Paramore has been in the business since 2005, making catchy pop rock songs like "Misery Business," "Still Into You" and" Ain't It Fun." But the road to stardom has not been easy for this band.
The rock band has experienced highs and lows, line up changes and falling outs. It looks like they are back with new music, teasing new songs and a mysterious schedule.
Recently, the trio seemed to start teasing their next era on social media, with Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro updating their respective profile pictures to photos that appeared to be cut from the same photoshoot. All their past Instagram images have been removed, and it looks like a new era is upon us.
It hasn't been easy for the Hayley Williams-fronted band to get to this point. Here is a lowdown of all the past drama with this band.
9 The Farro Brothers Leave Paramore
The year after the release of their 2009 album Brand New Eyes, Paramore revealed in a since-deleted blogpost on their official site that founding members Josh and Zac Farro were leaving the band.
Hayley Williams, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York had expected this departure.
“None of us were really shocked. For the last year it hasn’t seemed as if they wanted to be around anymore,” the statement read. “We want Josh and Zac to do something that makes them happy and if that isn’t here with us, then we support them finding happiness elsewhere.”
“We never for a second thought about leaving any of this behind. We really hope that you can be encouraged by the fact that the three of us who are still here are ready to take on another chapter of our journey together,” the statement continued. “You have always been what keeps us going so why would we stop now? We want to stick by you. Knowing that we have a unified passion and a clear vision makes us feel stronger than ever.”
8 Did Josh Farro And Hayley Williams Date?
Just days after the official statement about the siblings depature, Josh Farro fired back with a scathing statement. Farro confirmed the rumors that he and Williams had dated, claiming that after their breakup, “things started going downhill for the band.”
He claimed Hayley Williams released the statement “without my permission,” he went on to call Paramore “a manufactured product of a major label,” and accused Williams of being manipulated by her management team, and the remaining bandmates were simply “riding on the coattails of ‘Hayley’s dream.'”
“Hayley’s manager would tell the band to be in the lobby of the hotel at a certain time, but he and Hayley wouldn’t show for hours. We found out that they had been meeting with record label executives all morning without us, which is totally weird given that this wasn’t simply a solo artist, but we were a band,” he wrote in a scathing blog post.
“The band was in the dark the whole time,” he continued. “After many meetings between Hayley, her manager and the labels they decided to sign her to Atlantic Records. We didn’t understand why Hayley was the only one signing the contract since we were told this was a ‘band,’ but we were too young to grasp all of this. … Next thing we knew we were having a signing party for Hayley.”
He also claimed that Williams' parents controlled her, noting, “Hayley’s father … would constantly threaten to ‘pull the plug’ on the whole band if we complained about anything, suggesting that we were hired guns and Hayley was the real artist, when in reality we were also part of the band. We’ve always been treated as less important than Hayley. It’s been obvious how her family views things.”
7 When Did Friction In Paramore Begin?
Hayley Williams told Vulture in an interview that the friction between her and Josh Farro came to light during a show at London’s Wembley Stadium when he asked the singer how much she thought he was worth.
“I looked at him and said, ‘I’m not good with numbers. Are you kidding me? Don’t ask me that,’” she said in the interview. “He was trying to figure out if he was going to take legal action against us to own the name or… I don’t remember everything he was going to fight for, but he ended up not. It’s not easy to fight your friend. What I like to believe is there was a moment when he realized it wasn’t worth it. It all got dropped.”
6 Paramore Sued By Former Member Jeremy Davis
In 2015, Paramore's official Facebook page revealed the surprising news that Jeremy Davis was leaving the band.
They revealed that the departure was “really painful,” though they didn’t give any further details. “We’re hopeful for Paramore’s future, and we’re also excited for what Jeremy’s going to do next,” the statement stated.
In February 2016, Davis filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates. The bassist claimed he was a partner in Varoom Whoa, the legal entity owned by Hayley Williams that operates the band’s business.
The band, however, argued that Davis was actually an employee of the band and therefore, did not have access to revenue streams in sales, touring and merchandise.
The suit was settled by 2016, although the exact details of how was never made public.
5 Zac Farro Rejoins Paramore
Zac Farro was back drumming on the group’s fifth album After Laughter, and the band soon announced he was back as a fully fledged member.
“I read this thing once about Tolkien and C.S. Lewis — when one of them died, their whole group of friends changed completely because with one of them gone, the part of each person that that person brought out of them died too,” Hayley Williams later said in an interview with Billboard.
“When Zac left the band, I lost a part of Taylor; I lost a part of me. We got through it, found joy and hope to write music, because life goes on. But [Zac] said it all the time when he came back: ‘This doesn’t just happen; you don’t always get second chances like this.’ It wasn’t, ‘I need to be back in this band.’ It was really what he said at the Q&A: ‘I came back to my family.'”
4 Hayley Williams Speaks Out About Paramore
Hayley Williams finally spoke out in October 2020, although she didn't address anything or anyone directly.
“There’s a reason there are only 3 people left in @paramore,” she tweeted on Wednesday (Oct. 28). “Surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me. Paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans, & family feeling abandoned and hopeless.”
3 Paramore's Zac Farro Distanced Himself From Josh Farro
Zac Farro tweeted a note titled “Letter to our lgbtq+ fans,” after fans unearthed an alleged Facebook comment in which his brother, Josh Farro, compares homosexuality with pedophilia.
“I want to say I love and support you all and have your back, and [sic] most of all, stand with you. I do not condone any actions that do not love and support your community,” the note reads.
“When my brother and I left Paramore in 2010, there was a post about the band that I did not fully condone. My name was included on the post yes, But I had not been briefed on what the entirety of that message contained,” his note continued. “I am openly speaking about this now being not only the founding drummer of Paramore, but also rejoining in 2016. I am saying that I have a voice of my own and my voice stands with our band and our fans, not with words including me in actions I do not agree with.”
“We all have our own voices and each powerful within themselves,” he concluded. “Let’s use this power for love and peace, not separation and exclusivity.”
2 Hayley Williams Believes Criticism Against Her Is Sexist
Hayley Williams used an interview with Vulture to talk about how she was framed as a villain. Williams wondered whether the reaction was “simply because I’m a woman,” stating, "I find it interesting that bands we’ve loved who have been through lineup changes—even bands who haven’t—have been honest about how much they hate each other, and you never question their loyalty."
"You never think, Oh, Thom Yorke must be the f****** Hitler of Radiohead. He can be an a******. I wonder if it’s simply because I’m a woman? I could have had a d*** and the story wouldn’t have gotten any traction."
While Williams has been angry about the drama for a long time, she now realizes that it was necessary for the band. “Now I look back, and I think we needed that to happen,” she said, describing the “toxicity” between the band members when the Farro brothers left. “There needed to be infections cut out. We needed to shed blood.”
1 Paramore's New Album Coming Soon
Back in January 2022, Paramore revealed that they were in the studio working on a new album.
Frontwoman Hayley Williams explained that she and Jeremy York had been reminiscing over some of their earliest influences before they began writing the LP. But don't expect a “comeback ’emo’ record.”
“I’m always waiting for the moment for us to know we’re onto something new, and we’re not just rehashing the same sh*t,” Williams revealed earlier this year
She also revealed indie band Bloc Party were a main inspiration for the record.
“From day one, Bloc Party was the number one reference because there was such an urgency to their sound that was different to the fast punk or the pop punk or the like, loud wall of sound emo bands that were happening in the early 2000s,” 33-year-old Williams revealed.
