Paramore

Hayley Williams is not a woman to be messed with. At just 19, she's already been singing with pop-punkers Paramore for four years, showing more bite, fizz and spunk than the Snow Patrols of this world could ever imagine. A case in point? Her band's fiery new single, 'Misery Business', an open attack on a slutty female who dared to sleep with one of her best friends and break his heart. With sales of their sophomore album Riot! growing fast, and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist to their name, world domination is beckoning for the Tennessee rockers. We caught up with Hayley to find out if she's ready to take on the UK.

As the only girl in a band of guys, do you ever get tired of slogging it out on tour with the boys?
"Oh my gosh, I was going stir crazy at home. It's funny because we got to the point where we could have burnt out last year - it was really tough - but, after four or five days at home, I was ready to play music again. I was wishing the tour had already started."

Your live shows are renowned for being very energetic. Do you manage to keep the party atmosphere going backstage?
"I think all four of us are a little more reserved in person. It's not that the people you see onstage aren't really us; it's that just something clicks when you get onstage - the passion just takes over. When we're together, there are definitely some crazy, hyper moments, but we're different people to the guys you see playing live every night."

Your new single 'Misery Business' is quite a personal track. How do you feel about having people listen to something so intimate?
"I feel like it's the most honest song on the record. I've never been that honest in my life - not even with myself - let alone with fans or the rest of the world. It's a little strange, actually."

What's it actually about?
"It's about something that really happened to the four of us. We're a tight-knit circle of friends, and one day this girl entered our peer group. You know, she basically used a lot of my friends - and one in particular - for sex. In the end, she really broke his heart and hurt him. This guy happened to be someone that I was really in love with, so it was really confusing for me. It sucked to see someone that I cared about so much being devoured by this girl that I knew didn't care. It hurt."

When you write a song like that - a really honest song about teenage life - do you feel a responsibility to your fans? Do you feel like a role model?
"We definitely feel honoured to be considered role models. I think, as a band, we have a platform to be a positive influence. But the main thing that keeps me from embracing the role model thing is that I don't want to screw up. I don't want to make a mistake and have everybody see it."

Do you think your sex appeal has affected the way the band's been perceived?
"You know, I don't think it hinders us. Because I'm a girl, people will always focus more on me, but we knew coming into this that it would be that way. It's just the way our world works - that's the way we do things."

Following the success you've had with the second album, do you think people are starting to get over the fact that you're a girl in a rock band?
"Yeah, it has definitely gotten a lot easier with time. You know, people are still really trying to figure us out. I still think we're a very new band - we still have a lot to prove. The only thing that makes us think we're not getting anywhere with the whole 'girl thing' is when we do interviews and it's made into something that it was never meant to be. I think a lot of the time journalists pull stories out of their ass."

You've just been nominated for a Grammy Award. Was that a shock for you?
"I still kinda can't believe it. I think every band that loves what they do hopes for it at some point, but I didn't think now would be the time for that. It's a whole new world to us. you know. It's exciting and a little scary, but it's cool that in such a short space of time we've experienced things that bands who have been together for decades never even get."

Paramore release new single 'Misery Business' on February 11.