Paramore is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist

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

, guitarist

Taylor York Taylor Benjamin York (born December 17, 1989) is an American musician who is the guitarist of rock band Paramore. His brother Justin was a touring member of Relient K and was a touring guitarist for Paramore until 2022. Biography York was born ...

and drummer

Zac Farro Zachary Wayne Farro (born June 4, 1990) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Paramore. He is the younger brother of Josh Farro, who is Paramore's former lead guitarist and backing vocalist. After he and his brot ...

. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, while York, a high school friend of the original lineup, joined in 2007. The band is signed to

Fueled by Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the l ...

, a subsidiary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

, both owned by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...

. Williams was separately signed to Atlantic as she was scouted when she was a teenager, and they were the only label to let her stay in the band instead of going solo, but Atlantic said the rest of the band had to sign to Fueled by Ramen. She is also the only member to appear on all five of Paramore's studio albums. The group released its debut album, ''

All We Know Is Falling ''All We Know Is Falling'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Paramore, released on July 26, 2005, under the Atlantic-distributed Fueled by Ramen in the United States. The production was led by James Paul Wisner, Mike Green, Nick Tr ...

'', in 2005, with the album reaching number four on the

UK Rock Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. Th ...

in 2009 and number thirty on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Heatseekers Chart The Heatseekers charts are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by ...

in 2006. The band's second album, ''

Riot! ''Riot!'' (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released in the United States on June 12, 2007, through Fueled by Ramen as a follow-up to their debut album, ''All We Know Is Falling'' (2005). Th ...

'', was released in 2007. Thanks to the success of the singles "

Misery Business "Misery Business" is a song by American rock band Paramore and serves as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Riot!'' (2007). The song was written about a past experience of the band's lead singer, Hayley Williams, which involved a ...

", "

Crushcrushcrush "Crushcrushcrush" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American rock band Paramore, and is the third single from the group's second studio album, '' Riot!''. The official music video premiered on ''TRL'' on October 16, 2007. The single was ...

", and "

That's What You Get "That's What You Get" is a song by American rock band Paramore from their second studio album, ''Riot!'' (2007). It is the second Australian single, third American single and the fourth UK single. The song was released to modern rock radio on Ma ...

", ''Riot!'' was a mainstream success and was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

in the United States. Paramore then received a

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

nomination at the

2008 Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

. Their 2009 follow-up, ''

Brand New Eyes ''Brand New Eyes'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the third studio album by American rock band Paramore, released on September 29, 2009, through Fueled by Ramen in the United States and Canada. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded ...

'', is the band's second-highest-charting album to date, landing at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 175,000 first-week sales. It produced the top-forty single "

The Only Exception "The Only Exception" is a song by American rock band Paramore. It was released by Fueled by Ramen in February 2010 as the third single from the band's third studio album, '' Brand New Eyes'' (2009). The song was written by band members Hayley W ...

" and went platinum in Ireland and the UK, as well as gold in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Following the departure of

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive ( hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym o ...

and Zac Farro in 2010, the band released their self-titled fourth album in 2013. It gave the band their first number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was also the number one album in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. It included the singles "

Still Into You "Still Into You" is a song by American rock band Paramore. It was released on March 14, 2013, as the second single from their self-titled fourth studio album, ''Paramore''. Recorded in 2012 in Los Angeles, California, "Still Into You" is a depa ...

" and "

Ain't It Fun Ain't It Fun may refer to: * "Ain't It Fun" (Dead Boys song), a 1978 song, also recorded by Guns N' Roses, Rocket from the Tombs, and others * "Ain't It Fun" (Paramore song), a 2013 song {{disambiguation ...

", with the latter winning the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...

for Williams and York as songwriters, making it Paramore's first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

win. The band's lineup changed once again after this album cycle, with bassist

Jeremy Davis Jeremiah Clayton "Jeremy" Davis (born February 8, 1985), also known as Jerm, is an American musician, songwriter, and rapper. He was the bassist for the rock band Paramore until his departure in December 2015. Early life In 2002, at the age of ...

leaving the band near the end of 2015 and former drummer Zac Farro rejoining the band in 2017. Their fifth studio album, ''

After Laughter ''After Laughter'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released on May 12, 2017, through Fueled by Ramen, as a follow-up to their self-titled album ''Paramore'' (2013). The album was produced by guitarist Taylor Y ...

'', was released later that year to critical acclaim.

History

2002–2004: Formation and early years

In 2002, at age 13, vocalist

moved from her hometown

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meri ...

