Hayley Williams has shared a moving cover of her father’s song ‘Friends Or Lovers’, which was recorded back in the ‘70s.
The release comes as last year saw the Paramore singer help to finally release an album recorded by her grandfather around 50 years ago.
Now in his late 70s, Rusty Williams laid down the tracks for an album around half a century ago, but it remained unreleased for decades, and even Hayley was unaware of its existence until recently.
When she came across the songs, she helped him release the record commercially for the first time – joining forces with her Paramore bandmate Zac Farro and agreeing to release the album on his own label Congrats Records.
The record, titled ‘Grand Man’, dropped last February, and Hayley celebrated the release by sharing a reimagined version of one of the songs on the tracklist: ‘Friends Or Lovers’.
First announced back in November, the cover of the song was initially only available as a seven-inch release that came with purchases of a deluxe release of Rusty’s album. Now, it is finally available on streaming platforms. Check it out below.
Her version sees her star on lead vocals and synth, while Farro takes on the drum parts. It also stars Brittany Howard, who contributes backing vocals, an acoustic 12-string guitar, and flute.
When the original album from Rusty first dropped with thanks to his granddaughter, he said that he “didn’t expect anything” to come from the music as he thought he was “too old to be famous”.
“But I just want to know someone liked what I did, and to be touched by whatever the hell they are listening to,” he added. “I want people to see how it felt when things were real.”
The two have worked together on music before. In 2020 he made an appearance on his granddaughter’s 2020 solo album ‘Petals For Armor’, when Hayley sampled his song ‘Friends Or Lovers’.”
The Paramore icon will hit the road this spring for a lengthy run of solo shows across North America, Europe and the UK.
Dates come in support of her latest solo album, ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, which she released digitally in August, and at the end of 2025 she added more shows to the upcoming run due to “overwhelming demand”.
Visit here for UK tickets, and here for international tickets.
Hayley Williams’ 2026 headline tour dates are:
MARCH
27 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle (new date)
28 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
31 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
APRIL
01 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall (new date)
03 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
04 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
9 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
10 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
12 – Hammerstein Ballroom – New York, NY (new date)
14 – Baltimore, MD @ The Lyric (new date)
15 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore (new date)
17 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore (new date)
14 – Baltimore, MD @ The Lyric
18 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
21 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater
22 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater (new date)
25 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
27 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
28 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium (new date)
MAY
02 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
03 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater (new date)
05 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
07 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
09 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater (new date)
12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern (new date)
JUNE
05 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz
08 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall
11 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall (new date)
15 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
16 – Copenhagen, DK @ Poolen
19 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
20 – London, UK @ Roundhouse (new date)
22 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
23 – Manchester, UK @ Academy (new date)
26 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
27 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy (new date)
29 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium
30 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium (new date)
Williams recently picked up four Grammy nominations for ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, including Best Alternative Music Album.
The record was given a glowing five-star review too, and NME wrote: “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 album was later named as part of the Top 10 for NME’s list of the Best Albums of the Year, and the song ‘True Believer’ made it to Number Six on the list of the Best Songs of 2025.
The post Listen to Hayley Williams’ heartfelt cover of her grandfather’s ’70s song ‘Friends Or Lovers’ appeared first on NME.
