Hayley Williams opens up about how MTV's 'TRL' built 'Paramore's' legacy

Hayley Williams, the frontwoman of the rock band Paramore, recently articulated her thoughts on how MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) shaped millennials' music taste.

While illuminating NBC's latest documentary My Generation with her presence, the lead vocalist of Paramore said, "Total Request Live was a countdown show that relied on votes to decide what was the No. 1 music video in the country."

"Gosh now talking about it literally sounds like I'm talking about the 1950s. There was a time that I probably wouldn't have admitted to listening to *NSYNC," Williams added, referring to boy band NSYNC.

The Ignorance singer added, "But let's be real — I wouldn't have learned five-part harmony or how to structure a vocal arrangement if I hadn't grown up on pop music that had complex vocal arrangements."

"To this day, I look back on those memories and think, 'That's why I'm here,'" William admitted.

Notably, Carson Daly's MTV show was not the only place where millennials found new music. MySpace has also become a popular way to discover music and for artists to gain fans and become famous.

Moving forward, the 35-year-old singer shared that she remembers MySpace clearly, and highlighting Paramore's success, she quipped, "We tour all over the world now, and I know that that would not happen had we not built this sort of community that we built online."

"We would post our photos and change our profile photos often. We would change our Top 8 to reflect what bands we were listening to or touring with at the time and we answered every MySpace message that we could," Williams concluded by saying.

For those unaware, Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams discovered Williams in 2003 and signed her to a music deal.

Later, Williams met Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard's attorneys, Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and was later signed to the label by Jason Flom.

Atlantic Records wanted her as a solo pop artist, but Williams preferred to be in a band and play pop punk, to which Atlantic agreed, so she formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis in 2004.

It is pertinent to mention that My Generation is a new four-part documentary series that will aired on NBC on October 5, 2024. 

Each episode focuses on a different generation, including Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, showing key events, people, and media that shaped them. 

It showcases old footage and new interviews, offering nostalgia for those who lived through it and insight for those who did not.