The anti-rollout rollout: Hayley Williams’ quiet revolution against the industry

Written by Chloe Buckley

On 28 July 2025, Hayley Williams’ official website had a complete makeover. Once the correct password was put into the prompt, it opened up to 17 brand-new tracks from the Paramore frontwoman. Without any traditional promotion or a major record label backing her, we now have a completely new album on streaming and a track still to be released.

The album is Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, a release that has defied every rule in the book. The rollout isn’t just unconventional, it’s a statement.

Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party album cover | Credit: Hayley Williams, Post Atlantic

Williams has always done things differently when going solo

Williams has long refused to play by the rules since the beginning of her solo career. Back in 2020, she released her first solo album titled Petals For Armor. The album arrived in the form of three EPs, all five tracks long, rolled out piece by piece.

The follow-up to Petals For Armor was FLOWERS for VASES / descansos in 2021 and this release flipped the previous structure entirely. There were no singles released at all. The only songs heard before the album dropped were ‘Find Me Here’ featuring on the Petals For Armor: Self Serenades EP and ‘My Limb’ being hand delivered to fans on a CD.

This DIY spirit to bond with her fans by hand-delivering CD’s, even under the Atlantic Records umbrella, shows how Williams was just getting started when it came to twisting the system.

Freedom after 20 years

Williams’ first two solo albums were included in her deal with Atlantic Records alongside each Paramore album. Williams was signed to the label at the age of 14 and was proposed with being a solo artist. However, she insisted on forming a band, with the label agreeing. After 20 years, Williams and Paramore completed their contract with Atlantic in 2023. 

Fast forward to 2025: Coming off Paramore’s This Is Why world tour and their opening slot on the European Eras tour, Williams has released more solo music, independent from a label, with no warning and an unusual rollout.

Chaos by design

The first sign of a new project did not come from Williams, but rather Nashville’s public radio station, WNXP. They were given a CD featuring ‘Mirtazipine’ and ‘Glum’, and it was up to the hosts to decide which track would be premiered first.

A week after the premiere of ‘Mirtazipine’, 17 unheard tracks were uploaded onto Williams’ official website. A code was needed to access the website that could be found through ordering the brand new yellow shade, EGO, from Williams’ hair dye brand, Good Dye Young.

From the ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ music video | Credit: Hayley Williams via YouTube.com

The songs were taken down from the website a few days later and were eventually uploaded onto streaming services as singles rather than one album. It was a choice that many were confused by, but ultimately became part of the story. Williams invited her fans to make their own tracklist, turning her community into curators.

Once shuffling through several fan created playlists, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party was released on 1 August 2025. By the time it was dropped, it already felt like a fan-built experience, serving as proof that connection doesn’t need to be choreographed.

Purposefully breaking the rules

The album being released on a Thursday was a quiet act of rebellion. It is significant considering albums are usually released on ‘New Music Friday’ so that they have a full week to maximise chart potential. Releasing on a Thursday essentially self-sabotaged any potential commercial success, a choice that highlighted the project was about art over algorithms.

When everyone thought that was the last of the releases, Williams only went and released another song titled ‘Parachute’ which premiered on BBC Radio 1. The next track ‘Good Ol’ Days’ was released after Williams performed it at a live show with Bleachers. 

A final track is yet to be released titled ‘Showbiz’, along with the physical copies of the album. This will mark the record’s full release on 7 November 2025.

Hayley Williams performing with Bleachers at Rolling Stone Musicians on Musicians 2025 | Credit: Krista Schlueter for Rolling Stone

Despite no tour announced of her own, Williams has been appearing on stage at other artists’ shows such as Turnstile, The Linda Lindas and Rico Nasty, clearly leaning into community over commerciality. 

And somehow, it all worked. With a Metacritic score of 91, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party became a critical triumph and a conversation about creative freedom.

A new definition of success

Williams is rewriting history with this release. After 20 years under a label contract, she has released an album on her own label ‘Post Atlantic’, without a care about how it’s ‘supposed’ to be.

The rollout wasn’t careless, it was a controlled chaos. Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party puts emphasis on the art itself rather than the product. It’s not about the money or chart success, it’s about rejecting the industry’s obsession with hype and visibility.

Connecting with fans and releasing a creative project on her own terms was the goal, and she has only gone and achieved just that.