Hayley Williams

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer.

Hayley Nichole Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on December 27, 1988, the daughter of Cristi and Joey Williams.

She has two younger half-sisters.

Her childhood neighbor was future NBA player Rodney Hood.

After her parents' divorce in 2002, when she was 13, she moved with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee.

It was here that she met future Paramore bandmates Josh and Zac Farro at her new school.

Shortly after settling in Franklin, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning.

While still at school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory, where she met Jeremy Davis.

Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, who signed the 14-year-old to a two-year production deal.

At the time she was writing pop songs with songwriters in Nashville.

Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams' attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom.

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 play pop punk music.

Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis.

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.

According to Williams, the name "Paramore" came from the maiden name of the mother of one of their first bass players.

Once the group learned the meaning of the homophone "paramour" ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using the Paramore spelling.

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.

The band's debut album, All We Know Is Falling, was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old.

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 band The Blackout on the Give It A Name Festival in Europe.

The following year, she and the rest of Paramore made an appearance in the music video for "Kiss Me" by New Found Glory.

Paramore has since released five more studio albums, Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), the self-titled Paramore (2013), After Laughter (2017) and This Is Why (2023).

In the 2007 Kerrang! Readers' Poll, she finished second to Evanescence's Amy Lee in the "Sexiest Female" category, going on to win the first place spot for "Sexiest Female" a year later in the 2008 poll, and again in the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 poll.

She also appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour after completing "Misery Business" in the vocalist campaign.

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 June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007.

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".

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'".

Williams was honored with the "Trailblazer Award" in the 2014 Billboard's Women in Music Awards for making a unique mark in music and paving the way for other artists.

In 2015, Williams starred as the 'Crimson Curse' in Taylor Swift's music video for her single, "Bad Blood", alongside sixteen other celebrities.

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.