, to

, where she met brothers Josh Farro and Zac Farro at a weekly supplemental program for home-schooled students. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning. Prior to forming Paramore, Williams and bassist Jeremy Davis, along with friend Kimee Read, took part in a funk cover band called the Factory, while Josh and Zac Farro had practiced together after school. The other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as vocalist, but, because they were good friends, she started writing for them. Williams said of the members when she first met them, "They were the first people I met who were as passionate about music as I was." Williams was originally signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist in 2003. She had been introduced to Atlantic A&R Tom Storms by Kent Marcus and Jim Zumwalt, lawyers of managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, and then eventually signed to Atlantic by

Jason Flom Jason Flom (born c. 1961) is an American music industry executive, podcaster and philanthropist. He is the founder of Lava Records, and was previously the chairman of Atlantic Records and Virgin Records/Capitol Music Group. He is also an advocate ...

. Steunebrink and Richard Williams had originally discovered and signed her to a production deal that was later bought out by Atlantic. The original plan of the label was to turn her into a pop singer, but Williams resisted, saying that she wanted to play alternative rock music with a band. In an interview with

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

the band's A&R at Atlantic, Steve Robertson, said, "She wanted to make sure that we didn't look at her as some straight to Top 40 pop princess. She wanted to make sure that she and her band got the chance to show what they can do as a rock band writing their own songs." Label president Julie Greenwald and the label staff decided to go with her wishes. The original management team for the band was Dave Steunebrink, Creed manager

Jeff Hanson Jeff Hanson (March 3, 1978 – June 5, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, The band was officially formed by

Josh Farro Joshua Neil Farro (born September 29, 1987) is an American musician, best known as the former lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Paramore. He is currently pursuing his solo career as the lead vocalist and guitarist of his se ...

(

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

), Davis (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

) and Williams (

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

) in 2004, with the later addition of Williams' neighbor Jason Bynum (

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

). When Davis showed up, he was stunned to find out the drummer was only fourteen years old. He admitted "I had very, very, very, little faith in everyone in the band because of their age. I remember thinking, 'This is not going to work because this kid is way too young,' but that first day of practice was amazing. I knew we were on to something." 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. Paramore was originally supposed to release their music 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 major label. Instead, they released their music through the niche label

Lyor Cohen Lyor Cohen born October 3, 1959) is an American record executive and entrepreneur. Cohen has been actively involved in hip hop at various record labels for more than 30 years. He started by managing rappers for Rush Productions, then led Def J ...

, the head of

, had already identified Fueled by Ramen as a label they should partner with. It was decided the rock label would make an ideal match for Paramore. According to Robertson, when the band was presented to Fueled by Ramen's CEO John Janick, "he got the vision of the band immediately." Janick went to a

Taste of Chaos Taste of Chaos (or "TOC") was a live music tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with his friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste Of Chaos tour catered to fans of ...

performance in Orlando, Florida, to see the band perform live. In April 2005, after a smaller private performance at a warehouse, the band was signed to Atlantic Records and Fueled By Ramen. The band's first song written together was "Conspiracy", which was later used on their debut album. At this time, they were touring the Southeast, usually being driven by Williams' parents. She commented that "Back then, I guess we were all thinking, after school, we'll go to the house and practice. It was what we loved to do for fun, and still do! I don't think any of us really knew this would turn out to be what it's become."

2005–2006: ''All We Know Is Falling''

Winter Go West Tour - Portland,OR - Paramore

Paramore traveled back to Orlando, Florida, but shortly after arriving, Jeremy Davis left the band, citing personal reasons. The remaining four members of Paramore continued with the album, writing "

All We Know "All We Know" is a song by American DJ duo The Chainsmokers. It features vocals from Andrew Taggart (one half of The Chainsmokers) and American singer Phoebe Ryan. The song was released on September 29, 2016, through Disruptor Records and Columbi ...

" about his departure, and later deciding to base ''

'' around the concept. The album artwork also reflected Paramore's grief, as Hayley Williams explains, "The couch on the cover of ''All We Know is Falling'' with no one there and the shadow walking away; it's all about Jeremy leaving us and us feeling like there's an empty space." Before touring, the band added John Hembree (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

) to their lineup to replace Davis. During that summer, Paramore was featured on the Shiragirl stage of the 2005

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

. After being asked by the band, Jeremy Davis returned to Paramore after five months apart, replacing Hembree. ''All We Know Is Falling'' was released on July 24, 2005, and reached No. 30 on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Chart. Paramore released "

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

" as its first single, with a video directed by

Shane Drake Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the ...

