After five long years since dropping music, Paramore are back today with a new song “This Is Why” — which also doubles as the title for their newly-announced next album. Complete with a video, the upbeat-sounding song manages to contradict the lyrical content, in the best way possible. “This is why I don’t leave the house,” lead singer Hayley Williams notes in the music video, which was directed by Turnstile’s Brendan Yates. Towards the video’s end, Williams gets increasingly more unhinged while applying red lipstick.
“’This Is Why’ was the very last song we wrote for the album,” Williams shared in a statement. “To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor [York] convinced Zac [Farro] 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 f*cking 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.”
Following their return, Paramore will embark on their mostly sold-out North American tour in October, with acts like Claud, Ogi, Japanese Breakfast, Young The Giant, Faux Real, and Elka acting as support. Paramore will also play three days at Las Vegas’ first annual When We Were Young festival, which features a stacked lineup of emo era bands.
Listen to “This Is Why” above. Below, find Paramore’s upcoming tour dates.
10/02 — Bakersfield, CA @ Mechanics Bank Theater #
10/04 — Magna, UT @ The Great SaltAir #
10/06 — Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater Omaha #
10/08 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion #
10/09 — Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/11 — Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory #
10/14 — Bonner Springs, KS @ Azura Amphitheater* &
10/16 — Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits^
10/20 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ~
10/22 — Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival^
10/23 — Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival^
10/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco %
10/29 — Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival^
11/07 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY =
11/09 — Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre =
11/11 — Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center =
11/13 — New York City, NY @ The Beacon Theatre
11/15 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle =
11/16 — St. Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre =
11/19 — Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival^
# with Claud
= with Ogi
& with Japanese Breakfast and Young The Giant
~ with Faux Real
% with Elke
This Is Why is out 2/10/2023 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.
Paramore is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.