Hayley WilliamsHayley Williams on stage during the After Laughter tour in 2018BornHayley Nichole Williams
December 27, 1988 (age 29)
, U.S.OccupationSingersongwritermusicianYears active2003–presentSpouse(s)
(m. 2016; separated 2017)Musical careerOrigin, U.S.GenresInstrumentsVocalspianokeyboardsguitarbassdrumspercussionLabelsAssociated actsWebsite
Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She serves as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and occasional keyboardist of the band .
Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and moved to Franklin, Tennessee, after her parents divorced when she was 15. In 2004, she formed Paramore alongside , , and . The band currently consists of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York. The band has five studio albums: (2005), (2007), (2009), (2013) and (2017).
Williams recorded the song "Teenagers" for the of (2009) and has made numerous collaborations with artists such as , , and . In 2010, she was featured on the single "" by . "Airplanes" peaked at number two on the US . Internationally, the song topped the charts in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland. A sequel to the song, "Airplanes, Part II", features new from B.o.B, and a verse from fellow American rapper , while Williams's vocals remain the same. This collaboration led to a nomination for .
In 2015, Williams launched the online beauty and music series "Kiss-Off" on Popular TV. Also in 2016, Williams launched her own hair dye company, Good Dye Young.
Hayley Nichole Williams was born in to Joey and Cristi Williams, on December 27, 1988. She has two younger half sisters. As a result of her parents divorcing in 2002, Williams moved to . She met former band member and current band member in her new school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with . While still at school she tried out for a local , The Factory, where she met
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 . Williams was introduced to A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams' attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by . The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo artist but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and play music
Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed with , , and . 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, . 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 "" ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using the Paramorespelling. The band's debut album, , was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old. Paramore has since released four more studio albums, (2007), (2009), the self-titled (2013) and (2017). In June 2009, the band welcomed (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 controversial blog post confirming their departure.
Williams performing in 2010
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 on the in Europe. The following year, she and the rest of Paramore made an appearance in the music video for "" by . In the 2007 Readers' Poll, she finished second to 's 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 after completing "" in the vocalist campaign.
