Hayley Williams

Williams released her debut solo single "Simmer" on January 22, 2020, and announced on the same day that her debut studio album, Petals for Armor, would be released on May 8, 2020. The album was proceeded by two EPs entitled Petals for Armor I and II that make up the first two thirds of the album.

In December 2019, on her 31st birthday, Williams announced she would be releasing solo music in 2020, with a "taste" of it to come in January. Flyers consisting of a picture of Williams under the title Petals for Armor began appearing in several US cities and abroad. Her debut solo single "Simmer" was released on January 22, 2020, with its accompanying music video. That same day Williams announced that her debut studio album, Petals for Armor, would be released on May 8, 2020. It was later revealed that she would release an EP, Petals for Armor I, on February 6, 2020, in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music. On March 19, she announced that she was postponing the release of the second half of the EP, and instead released the song "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" featuring boygenius.

In 2017, Good Dye Young launched a temporary hair dye line, that disappears after one wash, called Poser Paste.

In 2016, after over four years of planning, Williams launched her own hair dye company, Good Dye Young, alongside her hair and makeup artist, Brian O'Connor. The colors offered by the company include an orange, Riot!; a pink, Ex-Girl; a blue, Blue Ruin; a yellow, Steal My Sunshine; a red, Rock Lobster; a purple, PPL Eater; a green, Kowabunga; a teal, Narwhal; and a black, None More Black.

Beginning in 2008, Williams was in a relationship with Chad Gilbert, lead guitarist of New Found Glory. They became engaged on Christmas Day 2014. They were married on February 20, 2016. On July 1, 2017, the couple formally announced that they had separated and their pending divorce was eventually finalized by the end of 2017, during Paramore's touring cycle for After Laughter.

Other ventures in which Williams has explored include online beauty and music series Kiss-Off on Popular TV launched in 2015 and the hair-dye company Good Dye Young, launched in 2016.

In 2015, she launched the online beauty and music series "Kiss-Off" on Popular TV.

Mostly starting from the After Laughter era onwards, Williams has been vocal about her experiences with depression, which caused her to briefly leave Paramore in mid-2015. In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music in February 2020, she revealed she had suicidal thoughts, but that she ultimately did not act on them.

In 2015, Williams responded to Feminist criticism of "Misery Business" - a single from Paramore’s album Riot! - citing her youth and inexperience as a contributing factor to the song’s allegedly misogynistic lyrics. In a blog post addressing the criticism, Williams described herself as "a proud feminist. Just maybe not a perfect one".

EDM producer Zedd and Williams collaborated on the track "Stay the Night", from his debut studio album, Clarity, which was released in 2013. 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. Along with band member and co-writer Taylor York, Williams was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the 2015 ceremony for the song "Ain't It Fun". In July 2015, Williams won the APMA for Best Vocalist. In 2019, she collaborated with American Football on the song "Uncomfortably Numb", which appeared on the band's third self-titled studio album.

In March 2013, Williams announced she was partnering with MAC Cosmetics for the release of a new makeup collection on April 9, 2013. The four-piece collection included a bright orange lipstick, an orange nail polish, a shimmery coral eye shadow and a beauty powder. Hayley appeared on the April 2013 cover of Nylon magazine to promote Paramore's self-titled album.

Williams wrote and recorded the song "Teenagers", which was featured in the soundtrack for the feature film Jennifer's Body. After the release of "Teenagers", Williams stated that she had no plans to establish herself as a solo artist. In 2010, she appeared on the tracks "Airplanes" and "Airplanes, Part II" from alternative rapper B.o.B's debut album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. When it was released as a single, "Airplanes" peaked within the top ten in nineteen countries, including the number one position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Aside from Paramore and preceding her solo career, Williams recorded the song "Teenagers" for the soundtrack of Jennifer's Body (2009) and has collaborated with artists such as October Fall, The Chariot, Set Your Goals, Zedd and New Found Glory. In 2010, she was featured on the single "Airplanes" by B.o.B. It peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. A sequel to the song, "Airplanes, Part II", features new verses from B.o.B. and a verse from Eminem, while Williams' vocals remain the same. This collaboration led to a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Williams is a soprano with a four-octave range. Emilee Lindner of MTV News has noted her ability to sing in the whistle register, and Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone her "acrobatic" singing style. Thrills also notes Williams's slight country twang in some of her songs. Alternative Press wrote that Williams "has more charisma than singers twice her age, and her band aren't far behind in their chops, either." Singer-songwriter John Mayer praised Williams's voice in an October 2007 blog post, calling her "The great orange hope" (her hair was orange at the time).

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. 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.

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. The band's debut album, All We Know Is Falling, was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old. Paramore has since released four more studio albums, Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), the self-titled Paramore (2013) and After Laughter (2017). 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 December 2010, two of the founding members of Paramore (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 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.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Williams moved to Tennessee at the age of 13 just after her parents divorced in 2002. In 2004, she formed Paramore alongside Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. The band currently consists of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York. The band has released five studio albums: All We Know Is Falling (2005), Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), Paramore (2013), and After Laughter (2017).

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore.

Hayley Nichole Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on December 27, 1988, the daughter of Joey and Cristi Williams. She has two younger half-sisters. After her parents divorced in 2002, Williams moved with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee. She met future 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, The Factory, where she met Jeremy Davis.