Hayley Williams
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Birth Name: Hayley Nichole Williams
Born: 27th December, 1988, Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi.
Bands: Paramore (2004-Present)
Early Life
Hayley Williams was born in Meridian, MS to a family of Scottish/Irish and German decent in 1988. She was raised as a Christian and began singing in her local church at a early age despite later admitting she suffered from terrible stage fright. In 2003, at the age of 14, Williams moved with her family from her hometown Meridian, to Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. There she enrolled the help of a vocal coach, Bret Manning, who has also worked with country singer Taylor Swift. Williams’ first band experience was singing in a funk cover band called the Factory with her friend Jeremy Davis.
Shortly after Williams was asked to join a band put together by her school friends Zac (drums) and Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals). The group that also consisted of Davis and Jason Bynum officially formed in 2004, under the name Paramore which was derived from the maiden name of the mother of one of the group's former bassists. Paramore began playing gigs in their home town and soon developed a small but loyal following.
Musical Career
Over the following years Paramore spent the summers playing music festivals including the Warped Tour and Purple Door. They were signed to a record contract with the Fueled by Ramen label in April 2005 after being spotted playing The Rockstar Taste Of Chaos Tour in Orlando, Florida, by CEO John Janick.
Paramore travelled back to Orlando to record their debut album All We Know Is Falling, but shortly after arriving, Davis opted to leave the band citing personal reasons. The remaining four members of Paramore continued with the album which was released in September 2005. Although the album failed to chart on the Billboard 200 it reached #30 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Chart. The album also reached a peak of #8 in the UK Rock Chart and went onto to sell over 300,000 copies worldwide. While touring to support the album the band recruited Hunter Lamb to replaced Bynum on guitar.
In January 2006, Paramore played the Winter Go West Tour alongside Seattle bands Amber Pacific and The Lashes, and in February, Williams' vocals were featured on "Keep Dreaming Upside Down" by October Fall. The band then covered Foo Fighters' "My Hero" for the Sound of Superman soundtrack. That summer they returned to the Warped Tour playing a hugely successful gig as headliners to their home crowd in Nashville, Tennessee. That year they were voted "Best New Band" by readers of the British magazine Kerrang!.
Paramore began recording their second album Riot! in January 2007. Lamb parted ways with the group soon after leaving lead guitarist Farro to play both guitar parts on the album. Paramore released their album on June 12, 2008 and it sold 44,000 its first week in the U.S. alone and three months later the album hit its peak at # 15 on the Billboard 200. The album went onto sell over one million copies and was certified Platinum in the U.S in July.
Trivia
- Due to a gap in her two front teeth, Williams has the nickname 'Spongebob' from the cartoon character Spongebob SquarePants.
- Williams has cited in various interviews Third Eye Blind, Semisonic, Jimmy Eat World, The Cure and Nsync as her musical influences.
- Kerrang Magazine named Hayley William as the 3rd sexiest female in rock behind Pandora
and Amy Lee of Evenescence. - Williams supports To Write Love On Her Arm, a charity helping people with depression, drug addiction, and self-harm tendencies
- In 2007 Paramore was named by British magazine NME as one of ten bands to watch out for in their "New Noise 2007" feature.
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