Hayley Nichole Williams is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock band Paramore and has released several solo albums.
In 2023, Billboard ranked her as the 13th greatest rock lead singer of all time; that same year, Alternative Press readers voted her as the second greatest pop-punk vocalist of all time.
real name: Hayley Nichole Williams
labels: Fueled by Ramen, Atlantic Records
genres: emo, alternative rock, pop-punk, pop rock, power pop, emo pop
awards: Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, MTV Europe Music Award for Best Alternative, Alternative Press Music Award for Best Vocalist
plays: guitar, piano, keyboard instrument, drum kit, voice
member of: Paramore
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Hayley Nichole Williams was born on December 27, 1988, in Meridian, Mississippi, the daughter of Cristi and Joey Williams. She has two younger half-sisters. Her childhood neighbor was NBA player Rodney Hood. After her parents' divorce in 2002, when she was 13, she moved with her mother to Franklin, Tennessee. At her new school, she met future Paramore bandmates Josh and Zac Farro. Shortly after settling in Franklin, she began taking lessons with vocal coach Brett Manning. While still at school, Williams tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory, where she met future Paramore bandmate Jeremy Davis.
Williams wrote and recorded the song "Teenagers", which was featured in the soundtrack for the feature film Jennifer's Body. After the release of "Teenagers", Williams stated that she had no plans to establish herself as a solo artist. In 2010, she appeared on the tracks "Airplanes" and "Airplanes, Part II" from alternative rapper B.o.B's debut album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. When it was released as a single, "Airplanes" peaked within the top ten in nineteen countries, including the number one position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Throughout her career, her musical style has been described as pop-punk, emo, pop rock, alternative rock, power pop, art pop, new wave, synth-pop, and indie pop. Williams cites a wide range of musical acts as her influences including Debbie Harry, the Shangri-Las, Siouxsie Sioux, Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé, and Brody Dalle of the Distillers.