–present
Labels
Member ofParamore
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2016; div. 2017)​
Websitehayleywilliams.com

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the rock band Paramore, which she co-founded in 2004.

Williams was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi. Her parents divorced when she was 13 and she moved with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee, where she later formed Paramore alongside Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. Paramore has released six studio albums: All We Know Is Falling (2005), Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), Paramore (2013), After Laughter (2017), and This Is Why (2023). It has featured a continuously changing line-up (currently consisting of Williams, Zac Farro, and Taylor York) with Williams being the only member to appear on all six albums.

Williams' non-Paramore musical work includes the song "Teenagers" for the soundtrack of the film Jennifer's Body (2009) and collaborations with The Chariot, October Fall, New Found Glory, Set Your Goals, and Zedd. In 2010, she was featured on the single "Airplanes" by B.o.B, which peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The sequel to the song, "Airplanes, Part II", featured new verses from B.o.B. and a guest verse from Eminem with Williams' vocals remaining. This gained a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. In 2023, she featured on Taylor Swift's re-recording of her 2010 album Speak Now on the track "Castles Crumbling". She has also released the solo EPs Petals for Armor I (2020) and Petals for Armor II (2020), the subsequent full-length solo album Petals for Armor (2020), and her second solo album Flowers for Vases / Descansos (2021).

Williams' other ventures include the music series Kiss-Off and the hair dye company Good Dye Young.

  1. ^ "[Vocal Profile] Hayley Williams". Diva Devotee. August 6, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  2. ^ Wood, Mikael (August 15, 2012). "Hayley Williams Leads Revamped Paramore in First Show in Almost a Year". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew. "Hayley Williams Bio". AllMusic.
  4. ^ Frank, Alex. "Paramore's Hayley Williams has been an icon of an entire generation's angst. Now, at 28, she's finding she has her own unrest to deal with". The Fader. No. 110 July/Aug 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (January 14, 2018). "Paramore review – slick stadium pop act just as earnest as when they were emo". The Guardian. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Collar, Matt (April 7, 2013). "Review: Paramore". AllMusic. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  7. ^ Fu, Eddie (April 20, 2017). "Paramore announce new album, After Laughter, share video for buoyant single "Hard Times" — watch". Consequence. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Ableson, Jon (August 20, 2009). "Paramore talk about progress of their next record". Alter The Press!. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  9. ^ O'Toole, Lucy (May 11, 2020). "Album Review: Hayley Williams, Petals for Armor". Hot Press. Retrieved April 14, 2022.