Hayley Williams has revealed US talk show host Jimmy Fallon was an unlikely inspiration behind Paramore‘s music.
It comes as Paramore released their remix album ‘Re: This Is Why’ today (October 6), which honours artists who have either influenced the members or who the band have gone on to inspire. In a new appearance on The Tonight Show discussing the album, host Jimmy Fallon asked the frontwoman about her early influences.
Alongside Deftones, Failure, and The Cure, she unveiled one more surprising influence: Jimmy Fallon himself.
Williams, who met future Paramore members Zac and Josh Farro – the latter of which has since left the band – at a homeschooling supplemental programme in Tennessee, said Fallon’s 2003 comedy song ‘Idiot Boyfriend’ “took over our homeschool”.
“[It was a] huge hit with the Paramore crew!” she joked.
Fallon then asked Williams if he was the influence for Paramore, and she confirmed: “Yes! 100 per cent!”
Williams explained that she discovered Fallon’s deep cut on MTV, which would play every morning that the Paramore band members would meet up: “Your song played more than John Mayer at the same time”, she said.
The rock musician went on to praise the ‘Idiot Boyfriend’ music video as “iconic”, which features a fresh-faced Zooey Deschanel. She also complimented Fallon’s vocal talents: “It was so good. Your falsetto?”
Fallon, a former SNL cast member, did not seem to share the same adoration for his own material: “I had a disco comedy song when disco was at its peak… 2003,” he said.
Previously, ‘Re: This Is Why’ was revealed to have collaborators such as Foals, Wet Leg, and Julien Baker on its tracklist. The album also includes the previously unreleased demo of ‘Sanity’, having been made around the time of their 2017 album ‘After Laughter’: “It’s been hanging around for a long time, and so we wanted to finally give it a home,” the band said.