MANILA, Philippines – Paramore is returning to the Philippines “more Paramore than ever before” on Feb. 15 with a concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Its first Philippine visit happened in 2010. “The Filipino fans were unbelievable, it was one of the most exciting shows we had ever played,” guitarist Taylor York recalled of the concert that drew a crowd of 19,000 at the MOA concert grounds, to The STAR in a phone interview recently.

“(In our return concert), you’re going to expect everything we have, including songs that haven’t been heard for a while. It’s going to be a really energetic show. We just want people to go crazy.”

The American band that is behind such hits as Crushcrushcrush, The Only Exception, Misery Business, Monster and Decode, might perform a new single from its latest and fourth studio album, which Paramore finished recording late last year and is scheduled for release in April.

Frontwoman Hayley Williams had earlier dropped several telling statements about its making and inspirations. She had said in interviews and blog posts that the creative process behind the album is the “most relaxed, inspired and liberating experience” that they had so far, that it’s an “answered prayer” with “a lot of change and a lot of positivity.”

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‘Of course it sucked when everything was falling to pieces,’ says the singer

It’s been a rocky couple years for Paramore: original members Josh Farro (guitar) and Zac Farro (drums) left in December 2010 with a bitter note online, claiming the band was the “manufactured product of a major label.” Singer Hayley Williams pressed on, heading to L.A. with a lean lineup of guitarist Taylor York and bassist Jeremy Davis, with producer Justin Meldal-Johnson (Beck, Garbage), for their fourth LP, Paramore (out April 9th), their first songs since 2009′s Brand New Eyes.

In this new Q&A, Williams and guitarist Taylor York tell Rolling Stone the band almost ended entirely. “There were definitely days I would wake up and think it would be so easy to put up some sort of letter saying we’ve had a good run,” Williams says. “And then there were days that you would wake up and you would have a song in your head and know that there is purpose.”

Musically, where did you want to go after Brand New Eyes?
Hayley Williams: That whole time for our band was such a dark season. It was emotionally exhausting, and by the time we got around to the point where we were going to start writing, we just really wanted to enjoy the process of making an album, really just enjoy the reality that we’re in a band and our dreams have come true. You know, we should be happy about all this. So I think that’s what was most important to us, and we didn’t really know how that would manifest itself through the music, but it just happened. Continue Reading

It’s been over three years since Paramore released their last full length album, “Brand New Eyes.” With anticipation of the band’s new Self-Titled album at an all time high, I had a chance to get a few questions in with front-woman, Hayley Williams. We discussed what direction the band has taken musically, where they’re at with their lives and how it impacts their lyrics and everything in between. If you thought the band was going to slow down after the rocky past few years, you’re dead wrong. If anything, the band seems more focused and revitalized, ready to deliver their best album to date.

I think the best place to start is talking about your new single “Now.” Why did this end up being your first choice for a single? How would you describe it in relation to singles of the past?

To be honest, I was surprised that everyone – speaking of the label – was so ready to release “Now” first. It’s quite heavy compared to some of the other songs. The thing is anyone could have picked any of the songs as first single and I would’ve been alright with it. That’s unusual for me, personally. With past albums, I’ve had a really strong conviction about one particular song from each. For instance, the guys and I convinced a lot of people that “Misery Business” had to be our first single off RIOT! We just knew. That’s not to say that we don’t have strong feelings about “Now”… We just happen to have those strong feelings for every song on the album! Continue Reading