Hayley Williams Reveals Her Least Favorite Dye Job Made Her Look like a Corpse

Hayley Williams is best known for her songs, solo or with her band Paramore. But her songs aren’t the only thing fans are obsessed with, as they love her ever-changing hair color.

Over the years, the singer has done dye jobs or hair dye multiple times, and fans seem to love almost all of them. But Williams knows that not every hair color combo suits her and her body.

The 34-year-old singer recently talked about one instance when the dye job didn’t go well, and she looked like a corpse. This revelation came during her exclusive interview with People on June 17, 2023, where she revealed her least favorite dye jobs.

She mentioned that she and her band were preparing for their debut at New York’s Jingle Ball in 2008. At that time, she decided the best way to garner more people’s attention would be to walk out on the stage in a brand-new and unexpected hair color.

After deciding, she called Brian O’Connor – her hairstylist, friend, and business partner – to do the job. She stated, “I came to him, and I was like, ‘Brian, I want purple hair with orange bangs.’”

“It was right before our very first Jingle Ball, the band was just starting to be played on the radio, things are happening,” Williams added. She also recalled resenting the viral orange “Misery Business” hair color she was known for and being ready for a change.

“I needed to switch it up on them!” she said, referring to being ready to give her fans something new. She continued, “But the purple came out on me so dark, and my skin couldn’t handle it. I looked like a corpse that year at Jingle Ball. We mourned that for a bit.”

That incident took a toll on her, but she didn’t stop; she learned that with time, experimentation, and personal growth, she can always experiment and doesn’t have to run away from the look that has become synonymous with her.

“Just because I’m in Paramore and just because people know me as something, doesn’t mean I can’t still change and be who I want to be. Blonde has actually become a favorite. Bleach blonde! Before this tour, I told Brian I was ready to do that.”

Hayley Williams in 2008 (Photo: BRIAN ACH/WIREIMAGE)

“I was still OK with some orange to have some fun, but I wanted blonde,” she concluded. And the result of her latest hair experimentation was that she got a bleached look with a hint of orange at the tips to hearken back to the hairstyle that started it all.

Hayley Williams wants her fans to express with their hairs

Before the above-mentioned interview with People, the Paramore frontwoman had given another interview with the same magazine, where she opened her wish of wanting her fans to express themselves or their emotions via their hair color.

She first mentioned that she used to experiment with numerous shades when she was young and has never looked back. Moreover, during the early 2000s, she used to buy box dye with whatever cash she could scrape together. She said;

“I would take whatever money I could from singing demos for people or answering phones at my dad’s store or serving pizzas at Zack’s — our drummer’s dad’s pizza shop. But I wasn’t paying attention, so every time I would buy a box, it was a different red; sometimes it was pinker.”

Hayley Williams during one of her on-stage performances (Photo: Instagram)

Williams then stated that she had emotional ties to her hair as it became a way for her to reflect and express her feelings without speaking, especially while dealing with matters of her personal life that she doesn’t want to share with the public.

She said, “We go to something to latch onto to help us feel like we have some control. Hair has always been my something. It’s always been a way for me to reflect and show the world without having to say what I’m going through.”

Williams also said she is lucky to have a friend like O’Connor, as it’s like having a friend who wants her to express herself.

“That’s kind of what we want to be for people in the world when they come and buy a box of our dye,” she added, referring to products from her and O’Connor’s hair brand Good Dye Young.

Ultimately, she mentioned she wanted people, either her fans or non-fans, to express themselves, present themselves however they felt, and have the freedom to do that.