Hayley Williams says if Paramore hadn’t gone through so much “reality show-style drama”, they would’ve been “the most boring band of all time”

Hayley Williams has shared a statement in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Paramore’s self-titled album.

Paramore served as the first release with new members Jeremy Davis and Taylor York, following the departure of Josh and Zac Farro in 2010 due to conflicts within the band. It also marked the first time the Hayley Williams-fronted group distanced themselves from their emo/pop-punk roots, by experimenting with new influences including funk rock, new wave and electronica.

Further problems would arise when new bassist Davis later claimed that he had been omitted from songwriting credits on the 2013 album, opening a lawsuit which was eventually settled in 2017.

Speaking of how the turbulent period set Paramore on their new experimental path, which has led them all the way to the jazz-infused stylings of their latest record This Is Why, Williams explains how if it hadn’t been for the “reality show-style drama” they endured, they would have been “the most boring band of all time”.

She explains, “10 years ago we put out a record that took a lot of guts and self-determination to make. Mainly because after losing 2 members of the band there was so much discourse around whether or not the band could make anything worthwhile – let alone stay together.

“The story of Paramore has been rife with reality show-style drama. Well, until the last 6 or 7 years. It’s really great to be able to look back from where we are now, knowing the story didn’t end when some said it would.”

Williams continues, “If all that led to our Self-Titled album hadn’t happened, we’d be the most boring band of all time. If we hadn’t been forced out of our trauma-bonded comfort zones, we would’ve never known what we might be capable of.

“Thank you Justin Meldal-Johnsen for expanding our musical vocabulary and believing we could be more than a band from one specific scene. And thank you Carlos de la Garza for engineering the shit out of the album. Thank you Ken Andrews of Failure for mixing it, singing backups on it, and being a musical hero to us.”

The vocalist finishes off by describing the band at that point as a “more liberated version” that had undergone a “rebirth”. 

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Source: loudersound.com