, but the song failed to chart. The video featured the band performing in a warehouse, eventually getting sprayed with water sprinklers as the storyline of a conflicted couple occurs. In July, "

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

" was released as the second single, the video again reuniting the band with director Shane Drake and featuring Hunter Lamb (

), who replaced Jason Bynum in December 2005. The video for "Emergency" showcased Paramore in another performance, this time fixing the members' bloody costumes. The third single, "All We Know", was released with limited airtime, with the video consisting of a collection of live performances and backstage footage. After the band's later success, ''All We Know Is Falling'' and "Pressure" were certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. In January 2006, the band took part in the Winter Go West tour, where they played alongside Seattle bands

Amber Pacific Amber Pacific is an American pop-punk band that formed in 2002 in Federal Way, Washington. The band has released four full-length albums, ''The Possibility and the Promise'' in 2005, '' Truth in Sincerity'' in 2007, '' Virtues'' in 2010 and '' ...

and

the Lashes The Lashes were a Seattle-based power pop band that formed in 2000 and became inactive in 2008. In 2004, the Lashes released the ''Stupid Stupid'' EP, produced by John Goodmanson, on Lookout! Records. Goodmanson also produced their debut album, ...

. In February, Hayley Williams was featured on "Keep Dreaming Upside Down" by

October Fall October Fall was an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in the summer of 2003, with Pat D'Andrea (vocals/guitar) and Clark Harrison (guitar) as the original members. These two originally played together under the name "Silve ...

. In spring of 2006, Paramore was an opening act on tours for both Bayside and

the Rocket Summer The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them. H ...

. The band then covered

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

' " My Hero" for the ''

Sound of Superman ''Sound of Superman'' is a companion album to the soundtrack of the Warner Bros. film, ''Superman Returns''. It features performances both original and cover by various up and coming artists, as well as established ones, including the final trac ...

'' soundtrack, which was released on June 26, 2006. During the summer of 2006, Paramore played a portion of Warped Tour, primarily on the

Volcom Volcom is a lifestyle brand that designs, markets, and distributes boardsports-oriented products. Volcom is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, U.S. The brand is known for its trademark ''stone'' logo, its slogan ''True to This'', and the '' ...

and Hurley Stages, and their first night on the Main Stage was at a date in their hometown of Nashville. During the band's time at Warped Tour, they released '' The Summer Tic EP'', which was sold exclusively during the tour. Paramore's first US headlining tour began on August 2, 2006, to a sold-out audience with support from

This Providence This Providence was a four-piece alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. The band consisted of Dan Young (lead vocals/guitar), David Blaise (bass), Gavin Phillips (lead guitar), and Andy Horst (drums). Band history For ...

Cute Is What We Aim For Cute Is What We Aim For is an American rock band from Buffalo, New York. The band formed in 2005 and has since released two albums: ''The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch'' and ''Rotation''. The band was previously signed with record label F ...

, and Hit the Lights with the final show in Nashville. That year they were voted "Best New Band", and Hayley Williams was voted as No. 2 "Sexiest Female", by readers of the British magazine ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

''. In 2007, Lamb left the group to get married, and Paramore continued onward as a quartet. Paramore was then named by British magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' as one of ten bands to watch out for in their "New Noise 2007" feature. Paramore was featured in ''Kerrang!'' magazine once more; however, Hayley Williams believed the article was an untrue portrayal of the band, particularly because it focused on her as the main component. Afterwards, Williams addressed the issue in the band's

LiveJournal LiveJournal (russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, ...

, with a post saying, "we could’ve done without a cover piece. sorry, if it offends anyone at Kerrang! but I don’t think there was one bit of truth in that article." In April, Hayley Williams' vocals were featured in "Then Came To Kill" by the Chariot. They headlined a tour in April through May 2007 with

the Almost The Almost is an American rock band from Clearwater, Florida, fronted by Underoath drummer and vocalist Aaron Gillespie. Formed in 2005 as a solo project by Gillespie, the band currently includes guitarist Jay Vilardi, bassist Jon Thompson, an ...

, and Love Arcade. The Almost and Love Arcade were replaced by

Quietdrive Quietdrive is an alternative rock band based in Hopkins, Minnesota, USA, that was formed in 2002. Quietdrive released their first album, '' When All That's Left Is You'', on May 30, 2006, on Epic Records. In April 2008, Quietdrive left Epic Recor ...

for the second half of the tour.

2007–2008: ''Riot!''

