Paramore Conspiracy Theories (Book 2)

Argue: Brett Manning Ruined Hayley's Voice

Hey guys!

I guess this is a Argue day because I unexpectedly saw a video pop up on YouTube that was interesting. First I wanna say Violent_Hazard asked me about this a few days ago, so I wanna give them credit for bringing this to my attention. They asked me if a video they saw claiming Hayley's voice was ruined Brett Manning was true, and I said I wouldn't belive it unless I heard Hayley say it herself.

(The lack of Tattoos on Hayley's wrists mean this video was done before December 2010, and she talks about working with this coach for a year, meaning she starting working with him in 2009)

In this video Hayley talks about switching vocal coaches early into Brand New Eyes, and how her voice was badly damaged, but she felt her new coach healed her. And in this video she mentions what a lot of people talk about; how her singing and even speaking voice has changed since 2009 and she credits this new coach named Ron. 

This is where I'll give my opinion on this; I don't know that Brett Manning necesarily ruined her voice, or it was just the way she was singing at the time. The way she sang before Paramore was a lot cleaner and softer of a tone compared to Riot! and All We Know Is Falling where she had a deeper raspier voice. 

She had been seeing Manning since she moved to Nashville, so 2002/2003 she started seeing him. We're gonna look at her voice before Paramore when Brett was Training her, and her voice after she joined Paramore and Brett was still training her.

Hayley Williams was the lead singer of a Christian singing group called the Mammoth City Messengers before she sang for Paramore. MCM was supposedly going to be the Christian version of the band Gorillaz who were popular among teens at the time, and in addition to music were going to have their own animated series. They released their self titled debut in 2004, but things didn't pan out and the group was dissolved. Clips of songs and Hayley voice acting as the animated character "Taylor" can be found online. Here is the song Boomerang by Mammoth City Messengers:

As you can hear, MCM was an electro pop group. And when I listen to these songs they remind me of Hayley's voice currently, y'know because she's finally singing straight pop music. This voice sounds nothing like the loud, raspy AWKIF voice, and has more of a pop/RnB influence, to my ears. 

As we can see this is what Hayley's voice sounded like before Paramore, and when she was still working with Brett. Now let's look at her voice with Paramore and Brett.

This is a deeper, raspier Hayley, a lot of long belting and biting off notes. Her voice didn't change so much between these albums, it was more her vocal style that changed.

I think, personally, that running away from the natural pop orientation of her voice and pushing and belting, and making her voice sound deeper is what harmed her voice. I don't think it was the technique she was taught persay, but how she changed her voice stylistically to try and make it what she thought it should be for Paramore. Here's an example from 2013 of her trying to lower her voice to make it sound the way it did when Miz Biz was first released.

In this video you can hear her singing lower than she normally does, and at one point it almost sounds like she's whispering. Then you look at the performance of Still Into You from this set and she sings it completely normal.

Bottom line; in my personal opinion I don't think that it was necessarily the techniques she was taught that harmed her voice, I think it was the style which she chose to sing in which was basically a rejection of her natural voice that harmed her. I think pushing herself away from how poppy she sounded naturally by adding this deep rasp is what hurt her, and when she stopped doing that on BNE she noticed a positive change to her voice. And let's be honest Hayley still does get sick on tour, because she sometimes uses improper technique onstage. 

I think completely blaming Brett Manning is going too far. A teacher can teach you how to solve a problem but if you make the choice to solve it incorrectly that's on you. Maybe Brett Manning's teachings aren't the best, but Hayley wasn't doing herself any favors by rejecting her natural voice. 

My point is, in my opinion, it's both of their fault.

Tell me what your opinion is in the comments, and sorry for the impromptu schedule change. I'll see you guys on Thursday. - H