Hayley Williams

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist of the band Paramore.

Early life

In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown, Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee. She met band members Josh and Zac Farro in her new school. While still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band The Factory, in which she met Jeremy Davis.

Personal life

Williams is a Christian and has a tattoo of a cross on her right thigh.

Music career

Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams who signed the 14-year-old to a production deal. At the time she was writing pop songs with songwriters in Nashville. Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams' attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom. The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo pop artist but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and play alternative rock music.
Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. 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, Fueled by Ramen. The debut album was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old.
In 2007, she 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.
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 number one peak positions in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Paramore

Main article: Paramore

Williams performing with Paramore at the Warfield

Paramore was created in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004 with 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 three EPs. 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.
In 2006, Paramore started touring outside of the US for the first time, which included a headline tour of the UK and supporting post-hardcore rockband The Blackout on the Give It A Name Festival in Europe.

Discography

Williams on Fall US Tour, 2009.

See also: Paramore discography

Year	Song	Album
2009	"Teenagers"	Jennifer's Body: Music from the Motion Picture

Featured singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions										Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		US	AUS	CAN	EU	GER	IRE	NL	NZ	SWI	UK
2010	"Airplanes" (with B.o.B)	2	2	2	2	8	2	4	1	5	1	US: 3× Platinum AUS: 3× Platinum CAN: 2× Platinum NZ: Platinum	B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Featured appearances

Williams at Virgin Mobile Festival, Baltimore, August, 2008.

Year	Song	Album
2006	"Keep Dreaming Upside Down" (October Fall featuring Hayley Williams)	A Season in Hell
2007	"Then Came To Kill" (The Chariot featuring Hayley Williams)	The Fiancée
	"The Church Channel" (Say Anything featuring Hayley Williams)	In Defense of the Genre
	"Plea" (Say Anything featuring Hayley Williams and Kenny Vasoli)
2008	"Fallen" (Death in the Park featuring Hayley Williams)	Death in the Park EP
2009	"Tangled Up" (New Found Glory)	Not Without A Fight
	"The Few That Remain" (Set Your Goals featuring Hayley Williams)	This Will Be the Death of Us
2010	"Airplanes" (B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams)	B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
	"Airplanes (Part II)" (B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams & Eminem)
2011	"Rainbow Connection" (Weezer & Hayley Williams)	Muppets: The Green Album

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2007	Kerrang Readers' Poll 2007	Sexiest Female Front Singer	Herself	Nominated
2008	Kerrang Readers' Poll 2008			Won
	Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica	Premio Fashionista 2008		Nominated
2009	Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica	Premio Fashionista 2009		Won
	Shockwaves NME Awards 2009	Sexiest Female		Won
	Kerrang Readers' Poll 2009			Won
2010
	Kerrang Readers' Poll 2010			Won
	2010 MTV Video Music Awards	Video of the Year	"Airplanes" – B.o.B. (featuring Hayley Williams)	Nominated
		Best Male Video		Nominated
		Best Hip-Hop Video		Nominated
		Best Collaboration		Nominated
2011	37th People's Choice Awards	Favorite Song		Nominated
	BET Awards 2011	Video of the Year		Nominated
		Best Collaboration		Nominated
	53rd Annual Grammy Awards	Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals	"Airplanes, Part II" – B.o.B. (featuring Eminem & Hayley Williams)	Nominated