Before work began on the band's next album, Davis was expelled from the band due to "his lack of work ethic and participation in things that Zac, Hayley and I didn’t agree with," according to Josh Farro. After an agreement involving the remaining three members, Davis was reinstated as bassist, and

became the band's new guitarist. York had been in a band with the Farro brothers before the two met Williams. After being courted by producers Neal Avron and

Howard Benson Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008. Early life and education Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philade ...

, Paramore opted to record the album with producer David Bendeth in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, who had previously worked with

Your Vegas Your Vegas was a British rock band from Leeds, England, formed by Coyle Girelli, Mat Steel, Jon Langford, Mal Taylor and Mark Heaton. Background The band started playing music together while attending Prince Henry's Grammar School in Otle ...

and

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Ma ...

. The album, titled ''Riot!'', was released on June 12, 2007, entering the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 20 and the UK charts at number 24. The album sold 44,000 units its first week in the United States. The name ''Riot!'' had been chosen because it meant "a sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion", and it was a word that "summed it all up". The first single from the album, "

", was released on June 21, 2007. According to Williams, "Misery Business" is "more honest than anything I've ever written, and the guys matched that emotion musically." In the summer of 2007, Paramore participated in their third Warped Tour, and they posted journals of their experiences on yourhereblog for MTV. On October 11, 2007, the music video for "

" debuted on the United States television as the next single from ''Riot!''. The video for "Crushcrushcrush" featured the band playing a performance in a barren desert, being spied upon, and later destroying their equipment. The single was released in the United States on November 19 and made available in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2007. Hayley Williams recorded guest vocals for the tracks "The Church Channel" and "Plea" for the

Say Anything Say Anything may refer to: Film and television * '' Say Anything...'', a 1989 American film by Cameron Crowe * "Say Anything" (''BoJack Horseman''), a television episode Music * Say Anything (band), an American rock band ** ''Say Anything'' (alb ...

concept album '' In Defense of the Genre'', released on October 23, 2007. The group performed live in an acoustic style in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

on November 29, 2007, for FNX Radio. On December 31, 2007, Paramore performed on the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

program which ran from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Paramore was featured on the cover of February 2008 issue of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' magazine and voted "Best Band Of 2007" by the readers. The band was nominated for "

" at the

50th Annual Grammy Award The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

s, presented on February 10, 2008, but lost to

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A m ...

. Early 2008 saw Paramore touring the United Kingdom, supporting their album ''Riot!'', along with

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vo ...

Kids in Glass Houses Kids in Glass Houses are a Welsh rock band from Cardiff. The band's name was inspired by the lyrics "not throwing stones at you anymore" from the Glassjaw song "Tip Your Bartender". The band achieved success on the strength of the singles " Giv ...

and Conditions. In early February 2008, the band began a tour in Europe; however, on February 21, 2008, the band announced that they had canceled six shows due to personal issues. Williams wrote on the band's web site that "the break will give that band 'a chance to get away and work out our personal issues'". MTV.com reported that fans of Paramore were speculating about the future of the band and reported rumors of trouble had begun earlier in the month, when Josh Farro expressed his anger against the media's focus on Hayley Williams. The band, however, returned to their hometown to record the music video for the fourth single "

", which was then released on March 24, 2008. The band toured with

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They ...

in the United States in April and May 2008. The band headlined the Give it a Name festival in the United Kingdom on May 10 and 11, 2008. Also the band performed on the In New Music We Trust Stage at Radio 1's One Big Weekend in

Mote Park Mote Park is a multi-use public park in Maidstone, Kent. Previously a country estate it was converted to landscaped park land at the end of the 18th century before becoming a municipal park. It includes the former stately home Mote House tog ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, on May 10, 2008. Paramore played their first Ireland show at the RDS in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

on June 2, 2008, followed by the 2008

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

from July 1–6. Paramore2 cropped

From July 25 to September 1, Paramore embarked on a tour named "The Final Riot!". On this tour, the band performed part of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

's " Hallelujah". On September 2, 2008, Paramore released a collaboration hoodie along with Hurley Clothing based on the album ''Riot!''. All proceeds went to the Love146 foundation. The band released a live album named ''

The Final Riot! ''The Final Riot!'' is the second official live album by American rock band Paramore and was released on November 25, 2008, with a bonus DVD containing the full live concert plus behind-the-scenes footage. The DVD was filmed on August 12, 2008, ...

'' on November 25, 2008. The album includes a bonus DVD with a full concert recorded in

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, as well as a behind the scenes documentary. As of April 9, 2009, ''The Final Riot!'' is certified gold in the United States.

2009–2011: ''Brand New Eyes'', departure of the Farros, and ''Singles Club''

In September 2008, Williams announced that the band were planning on releasing their third studio album in summmer 2009. On November 18, 2008, the band announced they were in the process of writing their next album. Paramore spent six weeks in pre-production at Emac Studios in their hometown of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral di ...

, the first time they had undergone pre-production without the guidance of a producer. Issue #1279. The band was visited by record producer

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

who reassured the band that they were on the right track. The band subsequently felt that the album and that their new material had the potential to surpass the success of their previous work. The band originally planned to record in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, but ended up recording in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains. The first single from the album was "Ignorance (song), Ignorance" and was released July 7, 2009. Paramore was the special guest with Bedouin Soundclash, The Sounds and Janelle Monáe at the 2009 Summer Tour (No Doubt), No Doubt Summer Tour 2009, starting in May 2009 in outdoor amphitheaters and arenas across the US and Canada. The official music video for "Ignorance" aired on all MTV platforms, networks, and websites on August 13, 2009. Paramore, along with Paper Route (band), Paper Route and The Swellers, toured in support of ''Brand New Eyes'' in the fall of 2009. Some tour dates were postponed due to Hayley Williams becoming infected with laryngitis. "Brick By Boring Brick", "

", "Careful (Paramore song), Careful" and "Playing God (song), Playing God" were the album's following singles. To promote the album, the band recorded a performance for ''MTV Unplugged''. Paramore in Vancouver 2

Paramore then played a sold out 15-date European tour with You Me At Six, Paper Route (band), Paper Route and Now Now Every Children. Their stadium tour culminated at London's Wembley Arena, to an audience of 12,500. The band performed in 2010 in the Australia, Australian Soundwave (Australian music festival), Soundwave Festival along with bands such as Faith No More, Placebo (band), Placebo, You Me at Six, All Time Low,

and Taking Back Sunday. Shortly before the tour, lead guitarist Josh Farro announced via the band's LiveJournal that he was engaged and stayed behind to plan his wedding. Justin York, brother of Taylor York, filled in for him on the tour. The band, with Farro returned, embarked on a spring tour of the U.S. in late April. Paramore supported Green Day on selected dates of their Stadium tour, in Dublin and Paris. The band headlined the 2010 Honda Civic Tour, which began on July 23 in Raleigh, NC and closed on September 19 in Anaheim, CA. After a short United Kingdom tour in November 2010, the band announced, on December 2, 2010, the official dates for a South American tour to take place during February and March 2011. The band were set to take a break after their South American Tour in 2011 to write for their fourth studio album. On December 18, 2010, a message was released through Paramore.net stating that Josh and Zac Farro were leaving the band. The band also confirmed the scheduled South American tour would still happen. Josh Farro wrote a statement on the departure on his Blogger (service), Blogger, claiming that the band was "a manufactured product of a Major label, major-label." He accused Hayley Williams of being manipulated by her management, treating the rest of the group as her solo project, and claimed she was the only member of the band who was signed to

, while her bandmates were simply "riding on the coattails of her dream". On December 30, 2010, MTV News interviewed Williams, York and Davis in

regarding their reactions to Farro's response. The band members confirmed many of Farro's statements, notably that Williams was indeed the only member of the band actually signed to Atlantic. They added that they felt the statement was irrelevant, and claimed they had addressed many of the Farro's critiques already throughout the course of their career. Flickr - moses namkung - Paramore-14

On January 10, 2011, in an interview with MTV, Hayley Williams said that despite the band losing two of its founding members, they would release new music in 2011, although they had not confirmed if it would be a full album for release or just a small number of songs. The singer also admitted that Paramore's style was likely to change with the new lineup, but clarified that the band would still retain their core signature sound. The band entered the studio upon returning from their South American tour to record a batch of songs that were released over the summer, prior to their fourth full-length album. One of the songs included "In the Mourning", which Williams debuted on her Tumblr page. Paramore later confirmed they were entering a studio in Los Angeles with producer

to record what would be the ''Singles Club''. On June 3, 2011, Paramore released the single "Monster (Paramore song), Monster", featured on the Transformers: Dark of the Moon#Soundtrack, ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' soundtrack, on YouTube. This is the first song that the band released without the Farro brothers. On June 9, 2011, Hayley Williams announced that the band had started to write their fourth album, which they hoped to start recording at the end of the year, with an early 2012 release. On October 11, 2011, Paramore announced that they would release a new song for each of the remaining months of 2011. The band set up the ''Singles Club'' on their website which gave fans the chance to purchase the singles when they were released, as they were released exclusively through the Singles Club and were therefore not sold elsewhere. A song called "Renegade (Paramore song), Renegade", premiered the day of the announcement, with "Hello Cold World" following on November 7 and "In the Mourning" on December 5. In 2011, former member, Josh Farro, formed Novel American. Zac Farro later joined the band.

