Hayley Williams

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Hayley Williams

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and pianist of pop-punk band Paramore.

Biography

Williams was born on December 27, 1988 in Meridian, Mississippi. She began singing as a child in church in her native Mississippi. In 2003, at age 14, she moved to Franklin, Tennessee where she met fellow band members Josh and Zac Farro in a private school.[1][2] Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning.[3]

Paramore

Prior to forming Paramore, however, Williams and bassist Jeremy Davis took part in a funk cover band called The Factory, while the Farro brothers had practiced together after school.[1][4] The other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as vocalist/tambourine/accordion, but, because they were really good friends, she started writing for them and it eventually worked out.[5] The band was officially formed by Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Zac Farro (drums), Jeremy Davis (bass) and Hayley Williams (lead vocals) in 2004,[6] with the later addition of Williams' neighbor[1] Jason Bynum (Rhythm Guitar). They took the name Paramore, which is derived from the maiden name of the mother of one of the group's former bassists during the time in which they were "still playing in the garage"[7]; once the group learned the meaning of the homonym paramour ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using the Paramore spelling.[5] The band's first song written together was "Conspiracy", which was later used on their debut album.

Musical style and influences

The majority of the band's recordings come from collaborations between Williams and lead guitarist Josh Farro — Farro first writes the music, afterwards taking it to Williams for a melody and lyrics, and from that point the song worked out between the two. Once the foundation is laid out, the remaining band members help to work on sound and arrangement. The duo's songwriting has had its critics, being called "contrastly cliched and weak at points",[8] while others have said the songs are "ridiculously catchy" and "sing-a-long worthy".

Williams explained that bands such as U2, "who are massive, and do whatever they want, write whatever they want and they stand for something", Jimmy Eat World, "who I don’t think ever disappoint their fans," and No Doubt, who "have done amazing things," act as a pattern for the path in which Paramore would like to take their career.[9]

Joshua Martin had written after an interview with Williams, "The band isn't just a short pop-punk girl with red hair and a spunky attitude. Their music is like them, it's aged differently. It's sped up, and slowed down. It's emo without being whiney, or bratty. Almost a very literal anti-Avril Lavigne."[4] Alternative Press magazine had commented that the band was "young sounding", while consistently being "honest".[10] Paramore's first album All We Know is Falling had an arguably more "formulaic pop-punk" sound that was "delivered particularly well"[11] and the combination of the two had created a "refined rock infused pop/punk album."[12] The band's second release, Riot! was said to explore a 'diverse range of styles," however, not straying far from "their signature sound."[11]

Alternative Press and various other reviewers have noted that the band's stage performances have helped boost them to larger fame. Alternative Press states that Williams "has more charisma than singers twice her age, and her band aren't far behind in their chops, either."[13] Singer-songwriter John Mayer had praised William's voice in a blog in October 2007, calling her "The great orange hope"; "orange" in reference to her hair color.[14]. Due to the female fronted aspect of the band, Paramore has gained comparisons to Kelly Clarkson and the afore mentioned Avril Lavigne, to which one reviewer said was "sorely unfounded."[15][16] Reviewer Jonathan Bradley noted that "Paramore attacks its music with infectious enthusiasm," however, he also explained that "there isn’t a whole lot of difference between Riot! and the better songs from Kelly Clarkson or Avril Lavigne."[17]

Awards and nominations

In 2008, Williams was nominated for Premio Fashionista 2008 at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica.

References

  1. ^ a b c Bayer, Jonah (2008), "Born for This", Alternative Press, no. 235 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Biography". All Music. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  3. ^ Hayley Williams (2007-10-17). "Youth Gone Wild" (Interview). Interviewed by David Walter. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  4. ^ a b Hayley Williams; Josh Farro (2007-06-26). "ASL's Exclusive Interview With Paramore" (Interview). Interviewed by Joshua Martin. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  5. ^ a b Josh Farro; Hayley Williams; Jeremy Davis (2007-07-14). "Interview With Paramore" (Interview). Interviewed by cathyreay. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  6. ^ "History". paramore.net. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accssdate= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Paramore. Hello My Name is Paramore (Website). paramore.net. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  8. ^ "Riot! Review". musicmissions.com. 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  9. ^ "Questions and Answers with Paramore". paramore-fans.com. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  10. ^ Josh Farro; Jeremy Davis. "Interview: Paramore" (Interview). Interviewed by Charlotte Otter. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  11. ^ a b Davies, Alex. "Paramore - Riot!". decoymusic.com. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  12. ^ Schleweis, Jason (2005-07-26). "Paramore". Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  13. ^ "Bamboozle Recap: Day 1". altpress.com. 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  14. ^ Mayer, John (2007-10-27). "Paramore". honeyee.com. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  15. ^ Pascarella, Tony (2007-07-20). "Music Review: Paramore, "All We Know Is Falling"". the-trades.com. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  16. ^ Drumm, Alex. "Paramore". emotionalpunk.com. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  17. ^ Bradley, Jonathan (2007-08-13). "Paramore - Riot! - Review". stylusmagazine.com. Retrieved 2007-10-13.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hayley Williams.

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