Paramore release sixth album 'This Is Why'
It came out on 10th February 2023
Paramore confirmed in January 2022 that they were back in the studio recording their first album in five years. 'This Is Why' was released in February 2023 - which makes it almost six years between albums.
Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro returned to the music scene in 2022, releasing album title track 'This Is Why' to huge acclaim, plus performing at festival When We Were Young and their own intimate tour. Here's everything we know about their sixth album 'This Is Why'...
Paramore reveal exactly who their album is for
Taking to social media the day before 'This Is Why' was released, the trio posted an explanatory note on who will enjoy the new album, writing: 'Hello. It’s been 5.5 years since we released our last album. What’d we miss?
'If within the last 5.5 years you’ve felt/experienced sensations of: Agoraphobia, Righteous Rage, Confused About The Difference Between Selfishness and Self-Preservation, Complete and Utter Apathy, Cabin Fever, Deep-Seated Vengefulness, Moral Superiority, Dissociation, Disassociation, Disbelief At The Inconsistencies of The American-English Language, American Psycho, Revelation, Nostalgia For Things You’ve Not Yet Experienced and Did Not Know You Even Wanted To, Resignation. Then oh boy, do we have an album for you.'
'This Is Why': Release date
Paramore announced that the album would be called 'This Is Why' along with a release date of 10th February 2023 in a super casual, nonchalant Instagram post which contained a teaser video of the title track single.
WATCH: Paramore - 'This Is Why' (music video)
The music video was directed by Turnstile’s Brendan Yates and filmed in Malibu, California in August 2022. Hayley said of the video: "It was so rad working with Brendan. I’ve known the Turnstile guys for a little while and was so psyched to have our worlds collide in this way. There’s a cool kinship between the way our bands do things... Hopefully we will get to play shows with them at some point."
She added of the track itself: "'This Is Why' was the very last song we wrote for the album. To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor convinced Zac and I both that we should work on this last idea. What came out of it was the title track for the whole album.
"It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last 3 or 4 years. You’d think after a global pandemic of biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something."
Album artwork
The album artwork for 'This Is Why' shows Taylor, Hayley and Zac with their faces pressed up against some glass with condensation, and was shot by Zachary Gray.
Track list
'This Is Why'
'The News'
'Running Out of Time'
'C'est Comme Ça'
'Big Man, Little Dignity'
'You First'
'Figure 8'
'Liar'
'Crave'
'Thick Skull'
Are Paramore touring 'This Is Why'?
They certainly are - Hayley, Zac and Taylor will play six dates around the UK and Ireland in April 2023.
How did Paramore describe the album 'This Is Why'?
Back in January 2022, the Tennessee trio promised the return of riffs to Paramore’s sound as the album will feature "more emphasis on the guitar" than 2017's 'After Laughter', according to vocalist Hayley Williams.
The singer told Rolling Stone that the new music will draw from their earlier influences, but won't necessarily be a "comeback 'emo' record."
Hayley said: "Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different. We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start. 1) More emphasis back on the guitar, and 2) Zac should go as Animal as he wants with drum takes."
Where did they record it?
They started writing the new album in Nashville, but moved to a studio in California to complete work on the record.
Commenting on the creative process, Hayley said: "We wrote and tracked something we loved and it actually surprised us. We kept joking it was all downhill from that point, but thank God we’ve been surprised a lot throughout this whole thing.
"I’m always waiting for the moment for us to know we’re onto something new and we’re not just rehashing the same s---. It was 'Ain’t It Fun' for our self-titled record, and 'Hard Times' or 'Told You So' for 'After Laughter'.
"It’s not about it feeling like a hit so much as it’s a scary, exciting feeling that you’re treading uncharted waters. It keeps you curious. We got to feel that feeling early on this time.”
