Hayley Williams says she needs solo music “to understand who I am outside” of Paramore
Hayley Williams has taken a deep dive into her music, saying she needs her solo material “to understand who I am outside” of Paramore.
The frontwoman was appearing on the most recent episode of the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler, where she discussed many aspects of her life and artistry, but mostly in relation to her third solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party.
However, as much as Williams’ solo music has garnered excitement among her fans, it has come at the cost of sparking repeated rumours that her original band could be on the verge of breaking up. They have currently stated they are having a break after supporting Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour.
In terms of her own output during this time, the musician told Poehler that she felt it was an integral step at this specific moment of her career, especially with her first-ever solo tour planned for next year.
“We’re planning shows for next year [and] I’m finding myself really nervous because, I think for my own good, I really need to understand who I am outside of the band. It’s time. I’m looking at 40. It’s not that many years away. And I’m just like, I should probably know who I am outside of this entity,” Williams explained.
Despite certain elements of trepidation, however, she still said she is “very excited” for the tour as it “might possibly subvert some people’s expectations of what they think they’re going to get when they see me on a stage.”
Williams went on to muse about feeling too much like a “ringleader” of Paramore in recent years, which is “not always a positive thing” as it’s “a huge responsibility to be a mouthpiece for a group of people”.
The singer recently opened up on her struggles within the band in a separate interview with Rolling Stone, as she claimed she used to “get blamed for all the shit” that went on.
However, she also revealed in the same interview that Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party would be the last solo album she would release under her own name, sparking speculation of what could come next.
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