NEWS
Paramore‘s self-titled album has taken its 10th trip around the sun, and to celebrate the LP’s milestone anniversary, lead singer Hayley Williams shared a few words with fans on social media Wednesday (April 5) thanking them for their support during a tumultuous time for the band.
“10 years ago, we put out a record that took a lot of guts and self-determination to make. Mainly because after losing 2 members of the band [Josh and Zac Farro] there was so much discourse around whether or not the band could make anything worthwhile – let alone stay together,” Williams began the message.
She continued, “The story of Paramore has been rife with reality show-style drama. Well, until the last 6 or 7 years. It’s really great to be able to look back from where we are now, knowing the story didn’t end when some said it would. If all that led to our Self-Titled album hadn’t happened, we’d be the most boring band of all time. If we hadn’t been forced out of our trauma-bonded comfort zones, we would’ve never known what we might be capable of.”
After taking a moment to thank some of the contributing musicians on the project — Justin Meldal-Johnsen (production, songwriting, keys and percussion), Carlos de la Garza (percussion, engineering) and Ken Andrew of Failure (mixing, keys and back up vocals) — the singer then turned her message outward to the fans, who she says were responsible for giving the band creative freedom through their continued support.
“Taylor [York] and I wrote these songs having no idea if people would accept a reformed, more liberated version of Paramore. Our fans not only accepted but championed our rebirth,” Williams concluded her message. “Thank you for allowing us the room for creative risk and for keeping this story going. We love you. Paramore forever.”
Released April 5, 2013, Paramore became the band’s first and only album to hit No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. The LP spawned four singles: “Now,” “Daydreaming,” “Ain’t It Fun” and “Still Into You,” with the latter two charting at Nos. 10 and 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively. “Ain’t It Fun,” in addition to its Billboard chart success, earned Paramore their first Grammy Award in the best rock song category at the 57th annual ceremony, making Williams the first woman to win the award since Alanis Morissette in 1999.
Other fan favorites on Paramore’s self-titled album include the sentimental track “Last Hope” and “Part II,” which references lyrics from “Let the Flames Begin” from the band’s 2007 breakthrough release, RIOT!
See Williams’ message in full below.
NEWS
There’s a high probability that Jorja Smith has new music coming this summer. The British singer revealed plans for her What Are the Odds LP on Thursday (July 2), with the album set to arrive on Aug. 21 via FAMM.
Smith reunites with producer P2J — who served as a primary collaborator on her 2023 album Falling or Flying — for the entirety of the project. J Money and P2J will continue to build on the inventive U.K. garage sound Smith has been exploring, alongside a mix of grime and house.
“This album came together really naturally. There was never a big plan; it was just me making music that felt right in the moment,” Smith tells Billboard. “Working with P2J, we started experimenting with different sounds, pulling from U.K. garage, grime and house (funky house, Afro house) and it all grew from there.”
She continues: “The music feels uplifting, but the lyrics can be a bit sad at times. They’re about growing up, love, loss, friendships and figuring things out as I go. I trusted my instincts with this one, and I think you can hear that throughout the record.”
Smith kicked off the album’s rollout in May with the self-assuring “What’s Done Is Done,” and it continues on Thursday (July 2) with a second single, “Alive,” which finds the R&B singer joining forces with Afrobeats pioneer WizKid. The duo basks in the love-drunk euphoria of the honeymoon phase of a bubbling relationship and heads to Paris for the visual.
“Making this with P2J and WizKid felt really easy,” Smith adds of the collab. “We wrote and recorded it together in London. I think we captured that feeling when you’re at the beginning of something with someone and everything feels exciting. I’ve always loved WizKid’s music and the way he’s opened so many doors for Afrobeats around the world, so it feels really special and a big honor to have a song with him.”
What Are the Odds serves as Jorja Smith’s third studio album and contains 12 tracks. Outside of WizKid, the only other feature comes from grime artist Devlin.
When the project lands on Aug. 21, Smith will hit the stage later that night at London’s All Points East, as she’ll be co-headlining the Victoria Park show with Tems. 2026 has already been a busy year for J Money, who served as a musical guest on the debut season of Saturday Night Live UK in April.
The 29-year-old also collaborated with Mobb Deep’s Havoc for a remix of her “Blue Lights” classic and lent “Price of It All” to Amazon MGM Studios’ Bait soundtrack.
Find the What Are the Odds cover art and tracklist below.
What Are the Odds tracklist:
