Artist of the Week: Hayley Williams

by: Carlos Figueroa

Well, you'll ask why do we have 2 artists of the week in one week. Well, simple: because there was no artist of the week last week! Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American rock singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore.

In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee, where she met fellow band members Josh Farro and Zac Farro in school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning. While still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory where she met Jeremy Davis. In 2005, John Janick, founder of record label Fueled by Ramen, signed a contract with them.

Williams is a guest singer on "Fallen" by Death In the Park (which she has occasionally performed live with the band), "Then Came to Kill" by The Chariot, "Keep Dreaming Upside Down" by October Fall, "Tangled Up" by New Found Glory, and "The Church Channel" and "Plea" by Say Anything, and "The Few That Remain" by Set Your Goals, and appeared in the music video for "Kiss Me" by New Found Glory.

In the 2007, Kerrang! Readers' Poll she finished second to Evanescence's Amy Lee 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 poll. She also appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour. On October 2, brand new eyes tour, it was announced that a few tour dates were postponed due to Hayley Williams becoming infected with laryngitis.

Williams also stated that her favorite bands include Saves the Day, mewithoutYou, Slick Shoes, The Chariot, Now Now Every Children, No Doubt, Fireworks, Set Your Goals, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory, H2O, Lemuria, The Swellers.

Paramore was created in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004, with Hayley Williams (lead vocals/keyboards) alongside Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar) and Zac Farro (drums). Prior to forming Paramore, the other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as singer, but as they were good friends she began writing with them and eventually became a member. The band has released three studio albums, All We Know Is Falling, Riot!, and Brand New Eyes as well as two live albums and one EP. In June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007.

By the way, for your information, the next artist of the week will be Liam Gallagher, lead singer of the British rock band Oasis (also Oasis will be featured as one of the next 'Essentials'). Also, as a general rule in the FGI Nation, we'll try to post the artists of the week on SATURDAYS. Nevertheless, the poll for February's Artist of the Month will be put up starting today (to give y'all time to vote), so start voting!

The Essentials: Paramore

By: Carlos Figueroa

I must start by saying that this is one of my favorite essentials up to now, as Paramore is one of my favorite bands. As we all know, Paramore is an alternative rock band formed in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee with its members being lead vocalist and keyboardist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis, drummer Zac Farro, and rhythm guitarist Taylor York. The band currently has released 3 albums: All We Know is Falling(2005), Riot! (2007), and their latest album Brand New Eyes(2009).

A big part of the band’s characteristic sound is Hayley Williams’s voice (which in my opinion is one of the best female voices at the moment) but also her songwriting and especially her image, whether it is as the spunky red-head or the innocent-looking blonde, Hayley makes the band unmistakable. Also, the other band members keep up to Hayley exceptionally, providing some of the most amazing with amazing riffs, solos, and beats.

As a result of the mixture of glorious vocals and amazing lyrics with perfect sound, Paramore delivers excellent songs in each of their albums. From their debut album, All We Know is Falling we have songs such as “Never Let This Go” and “My Heart”, which are one of the album’s slower tunes, with marked beats and a wide range of vocals. Songs such as “Emergency” are the epitome of Hayley’s vocal capacity, as throughout the song she progressively passes from low, deep vocals to high, emotion-filled vocals, while songs like “Pressure” are characterized by amazing guitar riffs and a solid beat.

In the band’s second studio album, Riot!, the band simply gives us an avalanche of amazing songs, with songs like “Misery Business”, “Crushcrushcrush”, “That’s What You Get”, “Hallelujah”, “For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic”, and “When It Rains” being in the spotlight for their amazing lyrics (especially “Misery Business” and “When It Rains”), music and rhythm (as in “That’s What You Get”) , and vocals.

A song that deserves to be spotlighted is “Decode”, song that was released as part of the Twilight movie soundtrack. The song has an amazing riff, powerful drumbeats, and amazing vocals by Hayley, ranging from mellow vocals to high power vocals. Also, on a side note, the song’s lyrics and overall feel adapt very well to the movie’s plot, as it can be seen clearly in the song’s chorus.

Last but definitively not least, Brand New Eyes, the band's latest album, has some of the band's most solid songs and my favorite Paramore song: "Brick by Boring Brick". Now, this song is simply my favorite because it integrates melody, voice, and lyrics perfectly; it has awesome guitar riffs and solos, Hayley's power singing through most of the song, and lyrics I would kill for, especially because of simple hook (you know, "Ba da ba ba da da ba da") and chorus ("Well, go get your shovel and we'll dig a deep hole, to bury the castle, bury the castle"). This doesn't mean this is the only good song from the album, songs like "Ignorance", "Stuck on You", "Misguided Ghosts", "Playing God", and "The Only Exception" are also excellent.

Paramore is a band that performs solidly in all the aspects that make up a good band, while being very original and unmistakable, characteristics that make it deserve the place as an Essential.