Paramore expands sound in new effort

By MESFIN FEKADU

AP Music Writer

NEW YORK

Hayley Williams of Paramore said joining rapper B.o.B on the hip-hop groove “Airplanes” helped her band realize they needed to take more chances.

The monster jam sold more than 4 million tracks and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011. Williams said the song’s success came at a perfect time: Two of the members of Paramore left the group, and the newly formed trio began work on their fourth album and wanted to expand beyond their signature punk-rock sound.

“Our fans were so into it, I felt like [B.o.B’s] fans were into it, and ... I just realized it’s good to take risks,” the bright-haired 24-year-old singer said in a recent interview. “And I think that [it] kind of really fell into place at the right time because when it came time to write this record, it was all about taking risks and following what we wanted to do versus what maybe people would have expected us to do.”

There are elements of funk and pop throughout “Paramore,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week with 106,422 units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. There’s the current single “Still Into You,” which Williams first “thought was too poppy.” The tune “Ain’t It Fun” even features a gospel choir.

“We had a lot of fun experimenting with things that we’ve never been able to do [before],” bassist Jeremy Davis said.

“We’ve never tried to kind of branch out and do things that didn’t adhere to just drums and bass and guitar and keys,” guitarist Taylor York added.