Paramore said TikTok convinced them to start performing Misery Business again
Paramore have started performing one of their biggest songs, Misery Business, at their concerts again after having retired the song for four years.
The pop-rock anthem was written by the band’s frontwoman Hayley Williams and released in 2007 when she was just 17 years old.
But as the years have gone on, the song’s lyrics have come under scrutiny with some fans labelling them sexist.
In particular, the line “Once a whore, you’re nothing more / I’m sorry, that’ll never change” has been criticised.
This led to the band retiring the song, with Williams announcing at a 2018 gig that it would be the last time they played the song for “a really long time.”
She said: “This is a choice that we’ve made because we feel that we should, we feel like it’s time to move away from it for a little while.”
It seems like for Williams four years counts as a “really long time” – because the song has returned to their sets.
@hawi_feisa Replying to @spaceychasee Hayley talked about it at the show tonight Misery Business is here to stay??? #paramore #hayleywilliams #miserybusiness ♬ original sound – Hawi?
Taking to the stage on Sunday (2 October) in California, Rolling Stone reports that Williams told the crowd: “Four years ago, we said we were gonna retire this song for a little while, and I guess technically we did.
“But what we did not know was that, just about five minutes after I got cancelled for saying the word ‘whore’ in a song, all of TikTok decided that it was OK.”
PARAMORE DID MISERY BUSINESS WE ALL WENT INSANE. WE OUTTA RETIREMENT pic.twitter.com/4yjmsKV6zI
— Vali (@akitoshinonome) October 3, 2022
Whilst the vast majority of those at the gig went wild when they heard the song, some have taken issue with Paramore bringing it back to their sets.
One person wrote: “I like how that band Paramore said they wouldn’t play ‘Misery Business’ anymore but waited until the last show of the tour to do that and then they took a couple of years off, Covid happened, they come back and now just play it again like nothing ever happened.”
Another shared a statement from the band that condemned a recent incident at their show in Utah earlier this month.
On October 5, the band said a male fan had ‘physically and verbally assaulted multiple women, including an engaged couple’ at the show.
They added: “Paramore does not condone violence, homophobia, or bigotry of any kind. It is supremely unwelcome in our community and has no place at our shows.”
But one fan retweeted the statement with the caption: That’s why you should stop performing ‘Misery Business’.”
That's why ypu should stop performing misery business https://t.co/DofyR6giin
— • (@bhelesiola) October 7, 2022
A third person tweeted: “I’m happy that Paramore is back to playing ‘Misery Business’, and I was sad when they stopped, but they always had a valid reason. The misogyny.
“And maybe looking back you don’t remember, but ‘once you’re a whore you’re nothing more I’m sorry that’ll never change’ IS HARSH AND EVIL.”
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