After winning best rock album at the Grammys for Paramore’s This Is Why, covering the Talking Heads “Burning Down the House” for A24’s tribute album, and opening for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, Hayley Williams is due for a well-deserved break. However, 4 years after her second solo project, Williams finally returns to her solo career, just not in a way anyone expected.
For fans of Hayley Williams and Paramore, July 23rd seemed like a regular day. While they anxiously awaited new music updates from the band, Williams was brewing something behind the scenes. Her concoction? A silver CD containing new music from Williams herself.
The CD was gifted to Tennessee’s alternative radio station, WXNP Nashville, by Williams with a heartfelt handwritten message saying, “thanks for keeping me company” and “Long Live Public Radio”.
Mirtazapine you make us scream
Later that evening, an X post by the radio station invited fans to tune in for an exclusive premiere of Hayley’s new music.
As fans tuned in, they were greeted with the feverish sound of heavy guitars and Williams’ powerhouse vocals. Beneath the distorted guitars and dreamy instrumentals, “Mirtazapine” is filled with Williams’ raw emotions and vulnerability. The song explores her reliance on pharmaceuticals and reflects the challenges of navigating mental health (a recurring theme throughout Williams’ work).
Despite the song’s radio debut, it was not released on streaming services. However, it seems something bigger was being teased.
Ego and the mysterious code
A few days after “Mirtazapine’s” debut, Good Dye Young, Hayley’s hair color line with long-time friend Brian O’Connor, announced the release of a new hair dye. The new shade “Ego”, a marigold yellow inspired by Williams’ on-stage look, was released July 28 with 2,000 limited-edition boxes signed by both Williams and O’Connor. The shade sold out in minutes.
However, the hair dye was not the only thing that fans would receive.
On the singer’s website, a mysterious pop-up reading, “Submit the exclusive Good Dye Young 16-digit access code that was sent to your inbox”, greeted those who tried to access the website. The code was sent to fans through an email from Williams’ hair product line after purchasing an item.
For those without the code, the pop-up encouraged people to “…ask a friend for theirs”.
New music from the web
Entering the access code into the website introduced fans to a homepage that looks like it was pulled straight from the 90s. The layout is loud, colorful, and busy with pictures of Hayley’s dog, Alf, plastered in the background. The site also featured a miscellaneous folder that contained a picture of a coloring book scribbled with lyrics, a short audio clip, concert footage from 2017, and a t-shirt that says, “Hayley Williams is my favorite band”.
But perhaps the most exciting thing featured on the site was Hayley’s new songs.
Williams’ site contained 17 new songs, including “Mirtazapine”, scattered across the page as MP3 files. Each song could then be played through an audio player located on the page. However, after about a day, the singer promptly deleted them. Only leaving a message that reads, “Thank you for listening”.
Although the songs were taken down from the website, they were quietly released on streaming platforms on Friday. However, the songs were not released as part of one cohesive album, but rather as 17 separate singles.
The mass release acts as Hayley’s first independent release after her record deal with Warner/Atlantic ended.
Rumors?
For fans of Hayley’s solo work, the music drought is over. 17 new songs to be listened to, analyzed, and dissected at one’s pleasure. However, fans are concerned over the singer’s honest, yet worrying, lyricism.
So, what are they worried about? The release of the 17 singles, which fans have dubbed “Ego”, has sparked Paramore breakup rumors online. Specifically, if Hayley and Paramore’s guitarist, Taylor York, had broken up.
Neither Hayley nor Taylor has addressed the breakup rumors.
Why the strange rollout?
The rollout for Hayley Williams’ return seems strange. Drop one song on the radio, mysteriously upload 17 songs to your website, then delete them all after a day. Not to mention releasing all 17 songs as singles, rather than one full album. What seems to be the Paramore singer’s reason for doing this?
Williams has been very vocal about issues affecting the country right now. It seems her music rollout is another way to speak on these issues. Recently, President Trump signed a law that cuts about $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting. Due to this, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down, leaving many local radio stations, like WXNP Nashville, without funding. Williams’ decision to debut “Mirtazapine” on her local radio shows her support for public media and its importance to the community.
Releasing 17 singles, rather than an album, is also a chaotic move pulled by Williams. However, it also made experiencing the music more memorable and enjoyable. “I didn’t set out to make an album,” Williams said in an Instagram story, “I just needed to write and I ended up with all these songs”. The singer plans to create a physical release with all of the songs and encourages fans to tag her in their “Ego” playlists to help develop the release’s track list.
Williams’ other works
Williams’ release was surprising, to say the least, but far from disappointing. Her rollout offers a unique experience with listeners by combining music, art, and fan engagement, a breath of fresh air in today’s music climate. “Ego” offers a bold new trajectory in Williams’ solo career. Here are my top 5 from her collection of singles:
- Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
- Love Me Different
- Dream Girl in Shibuya
- True Believer
- Mirtazapine
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out her debut album Petals For Armor (2020) and her follow-up FLOWERS for VASES/descansos (2021) as they offer a brave introduction to Williams’ most vulnerable thoughts with their moody melodies and a reintroduction to the singer as an artist, separate from Paramore.
So what’s next for Hayley? The singer teased the possibilities of a solo tour on her social media. She first announced plans for a solo tour back in 2020 after the release of Petals For Armor. However, plans for the tour were squashed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to see both her old and new songs come to life on stage.
