Hayley Williams Shares Empowering Thoughts On Gwen Stefani

It’s no secret I admire Paramore’s Hayley Williams. I have loved Paramore for years and look up to Hayley because she empowers me. I have seen Paramore live on a few different occasions and always feel compelled to tell her how incredible she is, how she motivates me with her dominant performances and her ability to remain tenacious.

I did meet her once, randomly, and sat in the Swinger’s diner booth frozen unable to form a full sentence. She was polite, down to earth and normal. I was completely stunned when she approached us. I was only able to get out, “Hi, I’m Sara.”

Anyway, one of the best things about Hayley Williams in 2013 is she has held onto her love of music and (just like me) is still encouraged by other women in music.

In 2009 Ms. Williams had the opportunity to tour with someone she admires, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani. In a new interview with Absolute Punk Hayley shared some thoughts and feelings on Gwen’s enormous talent and her admiration for what Gwen has achieved. Hayley’s explanation is incredibly candid and I found her point of view on fame poignant. Take a look at what Hayley said about touring alongside No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani. #musicrules.

“Gwen is amazing. She’s down to earth and she works her ass off. I can’t even stress how much she does on one single tour day. There was never one thing she said that stuck, but there was always plenty to be encouraged by. The fact alone that that band is still together is motivation enough, right? I’m not sure if this will come off the right way, but by seeing her life and everything she does, I can say that I wish fame and success weren’t things that go hand in hand with each other in the music business. The “fame” part of music is bogus anyway. I will be ecstatic if our album does well and people love it… but I’ll still feel dumb every time we go to LA and some paparazzi guy – who doesn’t even have a clue who I am – starts taking pictures of me and calling me “Kayley”. I’ll still be embarrassed if we’re walking down a red carpet, all dressed up, and someone asks me what I think of Miley Cyrus‘ new haircut. Are you kidding me? That’s really what it means to be called ‘famous’ in this country and that stuff is meaningless. I like the work part, the creative part and the connection I get to make with real people because of music. So when people tell me that I’m the next Gwen Stefani, I don’t think about the Gwen that I see on the cover of a magazine. I think about the girl who wrote “Simple Kind Of Life” and now, years later, smiles every night on stage when she sings the line, “I always thought I’d be a mom”. She has personal goals and dreams and she’s reached a lot of them. I think she’d still want all of those things even if there was no one watching.”

Who empowers you?

Let’s talk music, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.