Moms know best — just ask Paramore’s Hayley Williams and global superstar, Taylor Swift, who have Taylor’s mom, Andrea, to thank for their friendship.
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During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the band's newest album, Re: This is Why, Williams reflected on her 15+ year relationship with Swift and how it came to be.
“We kinda both got started around the same time, same age as well,” she explained, of the two getting their start in Nashville — a town known for its camaraderie amongst musicians. “Me and Taylor met because both of us — Paramore and Taylor — were nominated for Best New Artist the same year at the GRAMMYs.”
She continued, "So, we were at some GRAMMY party. It was actually Timbaland's GRAMMY party. Huge. I was very nervous. A woman came up to me and she said, 'I'm Taylor Swift's mom and, you know, Taylor doesn't have a lot of friends her age that do music. And I would love to, like, you know, introduce you guys or get your number,'" Williams concluded, "So Andrea, the legend that she is, she connected us."
Call Mama Swift the friendship matchmaker because Taylor and Hayley have remained close throughout the years and both experienced great success in their music careers. Williams is currently in the midst of opening all 48 dates of Taylor’s 2024 European leg of The Eras Tour, which kicked off on May 9 in Paris and will wrap on August 17 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Europe seems to hold a lot of good memories for Williams, who also recalled being there when she received the news she was nominated for her very first GRAMMY with, “Ain’t It Fun.”
"I was in Europe when I found out that we got nominated — could not believe it" Williams recalled before sharing Swift was the one who first congratulated her after they won, which is how Williams found out. "And then when we won it, we didn't go. I got a text from Taylor Swift and [band mate] Taylor York in the same 30 seconds. Taylor, she just texted me a bunch of capital letters, like '[random noises] so excited for you!' I was so shocked."
While each one has celebrated their own accomplishments across the years, they joined together for a project this year with the release of “Crumbling Castles,” a “from the vault” track included on Taylor’s most recent re-record, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
"Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album," Swift shared via social media explaining the musical guests for the album. "They're so cool and generous for agreeing to support my version."
Hear “Castles Crumbling” on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), available now and check put what else Williams had to say about the pair’s friendship by watching her entire interview with Jimmy Fallon above.