Ten years after releasing their fourth studio album Paramore, whose single “Ain’t it Fun” won a Grammy, Paramore has now won Best Rock Album and Best Alternative Music Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for This is Why.
There was no shortage of congratulatory tweets from Paramore fans, with several pointing out the Hayley Williams-fronted band “lost the battle but won the war” when they lost at the VMAs in 2023. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their “Ain’t it Fun” single release, the band has secured the two Grammy awards they were nominated for.
However, not all the congratulations Paramore received seemed to be taken well. Atlantic Records, which represented Paramore for the past 20 years, tweeted, “Congratulations @paramore for winning Best Rock Album & Best Alternative Music Performance at the #GRAMMYs.”
The tweet immediately received hate comments from upset Paramore fans, calling out the label for notoriously allegedly treating Paramore poorly for the duration of their two-decade contract.
“We hate you shut up,” one reply read, while another user penned, “And congrats Paramore for getting the hell away from you.” One common meme reply was a gif of Will Smith’s infamous line to Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.” “No one likes you,” yet another user commented.
But why the collective hostility?
Earlier this year, Paramore’s social media was wiped clean, with many speculating whether this meant a disbandment. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The band was commemorating the expiration of their contract with Atlantic Records after 14-year-old Williams first signed on with them in 2003.
According to Variety, “The Atlantic contract was actually a solo deal with Williams, who was signed in 2003 to a much-vaunted ‘360 deal’ in which artists share not just revenue from their album sales but concert, merchandise and other earnings with their label in exchange for ostensibly greater comprehensive career support.”
According to the outlet, this deal caused tension within the band and “was cited as a reason for brothers Zach and Josh Farro to leave in 2010.”
Music site Grunge also alluded to the dissension among the band after Atlantic Records tried to make Williams a solo artist, despite how hard she fought to include the band in the deal.
After the Farros’ departure from the band in 2010 (Zac rejoined and is currently a member,) fans became privy to some of the tension after Josh released a blog post “criticizing Hayley Williams and the way Paramore was put together by Atlantic, calling the band “a manufactured product of a major label,” according to MTV News. More than anything, the guitarist hated that the rest of the band was treated as less important by Williams’ father, their management, and the studio, even though they were all a part of Paramore,” according to Grunge.
It seems this former fixation with making Williams the next “Avril Lavigne” left a sour taste in fans’ mouths. As of this writing, Atlantic Records’ tweet has over 155 replies with the majority of them being negative.
While the band was not there to accept their Grammy awards in person, fans are excited she is joining Taylor Swift on her upcoming European Tour dates.
