Paramore’s Hayley Williams on why she finds pop stan wars “really fucking annoying”

nme.com:

Paramore’s Hayley Williams has opened up about pop fans in 2024, and shared that she finds the competitive nature of fanbases “really fucking annoying”.The pop-punk icon took to her Instagram Story after a recent Paramore show in Hamburg, where they opened for Taylor Swift.

Williams explained how she has noticed artists’ fanbases becoming increasingly eager to compare their favourite musicians.The issue, she added, is predominantly in the pop world, where fans can get too centred on chart placements or units sold – leading to them using those stats to suggest their favourite artists are better than someone else.“Something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and why I don’t really love it… Especially in the music world, whether it’s the pop girls or any scene, really, people only give a fuck about numbers now, and stats,” she began, talking off-screen while the camera recorded (via Stereogum).“That is so lame.

It’s very fun, don’t get me wrong. It’s sick. We’ve had a Number One album and top this and that albums, yes. That shit is great… But I just remember a time when that was not so important, and that also wasn’t a gotcha for a stan-war type of situation.”She continued, explaining that she gets frustrated seeing it happen and wishes that more fans would just be supportive of musicians releasing their work.Hayley Williams speaks on fans fighting over chart positions, sales, etc.