She writes she sings, she's a keyboardist and she's the frontwoman of the band "Paramore".
(Photo: SARA JAYE WEISS)
Let's have some facts about Hayley Williams:
= She was born on December 27, 1988, in the city of Meridian, Mississippi, USA, to Hayley Nichole Williams.
= She has two half-sisters. Her parents divorced in 2002 and she moved at age 13 with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee, where she met her future friends for the band "Paramore", Josh and Zack Farrow.
= Immediately after moving to the city of Franklin she began taking voice lessons with Brett Manning, a vocal instructor who assisted many artists, including Miley Cyrus, Keith Urban, and Taylor Swift as Haley became a friend of the latter two.
= While in school, Haley tried to get accepted into a local Punk band "The Factory", which played cover versions, and in the process, she met Jeremy Davis, who would become "Paramore's" bass player in the future.
= She was discovered in 2003 by talent hunters and artistic directors Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams who signed her to a contract at the age of 14. At the time, she was writing pop songs.
(Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
= Shortly afterward Williams was signed to Atlantic Record Company which intended to turn her into a successful pop star. Haley of course objected and insisted to form an alternative rock band.
= The members of the record company approved Williams's request and so in 2004 the band "Paramore" was formed, with its members Josh Farro as a guitarist, his brother Zac Farro as a drummer, and Jeremy Davis on bass.
= The group flew to Florida to record the album, but after they arrived, bassist Jeremy Davis left them. The rest of the members continued to work on the album which included songs about his departure.
Even the album cover referred to his departure when Haley explained: "The empty couch on the cover of 'All We Know Is Falling' and the shadow moving away from it; 'it's all about how Jeremy left us and made us feel like there was a space between us."
= The band's debut album "All We Know Is Falling" was released in 2005, when Haley was only 16.
She co-wrote all the songs on the album.
(Photo: Unknown)
= The band released two more albums "Riot!" (2007) and "Brand New Eyes" (2009) and had great success with sold-out tours in Europe and the USA.
= In 2007 the band was chosen as one of the ten bands worth following that year by the British NME magazine
= That same year, Williams appeared in the "Found Me" video clip of the band "New Found Glory".
= In early 2008, Haley and the band appeared on the cover of Alternative Press magazine and were voted by readers as the best band of 2007. In addition, the band was nominated for the Discovery of the Year award at the Grammy Awards but lost to singer Amy Winehouse.
= That same year, the song "Decode" which she co-wrote with bandmate Josh Farro and Taylor York was included in the soundtrack to the movie "Twilight" (Twilight).
= In 2009 she wrote and recorded the song "Teenagers", for the soundtrack of the movie "Jennifer's Body".
= In the same year the song "Ignorance" was chosen as "the best song" by the readers of Kerrang! magazine.
= At the end of 2010, the two significant members, the Farro brothers, left the band. The two left claiming that Hayley, who is the only one signed to the Atlantic label, has turned the band into a product of the label and steers the band exactly according to its dictations.
Haley tried to organize and regroup the band together with Davis who managed to leave and come back several times and with Taylor York. In order to strengthen the band's image, she tattooed three pillars on her arm as a symbol of the three remaining members.
= In the same year, she collaborated with rapper B.o.B on the songs "Airplanes" and "Airplanes (Part II") from his debut album.
= In 2011 the song "Monster" which she wrote was included in the soundtrack of the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". It was the first song the band released after the departure of Josh and Zak Farro.
= In 2013 when they want to reintroduce themselves to the world, the renewed band "Paramore" releases its fourth album, which, as a sign of renewal, bears the name of the band. In this album, the band's style gets a significant change and is heavily influenced by elements of New Wave and Funk Rock. The album is a great success, reaching number one on Billboard and conquering other top charts throughout Europe.
= In the same year she wrote and starred in the song "Stay the Night" by DJ and producer Zedd the client from his debut album "Clarity".
(Photo: Sven-Sebastian Sajak)
= In 2020, Hayley released her first solo album "Petals for Armor". The album was preceded by two EPs that contained songs included in the album.
= In 2021 Hayley released her second solo album "Flowers for Vases / Descansos"
= In February 2023, the band releases its sixth album, "This Is Why." This album is particularly unique and diverse, incorporating elements of pop, funk, rock, and even jazz. It appears that the band has found a new musical identity. This observation is further supported by the fact that the band has been chosen to open for Taylor Swift during part of her massive tour, The Eras Tour!
= Hair is an essential part of her style. She said she tends to change color every time she goes through extreme emotional turmoil. The color change allows her not to get stuck in the past.
= Williams's character appears in the video game "Guitar Hero World Tour".
= Hayley was the spouse of guitarist Josh Farro from 2004-2008.
= In 2008 she began her relationship with Chad Gilbert - "New Found Glory" guitar player, the two married in 2016, but separated shortly afterward in 2017.
= She is very socially active and especially affiliated with the organization To Write Love on Her Arms which is an organization for mental help.
Feel free to listen to her second solo album on: Spotify, Apple Music