Hayley Williams Calls Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Impressive’
Hayley Williams is a big fan of her tour-mate Taylor Swift and her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. The Paramore frontwoman sung high praises of Swift on Monday (April 22).
Williams, 35, posted to her Instagram Stories about how “impressive” she thought Swift’s songwriting was on her 11th studio album.
(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)
“Had me from the storytelling alone, my friend,” the “Brick By Boring Brick” singer gushed online alongside a photo of Swift’s double album artwork. “Every one of us knows this kind of grief! It’s so impressive to me how specific and colorful Taylor’s words get without ever losing the universal thread.” She added, “I’m so ready to be tour-mates.” Paramore is set to open Swift’s Eras Tour starting in May on the European leg throughout her 2024 international dates.
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Williams’ Paramore, who formed 20 years ago in Tennessee, was chosen as this year’s Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. Each year, Record Store Day announces an ambassador (or ambassadors) to represent the annual event celebrating indie record stores. Taylor Swift was an ambassador in 2022.
“Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores, a vital part of our journey from music-obsessed school friends to professional music makers,” the band said in a statement.
Swift’s Emo Collaborators
Hayley has collaborated with Swift in the past. As we previously reported, when the singer-songwriter released her version of Speak Now, she had a “From The Vault” track featuring vocals by Williams called “Castles Crumbling.” Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump was also featured on a “From The Vault” track called “Electric Touch.” He has also known Swift for at least a decade when the band performed with Swift at the Victoria’s Secret show in 2013. They played “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” together.
Williams and Swift initially met when they were both up for the Best New Artist Grammy in 2008, and not long after, they became friends. Three years later, Williams performed Paramore’s “That’s What You Get” with Swift on her Speak Now World Tour. In a December interview with People, Williams said Swift was there for her when she was going through a rough time, calling her to listen, “crack jokes and give me solid advice that of course sounded like perfectly formed lyrics. She’s funny as s— and so fun.”
Williams joins Swift’s latest collaborator, Post Malone, in raving about TTPD. Posty, whose featured on the opening track “Fortnight,” said of Swift: “It’s once in a lifetime that someone like @taylorswift13 comes into this world.”
5 Lyrically Depressing But Fun Songs To Dance To On Taylor Swift's Record
Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, has already come with surprise after surprise. From the double album release to the songs shading Kim Kardashian, Matty Healy, and Joe Alwyn, TTPD has “left no crumbs,” as they say.
What stood out to us most about the 31 songs is that Swifties — whether happy and in love or going through it — all loved her dark and cheeky lyricism. Despite whatever mood you are in, it seems as though the pop icon has managed to perfectly balance vulnerable, crushing lyrics of hurt and heartache, all while giving her fans something to dance to and smile through the pain.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
I am not a Swiftie, but I can recognize when Swift, 34, has a hit. As a songwriter, Swift can be clever, and her usage of advanced vocabulary absolutely shines on this album. At other times, as pointed out by others on social media, Swift can be a little juvenile with some of her lines, making us wonder what the hype is all about.
RELATED: Taylor's TTPD Features A Track Shading Kim Kardashian
However, compared to other successful pop artists of today, no one else does it like Taylor Swift. She reaches her fans worldwide with her lyricism and musicianship. Every album is an event, and this one is no exception. TTPD has been compared to her 2020 album, folklore, with fans commending her use of synths on this album as well.
Longtime collaborator and friend Jack Antonoff shared his love for Taylor on X (formerly Twitter) and listed his favorite tracks on the record, both of which actually ended up on our list as well. “!! FOTS heads lets go !!” he writes of the 7th track, “Fresh Out The Slammer.” He later hyped up track 4, “Down Bad,” as it “heads as well.”
Take a look below at X Lyrically Depressing But Fun Songs To Dance To On TTPD:
