By Brooklyn Fears
BACKGROUND
Before becoming one of the biggest names in rock music, Paramore came from humble beginnings. The tale starts with Hayley Williams herself, a preteen singing in her local church choir in Mississippi. As a result of her mother’s divorce, the family moved to Franklin, Tennessee (Frank, 2017). It was at 13, that Williams met Jeremy Davis, and they began a funk cover band called The Factory (Martin, Josh 2007). After relentless bullying, Williams was pulled out of public school and took classes at her new local church. It was there that Williams met brothers Zac Farro, 11, and Josh Farro, 14. They soon began writing their first song, “Conspiracy,” heard on their debut album All We Know is Falling (Frank, 2017). Their first gig was at The End in Nashville in 2003, where they performed as Paramore, derived from a member’s mother’s maiden name (Obenschain, 2017; Sexton, 2013).
CAREER TRANSITION & SIGNING
Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams of Spongebath Records had discovered Williams and asked Jeff Hanson of Silent Majority Group to manage her. Hanson paired with Mark Mercado to co-manage Williams (Blumentrath, 2022). Many labels wanted Williams to drop the band, and become a solo pop star. The only label that would let her stick with Paramore was Atlantic Records. Atlantic signed Williams and the other members signed with Atlantic’s indie rock sublabel, Fueled by Ramen (Frank, 2017). Tom Storms, was the A&R from Atlantic that stuck by Paramore’s side (Blumentrath, 2010).
Paramore signed a one-album, 360 deal, with a $300,000 advance, with a whopping 30% of album royalties (Vasquez, 2014). It was from there that they released their first commercial single, “Pressure,” to be featured on their debut album All We Know is Falling. Paramore is now solely managed by Mark Mercado of Fly South Music Group.
HIT ALBUM
Paramore’s highest-selling record to date is their sophomore release, RIOT! The album features 11 tracks, written predominantly by the duo Josh Farro and Williams. David Bendeth produced and mixed the record, alongside Isaiah Abolin, who engineered the record, and Ted Jensen who mastered the recordings (Discogs). Beginning in January 2007, the album was recorded, mastered, and mixed at Bendeth’s studio House of Loud, and Bennett Studios in New Jersey until April of that same year. (Riot CD). The triple-platinum record reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 (Riot CD).
HIT SINGLE
“Ain’t It Fun,” written and produced by Williams and Taylor York, produced by York and Justin Medal-Johnsen, off their self-titled record won the band their first GRAMMY in 2015. It additionally scored the band their first Billboard No.1 on the Hot Rock Songs chart in 2014 and peaked at No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent a total of 24 weeks sliding up and down the scale (Dailey, 2022). The record was released by a number of publishers including FBR Music, Hunterboro Music, But Father, I Just Want to Sing Music, and Warner Brothers Music Corporation and is registered with the ASCAP performing rights organization (Discogs).
HIT VIDEO
“Ain't it Fun,” directed by Sophia Peer, depicts Paramore setting out to break the most world records in a music video. Sitting at 157 million views, the band breaks 10 world records including the fastest time smashing 30 clocks with guitars, most feathers caught in 30 seconds, most vinyl records broken in one minute, and more. In honor of the video and single, the band released 2,700 “broken” vinyls for Record Store Day 2014, which featured a standard 12-inch record that was half transparent and half black with a jagged slit down the middle, depicting a shattered look (Discogs).
TOURING HISTORY
In the Spring of 2005, Paramore launched their first major tour. The RIOT! Tour took the band all over North America and Europe. Since then, the band has gone on to play about 30 tours in their entire career. The band has played a number of venues all over Southern California on almost every North American tour (Paramore-music.com). Most notably, the band has set sail on their Parahoy! Tour in 2014 and 2018 where the band played four nights on a luxury cruise (Paramore-music.com).
IMAGE
In their early years, Paramore was labeled as a Christian band (Maberly, 2005). Having met in church, the members remained strong in their faith. Although sporting Slayer and Iron Maiden tees onstage, the group abstained from drugs and alcohol, as it clashed with their faith. Their image remained edgy and angsty for many years (Anderson, 2021).
