It has been a year since the physical release of pop punk’s favourite female vocalist Hayley Williams' third solo record, ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, which arrived to huge critical praise. In her first independently released project, we see an honest exploration of the stage of life she finds herself in, and an experimental expression of what her sound is outside of Paramore. In this album, she explores a journey through collapsing your ego (as the title suggests), life’s changes, heartbreaks and finally closure.
The story starts with an announcement on local Nashville radio that a new track from Williams would drop on their station at midnight on 23rd July 2025. The first single from the album, ‘Mirtazapine’, was released with no press release or other prior warnings. This song would make its live debut two days later, when Williams joined Bleachers on stage at Newport Folk Festival.
In a completely unconventional move, she then uploaded seventeen new songs to her website, only accessible to fans who used the access code found in the latest drop from her hair dye company, Good Dye Young. Simply titled ‘Ego’, the songs were not presented in any particular order or defined tracklist, and were removed only 24 hours later with the message “Thank you for listening”.
These first 17 songs were released as singles on 1st August 2025. Whilst waiting for news of an official album release, fans organised the songs into their own tracklists based on what they considered the album journey to be. She has described this album as an “anti-commercial” move that allowed her to speak directly to the community who care about her and her music, but that will still muddle or put-off those who just wish to make it a Paramore think-piece.
When she appeared on BBC Radio 1 on 28th August 2025, she officially released the album ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, along with a new 18th single ‘Parachute’. The physical album was finally released on 7th November, along with two surprise new songs: ‘Good Ol’ Days’ and ‘Showbiz’.
This is Williams’ third solo record, following ‘Petals for Armor’ in 2020, and ‘FLOWERS for VASES / descansos’ in 2021. She is, of course, also known for being the vocalist of iconic pop punk band Paramore since the band’s foundation, when she was just 15! After moving from Mississippi to Tennessee with her mother, Williams was signed to a 20-year ‘360 deal’ with Atlantic Records, which finally ended in December of 2023. Not long after this, Paramore went on another hiatus, having released their most recent album, ‘This Is Why’ in 2023, and finishing up their time supporting Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour.
This record is the first that she has owned herself. It was released under Williams’ new record label: Post Atlantic. Add this to the unique release schedule that rejected the expected norms and you can clearly see her determination to create on her own terms. The opening track ‘Ice In My OJ’ directly references this when she states “A lot of dumb motherfuckers that I made rich”, a bold snipe at the fact that a ‘360 deal’ ensures the label takes a cut of not just record sales, but ventures such as tours, merch, public appearances and other opportunities an artist might be offered. Since being freed from her contract with Atlantic and the release of this project, Williams has fully embraced and celebrated her newfound freedom, releasing merch emblazoned with “Post Atlantic” and “Hayley Williams is my favorite band”.
The album itself goes from strength to strength. From the cutting label criticisms in the opening track ‘Ice In My OJ’, to the tender yearning and heartbreak behind songs such as ‘Blood Bros’ or ‘I Won't Quit On You’, to references to her mental health struggles in ‘Mirtazipine’ and ‘Glum’, this is no gentle foray into creating music solo. This album is bold and confident and stands true, clear and honest to Hayley’s life experiences and values.
A feature that has received specific attention is its criticism of the devolving state of American society. The title track refers to a “racist country singer”, that she had no qualms in calling out as Morgan Wallen. “Find me in Whole Foods, Bitch”, she said, when discussing the song in her Popcast appearance. She addresses the hypocrisy of American Christianity in ‘True Believer’ for being predominantly white Christianity. Her anger towards the omnipresence of Christian nationalism in America is palpable. A moving and haunting rendition of this song was performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2025 featuring a live orchestra, and received overwhelming praise. Live performances of 'True Believer' are always opened with a warning about the threat Christian nationalism poses to democracy, as performances of ‘Ice In My OJ’ are accompanied by screams of "Fuck ICE" and "Free Palestine".
Her first-ever solo headlining tour, Hayley Williams at a Bachelorette Party, was announced days after the physical album release, and overwhelming demand led the tour to almost immediately sell out. Joined by Water From Your Eyes, Snuggle and Tiberus B as support acts, the tour was specifically focused on celebrating the album. The setlist consisted of songs from the album alongside covers, but played in a different order than the official tracklist, opening with ‘Mirtazapine’ and ending with ‘Parachute’.
Following the significant demand and success of this tour, she announced The Hayley Williams Show - her second solo headlining tour, while the first tour was still running. She is joined by the live band that were on the ‘This Is Why’ tour in 2022 (known as the ‘Parafour’), but she has made clear that this is not a Paramore project, with the setlist seeing the official live debut of songs from ‘Petals for Armor’ and ‘FLOWERS for VASES / descansos’, to much excitement from fans.
The anniversary of the physical release of this record was marked with a new music video for the track ‘Dream Girl In Shibuya’. A dreamy song of gentle yearning, the accompanying music video is raw and honest. Filmed by her tour photographer Zachary Gray, we watch Williams relaxing in various hotel rooms in between shows on tour. The viewer can’t help but recognise that this video really outlines how isolating and exhausting touring must be. Williams wanders room to room, lighting candles, contemplating, packing suitcases or removing makeup. It perfectly sums up the subtle heartbreak of waiting for something you aren’t sure is coming that the song describes.
Also announced on the album anniversary were new dates for The Hayley Williams Show. An Asian leg of the tour comprising dates in the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Japan for February and March 2027 has been teased with official confirmation of when tickets will go on sale still to be announced.
The Hayley Williams Show is coming to the UK and Europe next summer. Williams has been announced as the support for Fontaines D.C. at their shows at Slane Castle in Ireland next June and is also on the line-up for Primavera Sound in Barcelona. New posters of Hayley appeared in Manchester at the beginning of November, but there is yet to be confirmation of what this is teasing.
It is fair to say that the last year has been a very triumphant one for Hayley Williams (and for her fans). After such an honest, powerful and refreshing album cycle from one of alternative music’s most beloved female vocalists, there is no doubt that the work she produces next, either as a solo project or a collaboration, will be highly anticipated.
Lily Brown
Image: ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ album cover, shot by Zachary Gray
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider buying us a coffee. The money from this pot goes towards the ever-increasing yearly costs of running and hosting the site, and our "Writer Of The Month" cash prize.