Hayley Williams played a stirring version of ‘True Believer’ on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – watch footage below.
The Paramore frontwoman released her solo album ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ digitally in August, with a physical release scheduled for November 7 – pre-order here.
On Wednesday night (October 8), Williams appeared on Fallon to play ‘True Believer’ from the album. The performance began with Williams singing plaintively while sat alone at a piano, before being joined by a full band and an eight-piece string section.
Watch the full appearance here:
Williams first shared the songs from the album on her website in July, before releasing them onto streaming platforms as individual singles and eventually a cohesive album in August.
NME gave Williams a glowing five-star review for the initial 17-song collection, writing: “As with almost every era of Hayley Williams’ career, this new release has come with questions about the future of Paramore. The determined lyrics on the tender ‘I Won’t Quit On You’ should be all the reassurance worried fans need, but if that’s not enough, there’s plenty in this brilliant, swaggering new chapter to be excited about. These songs might be about missed second chances, but Williams is certainly making the most of hers.”
The project did spark fears of a Paramore split among fans. Laced throughout the project are cryptic lyrics hinting at a potential breakup between her and Paramore guitarist Taylor York, who she confirmed she was dating in 2022.
In September, however, Williams told The Face that the band are still together, but they are taking a break.
When asked where things stand with the band currently, Williams replied: “Do we ever know where we’re at?! We always take huge breaks. In order for us to metabolise shit that we go through as people, it takes the amount of time it takes between albums.”
She continued: “There are no better musicians in the world than Zac [Farro] and Taylor. There are no better performers than [the touring musicians affectionately known as the] Parafour. It’s just magic, man. I feel such a vindication in knowing that nobody can discount Paramore.”
Williams also recently confirmed that the “racist country singer” that she refers to in the album’s title track is Morgan Wallen.
Elsewhere, Paramore and Williams have both joined the ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign, a cultural boycott initiative that encourages artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
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