It was in 2017, with the release of their fifth record After Laughter, did the band announce that Zac Farro would be rejoining the band. The image of the band had changed along with their new sound. The new record skewed towards more alternative pop and less early 2000s emo-post punk. Thus, their image became significantly more bright and colorful. Their tour setup was radiant and rich, chock-full of prismatic stage aesthetics. The band’s fashion paired well, featuring funky and exuberant pieces.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Paramore has had a number of their singles and albums go gold. Their first gold record was their live album, The Final Riot in 2009. It was not until 2014, that their first record went gold as well, nine years after its initial release on the Fueled by Ramen label. “Pressure,” from their first record, “Monster,” off of the Transformers: Dark of The Moon soundtrack, and “Ignorance” from their sophomore effort, all went gold in 2016. Their 2017 LP After Laughter went gold in 2021, as well as “Hard Times” in 2018, their lead single off the same album. (RIAA) Since the start of their career, Paramore has received a number of nominations and victories from publications such as Alternative Press and NME to MTV’s Teen Choice and American Music Awards.
FILM & TV APPEARANCES
In 2008, Paramore was heavily associated with the Twilight series, as the band featured two of their tracks, “I Caught Myself,” and “Decode” on the film’s soundtrack. “Decode” has its own video which currently sits at 422 million views. These tracks introduced Paramore to many, and the band gained more fans as a result of the opportunity.
Over their nearly two-decade career, Paramore has made a number of late-night television appearances such as The Late Late Show and The Tonight Show, performing their tracks live. MTV showcased Paramore’s videos on their network and gave them their own “MTV Unplugged” episode in 2009 where the band gave a stripped-back, intimate performance (Mongomery, 2009).
ENDORSEMENTS & SPONSORSHIPS
In the Summer of 2010, Paramore went on their Honda Civic Tour with Tegan and Sara (Popmatters, 2010). Other than their brief sponsored Summer tour, the only other brand that Paramore heavily identifies with is William’s hair dye brand GoodDyeYoung.
CONTROVERSY & ISSUES
Over the years, Paramore has faced many implications and has been subjected to public scrutiny. Jenna Martin, an undergrad at the University of Colorado wrote an article about the issues associated with Paramore’s song “Misery Business.” In the song, famously written from the perspective of a jealous teen, Williams expresses her hatred for her bandmate Josh Farro’s girlfriend, calling her a whore. Martin’s issue lies with a famous female musician using their platform to publicly slut-shaming and further stigmatize female sexuality. In 2018, Williams announced after years of reflection and social disdain, the band would stop playing the song live. (Martin, Jenna 2020).
Williams later admitted that much of their third LP had been about William and Josh Farro’s relationship and how it affected the band, which ultimately led to both of the Farro brothers leaving in 2010. In 2015, bassist Davis left the band for a second time after his departure in 2007. In 2016, Davis began a legal battle with the band over royalties. Due to Williams being the only member of the band signed to Atlantic Records, the other members, according to their contract, are paid as employees (Chatterjee, 2016).
Additionally in 2015, unbeknownst to the public, Williams herself left the band. However, guitarist York convinced her to rejoin. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the pair admitted to being in a romantic relationship (Snapes, 2022).
PRESS
In previous years, Paramore has managed to fly under the radar. Their press coverage from 2008 to 2015 mainly consisted of music publications writing about tour dates, album releases, and show reviews. It was after 2016 that the band became more public about various issues and controversies involving the band’s history. Aside from Zac Farro’s return, tabloids often clung to Williams's personal life, including her depression, solo records, marriage, then subsequent divorce. As of late, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the highly anticipated new record, their political stances, their anti-ticket scalpers rhetoric, and the recent change in their 2013 album artwork, where the band removed their ex-bassist from the cover.
FAN BASE
Hannah R. Lewis wrote a piece for Southeastern University about the emo cultural movement and the vital bands that spearheaded the motion. Emo, deriving from “emotional” is a subculture that extracted aspects of punk music and mixed it with melancholy poetry. Lewis wrote that Paramore gave emo kids a voice by combining sorrow and agony with coping and mending (Lewis, 2022).
SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE PRESENCE
The band’s official account is visibly run by their publicist. All posts are promotional for their upcoming record and tour, with short captions crediting photographers. The members almost never post on the band's main account. As for their individual pages, York accounts are virtually inactive. Zac Farro is active and promotes his film photography passion. Williams often promotes her hair dye brand GoodDyeYoung, as well as her solo records.
MERCHANDISING
The band’s merch has changed through the years along with the band’s image. During their “emo” years, the band often sold darker clothing. Paramore has been an active band on Hot Topic’s roster, often selling shirts there as well. On their current site, the band has a hodgepodge of old tote bags, beanies, phone cases, and other apparel from previous eras. There are a few bundles featuring shirts and vinyl box sets for their upcoming 2023 release of their sixth record.
PERSONAL CONNECTION
I was about 7-years-old when Paramore came into my life. My dad had introduced me to their first two records, and I was astonished at the concept of a female-fronted band. I was excited to see a woman spearheading a rock act. I sang “That’s What You Get” on Rock Band and fell head over heels in love. Over 15 years later, Paramore still reigns as my favorite band and Williams remains my absolute idol for overall musicianship. I grew up an emo kid myself, and Paramore records were my shoulder to cry on. I have seen them a number of times and they are truly one of the greatest live acts to ever play. I am eternally grateful for Paramore and their music which has soundtracked my life.
References
Anderson, E. B. (2021, August 13). The Untold Truth of Paramore. Grunge.com. https://www.grunge.com/486899/the-untold-truth-of-paramore/
Blumentrath, J. (2010, September 20). Interview with Jeff Hanson, Artist Manager and Head of Silent Majority Group Label. HitQuarters.com.
https://web.archive.org/web/20101103105151/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2Fopar%2Fintrview_JeffHanson_Interview_Part2.html
Chatterjee, K. (2016, March 5). Paramore in Legal Dispute With Former Bassist Jeremy Davis. https://www.altpress.com/paramore_in_legal_dispute_with_former_bassist_jeremy_davis/
Dailey, H. (2022, October 10). Kelly Clarkson Has Some ‘Fun’ With Her Paramore Cover. Billboard.com. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kelly-clarkson-covers-paramore-aint-it-fun-1235153374/
Discogs. (n.d.). Music Database and Marketplace. Discogs.com. https://www.discogs.com/release/5609586-Paramore-Aint-It-Fun
Frank, A. ( 2017, July). Paramore's Hayley Williams Still Into You. TheFader.com. https://www.thefader.com/2017/06/29/paramore-hayley-williams-cover-story-interview
Lewis, H. R. (2022). Singing Away the Pain: How Emo Gave Kids a Voice. Southeastern University, 8. https://firescholars.seu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=ccplus.
Maberley, C. (2005). Contextualization in the Context of Mainstream ‘Rock’ Music Listeners. Digital Commons at Andrews University, 75. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1171&context=jams
Martin, J. (2007, June 26.) ASL’s Exclusive Interview with Paramore. SocialLiteLife.com.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120806183403/http://socialitelife.com/asls_exclusive_interview_with_paramore-06-2007
Martin, J. (2020). Sexual Double Standards in “Misery Business”: How Social Power Aids in Reproducing and Challenging Gender Inequality. The University of Colorado and Colorado Springs Undergrad Research Journal, 1-13. https://urj.uccs.edu/index.php/urj/article/view/410/239.
Montgomery, J. (2007, September 28). Paramore Get Intimate On ‘MTV Unplugged. MTV.com. https://www.mtv.com/news/thmihb/paramore-get-intimate-on-mtv-unplugged
Obenschain, P. (2017, May 11). REVIEW: Paramore 5.10.17 at Exit/In. NoCuntryForNewNashville.com. https://nocountryfornewnashville.com/2017/05/11/review-paramore-5-10-17-at-exitin-photos/
Paramore-Music. (n.d.). 2007 Tour. Paramore-Music.com. https://paramore-music.com/2007-tour/
Popmatters. (2010, July 29). Paramore and Tegan and Sara Headline Honda Civic Tour. PopMatters.com. https://www.popmatters.com/128873-paramore-and-tegan-sara-headline-the-honda-civic-tour-sponsor-2496161177.html
RIAA. (n.d.). Gold & Platinum. RIAA.com. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=paramore#search_section
Snapes, L. (2022, September 29). Paramore: ‘We realized this band isn’t worth risking our health for’. The Gaurdian.com. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/sep/29/paramore-hayley-williams-this-is-why-interview
Sexton, L. (2013, January 2013).Ten Things About… Paramore. DigitalSpy.com. https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/10-things-about/a452563/ten-things-about-paramore/
Sexton, 2013
Vasquez, J. (2014). The 360 Deals, The Frienemy. Seton Hall University, 20-21. https://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1148&context=student_scholarship
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