Paramore is fully committed to their comeback. Last week, lead vocalist Hayley Williams shared with fans that she “would not be be ready to give myself back to the band and the music and the life that I love so much had we not voluntarily given it up for a season.” The band’s four-year hiatus included putting their beloved track “Misery Business” on the shelf. That changed last night (October 2) during the first show of Paramore’s 12-date North American tour in Bakersfield, California, when Paramore performed “Misery Business” for the first time since September 2018.
Paramore performs “Misery Business” for the first time in 4 years at their show in Bakersfield. https://t.co/TN6b5laqpJ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 3, 2022
Paramore has officially brought “Misery Business” out of retirement.
The group previously announced in 2018 that they would no longer perform the track live due to complaints that some of its lyrics were “anti-feminist.” pic.twitter.com/PakdB1PCNb
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 3, 2022
According to BuzzFeed at the time, Williams told the 2018 crowd in Nashville, “Tonight we’re playing this song for the last time for a really long time. This is a choice that we’ve made because we feel that we should. We feel like it’s time to move away from it for a little while.”
Williams had previously taken to Tumblr in 2015 to air conflicted feelings over “Misery Business,” sparked by fan comments questioning her position as a feminist. The 2007 Riot! lead single includes the lyric, “Once a wh*re, you’re nothing more, I’m sorry,” in the second verse. (In relation to Williams’s and Paramore’s validity as feminists 15 years later, they announced in July that $1 of every ticket sold for this fall US tour will go toward ARC Southeast, providing “funding and logistical support to ensure Southerners receive safe and compassionate reproductive care,” per the organization’s official website.)
The Bakersfield show marks the first time Paramore has played “Misery Business” in four years, but Williams joined Billie Eilish‘s headlining Coachella set to give a surprise acoustic duet of the song in April.
Billie Eilish sings Paramore's "Misery Business" with Hayley Williams at #Coachella https://t.co/2VzbAU0Z5P pic.twitter.com/SUQ8bYYwco
— Variety (@Variety) April 24, 2022
Paramore released “This Is Why” last Wednesday (September 28), the title track of their forthcoming sixth studio album — and first since 2017’s After Laughter.
This Is Why is out 2/10/2023 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.
Paramore is a Warner Music artist. .
