Paramore lead vocalist Hayley Williams has been busy lately. On July 28, she surprise-released a new solo album on her website, a 17-song collection titled Ego. However, the album was only available for about two days before she removed it. In its place was an update that read simply, “Hello, there. Thank you for listening.”
Many fans were distraught at the sudden removal, with many unable to listen to the album before it was gone. Now, though, Ego has returned, with a few caveats. While it’s widely available on streaming platforms as of August 1, it’s no longer packaged as an album. Instead, each track is presented as a separate single.
The singles include “True Believer,” “Love Me Different,” “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” and “Mirtazapine,” which previously debuted on the Nashville-based radio station WNXP.
This marks the second instance of Hayley Williams dropping solo work using unexpected methods. In February 2021, she released her second solo album, Flowers for Vases/descansos with only a day’s notice. 2020 saw the release of Petals for Armor, which kicked off her solo detour.
Hayley Williams Unexpectedly Drops New Solo Work, But Fans Worry About Paramore Split
There was more to Ego than just 17 new tracks, however. The album drop coincided with a new color launch from Hayley Williams’ company Good Dye Young. 2,000 boxes of the limited edition semi-permanent hair dye, appropriately named Ego, quickly sold out. According to the website, the color was intended to “kick off Hayley’s new creative era.”
Each purchase also included a code to access the album on Williams’ website. Once there, fans were able to listen to Ego, but could also look through a “Misc” folder. This contained a video of a performance possibly taken in Phoenix in 2017, according to Variety. There was also an image of a book of lyrics and one of a t-shirt reading “Hayley Williams is my favorite band.”
New hair, new album, new creative era—but fans are still wondering about the future of Paramore.
In December 2023, Paramore wiped their website and social media in a move that had fans immediately on edge. There was a palpable panic, until the band announced that they had finally fulfilled their record deal with Atlantic Records. In short, they were gearing up for a new creative direction. Everyone’s in their “new era” era, it seems.
The mystery of “is Paramore breaking up???” was put to rest for a time. With new solo work from Hayley Williams, however, the break-up rumors are beginning to circulate once again.
Paramore Marks 20 Years of ‘All We Know Is Falling’
Among all of these new projects and eras, Paramore still recognizes the past. July 26 marked the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album, All We Know Is Falling. They celebrated with a deluxe digital remaster, as well as the first-time digital release of The Summer Tic EP. Previously, it was only available on CD.
Even while Paramore celebrates their legacy, Hayley Williams’ new lyrics are sticking in the minds of listeners. In 2022, Williams and Paramore guitarist Taylor York confirmed rumors that they were dating, and have since kept their relationship private. But, with this new lyrical content to pore over, fans started pulling out the red yarn to make connections.
There’s fear among many fans that if Williams and York have split romantically, that will mark the end of Paramore as well. As one fan put it on Twitter, “you can never survive a Hayley Williams album drop without Paramore disbandment allegations.”
Still, even as fans analyze the new lyrics like career detectives hardened by years of near misses, it remains important to note that neither Williams nor York has made any indication that their relationship or their band is in peril.
The description from Good Dye Young of Ego as a color, however, might throw fuel on the flames for some. Described as “a summer road trip in a bottle,” the vibrant marigold of Ego captures “the fleeting energy of warm summer nights, golden hour, and missed second chances.”
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
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