Paramore’s greatest hits are back on the setlist.
The emo-pop band resurrected its hit single “Misery Business” on Sunday at Bakersfield, California. It played it live for the first times since it was retired in 2018.
Hayley Williams, the lead singer of the band, stated that the band would not be playing the song for “a really long time” due to backlash from listeners. Some critics found “Misery Business,” especially the lyric that refers at another woman as a “whore”, sexist.
After years of Williams defending the song, and many fans who argued for it, Williams reiterated her commitment to feministism, the band was able to play the song live again.
According to Rolling Stone, Williams said that four years ago, she had stated that they were going to retire the song for a while. “But, what we didn’t know was that just five minutes after I was canceled for using the word ‘whore” in a song’s title, all of TikTok decided it was okay.
The audience cheered loudly when she and the band began to sing. This footage was shared online by attendees.
Paramore rose to stardom in 2007 with the release of “Misery Business”. The single was written by Williams at 17 years old and told the story about a turbulent love triangle between teenagers. Paramore fans awaited the song’s appearance on tour. Williams would invite an audience member to perform its fast-paced lyrics and chorus. Paramore’s work since then has been influenced by the song and Paramore’s lyrics. Olivia Rodrigo even had to credit Williams and an ex Paramore guitarist for her hit single “good 4 You” due to similarities.
Some music critics and fans have rethought the lyrics to “Misery Business” over the years. Although the derogatory term is only used once, the song’s subject matter – two young women competing for the boy’s affections– led some listeners to call it “antifeminist,” as Williams explained in several interviews.
“The problem with the lyrics was not that I had an issue in school with someone I went to high school with. She said that she tried to call her out using words that didn’t belong in the conversation in a 2017 interview.
Williams disassociated herself from the lyrics of the song in a blog post she wrote in 2015. She also stopped singing certain controversial lyrics live until the 2018 concert, when she stated to the crowd that it was “time for (performing the song).”
Williams reiterated her position regarding “Misery Business”, as recently as 2020, when Williams called out Spotify for adding “Misery Business”, to a playlist featuring women rock stars.
She wrote, “I know it is one of the biggest songs by the band but it shouldn’t be used for anything having to do female empowerment or solidarity,” on Instagram in 2020.
WIlliams had a change of heart earlier this year and joined Eilish to perform the song as a duet at Eilish’s Coachella set in April. She sang the song live on Sunday again, and she explained to her audience that she had rethought it. “You know, we all can learn from ourselves, right?”
Many artists have decided to stop performing certain songs. This is due to backlash from listeners as the songs age. Elvis Costello said last year that he would never sing “Oliver’s Army”, one of his UK hits. It contains a racial insult. “Brown Sugar” has been withdrawn by the Rolling Stones. It opens with a slave narrative that sexualizes young Black women.
Some artists have accepted listener demands to change lyrics that some fans found offensive. This decision has been controversial. Beyonc and Lizzo? After being asked by disability advocates, both Lizzo and Beyonc removed the word “spaz”, from their songs this year. The term “spaz” is used in the UK to refer to people with disabilities. However, in the US, especially in African American Vernacular English it’s used to describe “going all in” or “being in a zone,” CNN reported earlier in the year.