2012–2015: ''Paramore'' and Davis' third exit

On April 18, 2012, Williams announced that the producer for their fourth album was Justin Meldal-Johnsen. Former Lostprophets and current Angels & Airwaves and Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin was confirmed to be the session drummer for the recording of the album. ''Paramore'' was officially released on April 5, 2013, and a #1 at US albums chart ''Billboard'' 200. The first single from the album, titled "Now (Paramore song), Now", was released online on January 22, 2013, and the album's second single, "

", was released on March 14, 2013, achieving commercial success. The third single, "Daydreaming (Paramore song), Daydreaming", was released on December 2, 2013. The album's fourth single, "

", was released on February 4, 2014, eventually becoming the band's highest-charting song in the United States and a winner for Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Song at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. On November 24, 2014, ''Paramore: Self-Titled Deluxe'' was released, which includes a remake of "Hate to See Your Heart Break," a song originally on ''Paramore'', featuring Joy Williams (singer), Joy Williams; this is the band's first collaboration on a song. The band embarked on an intimate tour with Copeland (band), Copeland, they said in a blog post that "It feels right to bring the Self-Titled era to a close. We've had a very personal and hugely triumphant journey with this one. What wouldn't feel right is saying goodbye to this time in the band's career and not celebrating it with our fans in some special way." On December 14, 2015, bassist Jeremy Davis left the band. In March 2016, Davis was involved in a legal battle with Paramore, claiming to be eligible to enjoy the benefits of a business partnership with Hayley Williams as a co-owner of the band. This was quickly dismissed and he was again involved in a legal battle with Hayley Williams and Taylor York over a breach of contract entitling him to ownership and authorship of songs on their self-titled record, including "Ain't It Fun", and again, claiming to be eligible to enjoy the benefits of the earnings the two received from these songs and album. Davis reached a settlement with the band in May 2017. During this period, lead singer Williams later revealed that she suffered from depression and mental health issues following the departure of Davis as well as a divorce with her ex-husband Chad Gilbert. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio, shes described it as "torment" and mentioned that she "didn't laugh for a long time". As a result, Williams privately left the band for a short period in 2015, briefly leaving York as the only remaining member of the group.

2016–2019: Zac Farro's return and ''After Laughter''

Paramore at Royal Albert Hall - 19th June 2017 - 11

On January 19, 2016, Williams announced that the band was in the process of writing their fifth album. On June 8, 2016, the band posted a short video of themselves in the studio to their social media. This was preceded by a number of images which all included both former drummer Zac Farro and producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, leading fans and various media outlets to speculate the return of Farro. On June 17, Farro was featured yet again in a picture uploaded to social media, this time behind a drum set, confirming that he would be recording drums for the album, though he later clarified that he was only recording drums for the album and that he had not rejoined the band as a full member. Despite this, on February 2, 2017, the band announced that Farro would return as the official drummer of the band. On April 19, 2017, Paramore released "Hard Times (Paramore song), Hard Times" as the lead single from their album ''

'', which they announced would be released on May 12, 2017. On May 3, a second single was released, titled "Told You So (Paramore song), Told You So". A music video for the song "Fake Happy" was released on November 17, 2017. On February 5, 2018, a music video for "Rose-Colored Boy" was released, which is also the album's fourth single. The music video for "Caught in the Middle (Paramore song), Caught in the Middle", the album's fifth single, was released on June 26, 2018. On September 7, 2018, Hayley Williams announced during a concert that the band will play the song "Misery Business" "for the last time for a really long time", mainly due to a line from the second verse that was perceived to be sexist, though this decision was reversed in 2022.

2020–present: ''This Is Why''

On May 11, 2020, Williams teased a potential return to a more guitar-driven sound on the band's sixth album, commenting, "We've found ourselves listening to a lot of older music that we grew up being inspired by." In January 2022, it was confirmed that the band have entered the studio to work on their upcoming sixth studio album. The band described the album as more "guitar heavy". On January 18, the band was announced to headline the newly founded Las Vegas–based When We Were Young (festival), When We Were Young festival alongside My Chemical Romance on October 22, 2022, which was one of the first live performances the band had played since September 2018. On May 10, it was announced that the band would headline the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas, Austin, Texas during October on the 9th and 16th of the same year, alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink (singer), P!nk and Lil Nas X. On July 15, 2022, it was announced that Paramore would be embarking on a tour in October and November 2022. On September 28, 2022, the band released the song "This Is Why (song), This Is Why" as the lead single from the This Is Why, eponymous album scheduled to be released on February 10, 2023. In November 2022, the band changed the album cover for their 2013 self-titled album to a picture of Hayley Williams from behind. On December 8, 2022, the band released the second single, "The News (Paramore song), The News".

