Bio
Miss Hayley Nicole Williams was born December 27, 1988 in Meridian Mississippi. She moved to Franklin Tennessee when she was 13 after her parents divorce and this is where she met her future bandmates and help found Paramore in 2004. Shortly after moving to Franklin she started taking vocal coaching with Brett Manning who helped her master her famous four octave range soprano voice.
While Hayley was originally signed as a pop artist she insisted that Paramore was a rock band and shouldn’t just focus on her, but her fellow band mates.
I tried to only provide a few songs, but Hayley and Paramore’s catalog never misses. If you want to listen to more Paramore newest album “This Is Why” is a post-punk masterpiece.
Hayley’s voice is so versatile, She’s got incredible range for a “Rock” artist. She’s incredibly dynamic and has amazing vocal control. Her technique and voice only get better with age where a lot of artists start to lose quality due to strain.
Hayley uses her amazing talent only interpret a composition, but produce something that in my case makes me feel a whole range of emotions. Hayley is a master of communicating that divine female rage that all women are familiar with. She’s also very adept at portraying exactly what it’s like to survive trauma and depression and still come out alive and even thriving on the other side. Performers like Hayley are extremely important because I feel like they put the rawness of the human condition on display for everybody to see and find something they identify with. I honestly think Hayley Williams is one of the biggest Icons to come out of the last 20 years of music.
“Every morning I wake up
From a dream of you holding me
Underwater (Is that a dream or a memory?)
Held my breath for a decade
Dyed my hair blue to match my lips
Cool of me to try (Pretty cool I’m still alive) ahh”
“Dead Horse” by Hayley Williams
It sounds cheesy, but I really understand what the lyrics above mean. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to be the cool girl that men love at expense of myself and for what? It’s comforting to see other people have gone through the same thing, and see them heal turn it into something so beautiful and creative. It gives me hope that I too can some day heal.
Petrusich, Amanda. “Hayley Williams, without a Guidebook.” The New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2023, http://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/hayley-williams-without-a-guidebook.
Spanos, Brittany. “Hayley Williams Isn’t Afraid Anymore.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2020, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/hayley-williams-petals-for-armor-interview-968642/.
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