A look back on Paramore's amazing career:
Career beginnings
Paramore was created in 2004 when friends Hayley Williams, brothers Josh and Zac Farro, Jeremy Davis and Jason Bynum would meet up and jam together after school. As most of the band apart from Davis were under 18, Hayley's parents would drive them to perform at various shows and festivals. After attracting the attention of record label executives, the band, who originate from Franklin, Tennessee, was signed to Atlantic Records and Fueled By Ramen in 2005. However, shortly after this, Davis left the band citing personal reasons and was replaced by bass player John Hembree.
2005: 'All We Know Is Falling'
Upset about Davis leaving the band, Paramore used the experience as inspiration for their debut album, 'All We Know is Falling'. Despite leaving five months earlier, Paramore asked Davis to return just before the album was released. He accepted and replaced Hembree. Later that year, guitarist Hunter Lamb was brought in to replace Jason Bynum.
'All We Know Is Falling' was released in July 2005, along with singles 'Pressure', 'Emergency' and 'All We Know'. The album reached Number 4 on the UK Rock chart and Number 51 on the UK chart. It also peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums in 2006. While the album didn't perform as well as their record label had hoped, it did help Paramore to build a larger fanbase, particularly in the emo/alternative rock scene, on both sides of the pond.
2007: 'Riot!'
Paramore had their major breakthrough moment after the release of their second album, 'Riot!' in 2007. The now 2x Platinum-selling album featured singles 'That's What You Get', 'CrushCrushCrush', 'Hallelujah' and their biggest song to date, 'Misery Business'. The band chose the name 'Riot!' for the album, because it means "a sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion" which they felt "summed it all up".
2007: Jeremy returns and Taylor York joins
At this point, the band had gone through yet another lineup change after saying goodbye to Hunter Lamb, who was later replaced by guitarist Taylor York, a friend of the Farro brothers. Davis was also briefly expelled from the band, which according to Josh Farro was due to "his lack of work ethic and participation in things that Zac, Hayley and I didn't agree with". However, Hayley later convinced the rest of the band to let him return as their bass player for the second time.
2009: Third album 'Brand New Eyes'
After extensively touring their 'Riot!' album, Paramore went back into the studio to write and record their third album in 2009. 'Brand New Eyes' was released later that year and was an international success, thanks to singles 'Ignorance', 'Brick By Boring Brick', 'The Only Exception', 'Careful' and 'Playing God'. Paramore then went on tour with You Me At Six for a 15-date European tour, which culminated at a show at London's Wembley stadium which was watched by over 12,000 fans.
2010: The Farro Brothers leave Paramore
In 2010, Hayley, Jeremy and Taylor announced on the Paramore website that founding members Zac and Josh Farro had left the band. The trio wrote, ' None of us were really shocked. For the past year, it hasn't seemed as if they wanted to be around anymore ... We want Josh and Zac to do something that makes them happy, and if that isn't here with us, then we support them in finding happiness elsewhere.'
A year later, Paramore released their first single as a trio, 'Monster' which featured on the movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon soundtrack.
2012: Fourth self-titled album
In 2012, Paramore released their self-titled fourth album -their first as a trio. This album marked a change in direction for the band as they came back with a brand new look and sound. The change worked in their favour, with the album reaching Number 1 on the US Billboard 200 and the UK Album chart.
2015: Grammy Awards and Jeremy Davis leaves
In 2015, hit single 'Ain't It Fun' won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. This album also produced the commercially successful single, 'Still Into You' which has since gone double platinum. Despite the global success of 'Paramore', Jeremy Davis left the band for the third time to focus on his personal life in 2015.
2016-2017: Zac Farro returns
In early 2016, Hayley Williams announced on Twitter that Paramore were in the process of writing their fifth album. However, while many were expecting Hayley and Taylor to continue as a duo, eagle-eyed fans spotted photos of former drummer Zac Farro playing with the band on their social media channels. Unsurprisingly, Zac Farro's reunion with the band was officially announced in 2017.
2017: 'After Laughter'
With the new line-up in place, Paramore released 'After Laughter', their fifth studio album in 2017 which had a distinct '80s new wave vibe. It debuted at Number 6 on the US Billboard 200, making it their third top 10 on the chart and also reached the Top 10 in countries such as the UK, Australia and Canada.