Musical style and influences

Paramore's music style has generally been regarded as alternative rock, , emo, pop rock, power pop, , New wave music, new wave, punk rock, Pop music, pop, electropop, and synth-pop. Joshua Martin had written after an interview with Hayley Williams, "The band isn't just a short pop-punk girl with red hair and a spunky attitude. Their music is like them, it's aged differently. It's sped up, and slowed down. It's emo without being whiny, or bratty. Almost a very literal anti-Avril Lavigne." ''

'' magazine had commented that the band was "young-sounding", while consistently being "honest." Paramore's first album ''All We Know is Falling'' had an arguably more "formulaic pop-punk" sound that was "delivered particularly well" and the combination of the two had created a "refined rock infused pop/punk album." The band's second release, ''Riot!'' was said to explore a 'diverse range of styles," however, not straying far from "their signature sound." The band's later albums, such as ''Paramore'' and ''After Laughter'', included more of a New wave music, new wave and synth-pop sound. Paramore live in São Paulo 2013 4

''Alternative Press'' and various other reviewers have noted that the band's stage performances have helped boost them to larger fame. ''Alternative Press'' states 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 had praised Williams' voice in a blog in October 2007, calling her "The great orange hope"; "orange" in reference to her hair color. Due to the female-fronted aspect of the band, Paramore has gained comparisons to Kelly Clarkson and the aforementioned Avril Lavigne, to which one reviewer said was "sorely unfounded." Reviewer Jonathan Bradley noted that "Paramore attacks its music with infectious enthusiasm." However, he also explained that "there isn't a whole lot of difference between ''Riot!'' and the songs from Kelly Clarkson or Avril Lavigne." A reviewer at ''NME'' had likened Paramore's sound to that of "No Doubt (stripped of all the ska bollocks)" and "Kelly Clarkson's wildest dreams." Hayley Williams has gone on to comment about the female aspect of the band saying that Paramore is not "this girl-fronted band" and it makes "music for people to enjoy music, not so people can talk about my sexuality." Paramore has expressed appreciation for Green Day, Weezer, Hum (band), Hum, Failure (band), Failure, Far (band), Far, No Doubt, Deftones, the Cure, the Smiths, Fall Out Boy, Hanson (band), Hanson, Panic! at the Disco, Blink-182, Death Cab for Cutie,

, and Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as Thrice and

; Hayley Williams has cited her personal influences as MewithoutYou, Elvis Presley, the Shirelles, The Angels (American group), the Angels, the Ramones, Jawbreaker (band), Jawbreaker, Radiohead, Freddie Mercury, Karen O, Josh Scogin, Blondie (band), Blondie, Bloc Party, NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Aaliyah, the Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, and Etta James. Williams named many singers as heroines: "I love Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux. I grew up listening to The Distillers [...] Girl groups are really important to me, but the Shangri-Las especially". Williams also explained that bands such as U2, "who are massive, and do whatever they want, write whatever they want and they stand for something,"

, "who I don’t think ever disappoint their fans," and No Doubt, who "have done amazing things," act as a pattern for the path in which Paramore would like to take their career. In 2012, Williams contributed vocals to MewithoutYou's fifth studio album, ''Ten Stories''. The band members are Christians and in an interview with the BBC, Josh Farro stated "Our faith is very important to us. It's obviously going to come out in our music because if someone believes something, then their worldview is going to come out in anything they do. But we're not out here to preach to kids, we're out here because we love music." Farro later cited differing views on Christianity between him, his brother and Williams as one of the reasons for their departure in 2010.

Live appearances

In 2007, the band played an acoustic set for the grand opening of a Warped Tour exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the dress Hayley Williams wore in the video for "Emergency" was also put on display in the exhibit. In June 2007, they were declared by Rolling Stone as "Ones to Watch". In August 2007, Paramore had been featured in television spots on

, performing acoustic versions of their songs or acting in short accompaniments to MTV program commercials. As "MTV Artists of the Week", the band filmed the faux camping-themed spots in Queens, New York, all written and directed by Evan Silver and Gina Fortunato. MTV.com also has a collection o
short videos
with the band to promote ''Riot!'' as well. For weeks in August 2007, the "Misery Business" video was the number one streamed video at MTV, MTV.com. On October 8, Paramore played "Misery Business" live on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', a booking made possible due to the friendship struck between the band and Max Weinberg during the 2007 Warped Tour. In August, Paramore participated in

's music video for their cover of Sixpence None the Richer's song "Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer song), Kiss Me". From September 29 to November 1, 2009, the band held a tour in North America to support ''Brand New Eyes''. The tour for their self-titled fourth album, known as The Self-Titled Tour (Paramore), The Self-Titled Tour, took place in North America from October 15 to November 27, 2013. From June 19 through August 17, 2014, the band also supported the album with the Monumentour.

