Paramore Brings Lil Uzi Vert Along for ‘Misery Business’ as Hayley Williams’ Star Power Lights Up Madison Square Garden: Concert Review
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Hayley Williams, the lead singer of rock band Paramore, and Lil Uzi Vert, the Philly rapper behind “Just Wanna Rock” and more, have been fans of each other for a long time, but it wasn’t until Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden that they finally met.
The mutual adoration started in January 2016 when Uzi posted a video of himself on Twitter singing along with Paramore’s hit song “Ain’t It Fun.” At the time, Uzi was still an up-and-coming rapper with a few catchy tracks under his belt, but Williams must have taken note. Over the years, they traded compliments for each other — Uzi named her his dream collaboration and that “there’s no one better than Hayley Williams” in a recent Complex interview, and Williams revealed the two had talked about a collab that never came to fruition — until the two took the stage together in New York City.
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On the second night of a sold-out, two-day stint at Madison Square Garden, Paramore began closing out its nearly two-hour set with hits like “The Only Exception,” “Hard Times” and “All I Wanted.” The packed crowd exploded with the biggest cheers of the night when the band started playing “Misery Business,” but nobody could have predicted the surprise guest. The rapper sauntered on stage with an oversized chain and sang a bit of the bridge before hugging Williams.
“[We’ve been] talking for a minute, but this is the first time we’ve met in person. I love you. You’ve said too many nice things about me,” Williams said on stage. “You are so sweet to me and to Paramore, so can we do this bridge again together? And then we’re gonna melt their faces off, all right? New York City, are you ready? Here we go!”
Face-to-face and totally in sync, the two belted out the final chorus of “Misery Business” as streamers exploded into the crowd. Uzi embraced Williams one last time and darted off stage at the end of the song, a bowtie on one of the most surprising, yet heart-warming, duo performances in recent memory.
The surprise guest didn’t take away any of Williams’ star power on the night, and her head-banging, high energy and all-around positivity shone brightly in Madison Square Garden. Openers Genesis Owusu and Bloc Party set a rocking tone for the night, and once Paramore took the stage it was hit after hit from the band’s nearly 20-year discography.
The international tour has been in support of Paramore’s latest album, “This Is Why,” their sixth studio release and first since 2017. After dropping “After Laughter” in 2017, the group focused on individual projects, and Williams released two solo albums, “Petals for Armor” in 2020 and “Flowers for Vases / Descansos” in 2021. During Wednesday’s show, she alluded to a rough period for the band and a time when they stopped playing their love song “The Only Exception” because it didn’t feel authentic. But by the end of the night, Williams proclaimed that this was the “best show of their lives” and thanked the fans who came to both New York shows.
It had been 10 years since Paramore last performed at Madison Square Garden, and it was a welcome return for the modern rockers. Never running out of energy, Williams danced, leaped and rolled around on stage, and her vocals stayed strong on the high notes of songs like “All I Wanted,” “Decode” and more. And it was a full team effort, with guitarist Taylor York shredding and drummer Zac Farro pounding away on percussion all night. Fireworks, confetti and streamers blasted off as colorful lights and strobes flashed across the crowd, a full maelstrom of rock ‘n’ roll extravagance.
At the end of the night, Williams donned a Statue of Liberty hat given to her by a fan and gave a heart-felt thank-you to everyone who showed up. Among a wave of signs in the crowd, Williams spotted one that said “Paramore Saved Me” and called out to the owner to see if they could sign it and gift it to her. After a knockout performance 10 years in the making, Williams wholesomely explained, “Paramore saved me, too.”
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