2019: Hiatus
Much to the disappointment of their fans, Paramore took to Instagram in August 2019 to announce that they would be taking a break to pursue solo projects.
2020: Solo projects including Hayley Williams' solo album 'Petals For Armor'
Hayley went on to release her debut solo album, 'Petals for Armor', which was co-written and produced by bandmate Taylor York. The album performed well upon its release, reaching Number 4 on the the UK Albums chart and Number 18 on the US Billboard 200. Drummer Zac Farro also released his first solo EP, 'Zafari' in 2020, which has strong Reggae influences.
2021: Silver vinyl edition of 'Riot!' released
Paramore rereleased their 2007 hit album 'Riot!' on special silver edition vinyl to celebrate the record label Fueled By Ramen's 25th anniversary. In addition, the band hosted a fan art design contest, getting the opportunity to submit their 'Riot!'-inspired designs with the band will choosing a winner, featured on their official Paramore merch and sold on their web store plus a $500 cash prize.
2021: The hiatus is over
In Nov 2021, Hayley Williams revealed that the band's hiatus is now over and teased to fan that Paramore's highly-anticipated sixth studio album could be with us sooner than we think.
When asked about the prospect of using her unused solo songs for a new Paramore album during a fan Q&A on Twitter, Hayley said: "There are more songs, yeah. But I'm not planning on another solo album and I'm not sure if they'd be great for Paramore. I'm ready for the next Paramore album. Let's go."
2022: The band get back in the studio
The group confirmed in Jan 2022 that they were back in the studio recording their sixth album - the first in five years. While there's currently no title or release date for the new record, the Tennessee trio promised the return of riffs to Paramore's sound as the album will feature "more emphasis on the guitar" than 2017's 'After Laughter', according to vocalist Hayley Williams.
2022: 'This Is Why'
Finally, Paramore fans had some new music to sink their teeth into with the release of single 'This Is Why' in September 2022. Hayley said of the track, which the upcoming sixth album is named after: "'This Is Why' was the very last song we wrote for the album. To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor convinced Zac and I both that we should work on this last idea.
"What came out of it was the title track for the whole album. It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last three or four years. You'd think after a global pandemic of biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something."
2022: When We Were Young festival
The trio took part in the 'When We Were Young' festival in October 2022, performing alongside the likes of The All-American Rejects, Sleeping with Sirens, and Black Veil Brides. Also on the bill were forgotten favourites We The Kings, The Ready Set, and 3OH!3, plus newcomers like Meet Me @ The Altar and The Linda Lindas.
2023: New song 'C'est Comme Ça'
Paramore released their new single 'C'est Comme Ça' on 12th January 2023 to promote their upcoming album 'This Is Why', after single 'The News' was put out in December 2022.
2023: 'This Is Why' album release
Paramore's album 'This Is Why' was released on 10th February 2023, preceded by an explanatory post from the group which described why you might listen to it: "Hello. It's been 5.5 years since we released our last album. What'd we miss?
"If within the last 5.5 years you've felt/experienced sensations of: Agoraphobia, Righteous Rage, Confused About The Difference Between Selfishness and Self-Preservation, Complete and Utter Apathy, Cabin Fever, Deep-Seated Vengefulness, Moral Superiority, Dissociation, Disassociation, Disbelief At The Inconsistencies of The American-English Language, American Psycho, Revelation, Nostalgia For Things You've Not Yet Experienced and Did Not Know You Even Wanted To, Resignation Then oh boy, do we have an album for you."
2024: Grammys win
Starting off 2024 with a bang, Paramore picked up two awards at the Grammy Awards ceremony which took place on 4th February. Both for their sixth studio album 'This Is Why', the band won awards for both Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Rock Album.
Read more:
Paramore: A timeline of their incredible career so far
Hayley Williams announces release of silver vinyl edition of Paramore's 'Riot!'
15 of our favourite emo bands then and now