Appearances in films and video games

In 2005, Paramore made its first video game appearance with the song "

" being featured in the console versions of the video game ''The Sims 2 (console video game), The Sims 2''. In March 2008, Paramore made its first Music video game#Rhythm games, rhythm game appearance with "

" as a downloadable track in the ''Rock Band'' games and later being a playable song in ''Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades''. Later that year, ''Rock Band 2'' was released with the song "

" included as a playable track. The video game ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' featured the song "

" along with

participating in motion capture sessions for the game. She is featured as an unlockable character in the game as well. "Misery Business" was also featured as a playable track on ''Rock Band 3'', while "Pressure", "The Only Exception", "Brick by Boring Brick", and "Ignorance" are available as DLC for the game. In 2015, the song "

" was featured as an on-disc song for ''Rock Band 4''. Paramore's song "Decode (song), Decode" was the lead single for the novel-based ''Twilight (2008 film), Twilight'' film. Another song called "I Caught Myself" is also featured on the film's soundtrack. "Decode" was released on October 1, 2008, on the Paramore Fan Club site as well as Stephenie Meyer's website. The band began shooting the video October 13 and it premiered on November 3. Hot Topic hosted listening parties for the soundtrack on October 24, 2008, and the album was released on November 4, 2008. Borders Group, Borders released an exclusive version of the soundtrack that features an acoustic version of "Decode." "Misery Business" is also featured in ''Saints Row 2'', and the soundtrack for ''EA Sports'' ''NHL 08''. The music video for "Decode (song), Decode", along with the ''Twilight'' film trailer, was shown in the North American ''Home Theater'' of PlayStation Home from December 11, 2008, to December 18, 2008. The video premiered in full through MTV and its subsidiaries on November 3, 2008, one day ahead of the release of the soundtrack on which the song is featured. Paramore's song "Now (Paramore song), Now" is featured as a song for the game ''Rocksmith 2014''.

Band members

Current members *

– lead vocals (2004–present), keyboards (2012–present) *

– guitar (2009–present; touring 2007–2009), keyboards (2012–present) *

– drums, percussion (2004–2010, 2017–present), keyboards, backing vocals (2017–present) Current touring musicians * Joey Howard – bass, backing vocals (2015–present) * Logan MacKenzie – keyboards, guitar (2017–present) * Joseph Mullen – percussion, drums (2017–present) * Brian Robert Jones – guitar, backing vocals (2022–present) Former members *

– guitar, backing vocals (2004–2010) * Jason Bynum – guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005) * Hunter Lamb – guitar (2005–2007) *

– bass (2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2007–2015) * John Hembree – bass (2005) Former touring musicians * Jon Howard – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2010–2016) * Justin York – guitar, backing vocals (2010–2022) * Josh Freese – drums (2010–2011) * Jason Pierce – drums (2011–2012) * Hayden Scott – drums (2012–2013) * Miles McPherson – drums (2013) * Aaron Gillespie – drums (2013–2017) Timeline

Discography

* ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Paramore (album), Paramore'' (2013) * ''

'' (2017) * ''This Is Why'' (2023)

Tours

Headlining tours *The Final Riot! Tour (2008) *Brand New Eyes World Tour (2009–2012) *The Self-Titled Tour (Paramore), The Self-Titled Tour (2013–2015) *After Laughter Tour (2017–2018) *This Is Why Tour (2022-2023) Co-headlining tours *Honda Civic Tour (2010) *Monumentour (2014) Opening acts *Summer Tour 2009 (No Doubt), Summer Tour 2009 (2009) *21st Century Breakdown World Tour (2010) *The Eras Tour (2023)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Paramore, 2004 establishments in Tennessee Alternative rock groups from Tennessee American emo musical groups American pop punk groups American pop rock music groups American power pop groups American new wave musical groups Fueled by Ramen artists Grammy Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Franklin, Tennessee NME Awards winners Sibling musical groups MTV Europe Music Award winners Female-fronted musical groups American punk rock groups