If you grew up in the mid-to-late 2000s, there's a good chance the voice of frontwoman Hayley Williams, who has led the pop-punk band Paramore for nearly 20 years, has filled your ears and your heart with ultra-personal songwriting and concerts packed with fellow fans screaming along.
LISTEN NOW: Q with Tom Power: Hayley Williams + Emma Mackey
Speaking with podcast host Tom Power about Paramore's history amid the release of their first album in six years, This Is Why, and a highly-anticipated return to the road kicking off in May, singer Hayley WIlliams revealed some advice that she says she’d give her younger self -- as well as what she feels served as inspiration for their 2023 record.
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At 34-years-old, Williams has now spent the better part of her life maneuvering the music industry not only as a Punk-centric woman in a male-dominated field, but also during the age of social media where navigating comments and critiques of herself and her band must have felt like being forced to play some kind of opinionated Whack-A-Mole game.
"Dude, it never gets easier," Hayley admits at the start of the conversation, after revealing feeling "nervous," but "good," about discussing the new Paramore record. "You could put out a million records and, I think, I would hope I still have nerves on the millionth album. It's just all of your heart and soul, and a lot of time and energy that goes into it, and then you just kind of hand it to people to take care of it. So, here's hoping that they receive it well."
The break the band took also weighs heavily on Hayley, especially watching during that time how much the industry and culture had changed, and how the band members had changed and grown over five years. "A lot has changed, we've changed," she says. "I think the positive thing is we're all, as adults, this has been the most incredible time to be at home and to enter into our thirties surrounded by family and community back in Nashville which is where we'd grown up... Even just leaving that bubble and going back into the world after five years, it's a little nerveracking."
"The way that Paramore has sort of been a catalyst in all of our lives for every type of growth, it doesn't have to be artistic. It's kind of been the vehicle, it's how we get to places, it's how we see the world. It's our lens," Hayley explains. "I think I missed that," she says, revealing how getting the band back together came about. "I was home a lot, I had done two solo records and I think I did those to prove to myself that I could do it and to hell with what other people have said about Paramore and it being a glorified solo act. I wanted to show people that actually, me doing a solo thing probably sounds a lot different than Paramore. And it did. But then I just missed being in my home, and creatively, Paramore is my home. Thankfully I wasn't the only one who felt that way. All three of us were like, 'yeah, it feels right.'"
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Looking back at their performance at Las Vegas' 2022 When We Were Young Festival, Hayley remembers initially not wanting to perform at what became known as a "nostalgia festival" nor pay much mind to the "Paramore of old," as they had a new record on the way. "But I do think it was an important thing for us to do and it was really a perfect place for me to speak on some of the frustrations but also the hope that I think this new generation gives us. The Alternative scene is for everybody, it's meant to be for everybody, and where would really any genre of Rock music be without Black artists? Watching the scene become more inclusive is really a sweet moment for me, but I found myself viscerally, having anger, angsty energy tingling over my skin the whole weekend."
That anger, she believes stems from her beginning days with the band, when she didn't allow herself to feel "vulnerable to the bulls**t. When I was sixteen I had a job I wanted to do, I wanted to prove Paramore, that we were valuable, that we were worth something, and that we were here to stay, because I've always believed in the band that way. But when you're sixteen, there's other hurdles to get over. Getting people to take you seriously because you're young, the fact that there weren't a lot of females in that scene at the time, that was another hurdle. But I didn't have time to think about that or even strategize my moves around that, because we were working, we were living our dream. So, to be 34, and to look back at that person that I was, and just want to hug her and protect her and tell her that, 'you guys are doing so great, you're doin the best you can. It's OK if not everyone gets it or not everyone likes you.' Really wanting to show myself that I made it to a stable place and that she was worth it... that time was worth it."
Listen to the full episode with Paramore's Hayley Williams and British actress Emma Mackey above. Five days a week, acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors, and musicians who define pop culture. Whether he’s ribbing Adele, singing a boyband classic with Simu Liu, or dissecting faith with U2 frontman Bono – Tom brings the same curiosity, respect, and meticulous preparation into every conversation. He also has a track record for interviewing artists on the precipice of stardom – like Lizzo and Billie Eilish — who appeared on Q well before hitting the mainstream. Hear your favorite artists as they truly are, every weekday with Tom Power.
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