Hayley Williams is arguably the most well known pop-punk star of all time. As the lead vocalist and pianist for the hugely successful band Paramore, at the age of only 17 she found herself as part of what was to become one of the biggest bands on the planet. In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown, Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee, where she met former band members Josh Farro and Zac Farro in school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons and while still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called 'The Factory' where she met Jeremy Davis.
Paramore was created in 2004, with Hayley Williams alongside Josh Farro, Jeremy Davis and Zac Farro. Prior to forming Paramore, the other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as singer. As any Pop-Punk band would be; having a beautiful female front person was unheard of in the genre. But as they were good friends she began writing with them and eventually became a member. The fact that they had a female singer was basically the foundation of why they became as big as they now are. The band has released three studio albums, "All We Know Is Falling", "Riot!", and "Brand New Eyes" as well as two live albums and three EPs.
Williams and Paramore evolutionised the genre in more ways than one. Firstly the most obvious thing is that having a female singer was extremely rare at the time of their formation. Secondly another interesting aspect of Paramore is that they were all privately educated and were not 'short of money' as some would say. Due to the roots of Pop-Punk coming from a broken home and being raised in a working class enviroment, this was also pretty much unheard of and caused the band to be looked down upon by many other bands of the style. A lot of followers of Pop-Punk give bands such as Paramore, All Time Low and You Me At Six a hard time because they are not from the same background as most people in this cliqué; they are also often seen as too commercial and it is not un-common to hear them called 'sellouts'. But hey, they make millions, do you really think they care?
"Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand."
Putting aside the labels she is given, Williams maintains a look which still encaptures Pop-Punk but does so in an almost cleaner way. She still wears artsy clothes, skinny jeans and skate shoes but also manages to wear them in pristine condition. If this is not POP-Punk by nature then I don't know what is.
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