Hayley Williams ProfileAfter 16 long years, Hayley Williams – lead singer of Paramore and acclaimed solo artist in her own right – has performed Airplanes for the first time.
Released in April 2010, Williams sings the chorus on the rap rock track with American rapper B.o.B. Upon its release, Airplanes peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while outside of the US, it topped the charts in New Zealand and the UK and peaked within the top ten in Australia, Canada, and Ireland.
A sequel song, Airplanes, Part II, features Williams’ same vocals from the original and includes a verse from Eminem. The original track had a resurgence on TikTok in 2021, and now, in the year 2026, we have its live debut.
On Thursday (17 September), Williams performed Airplanes at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens with her support act, Rico Nasty. The latter, an American rapper and singer, took over the rap verses with undeniable energy and flair, while Williams’ vocals were spot-on.
Consequence of Sound notes that Nasty didn’t just repeat B.o.B.’s lines. Instead, she seems to have rewritten the lyrics and delivered her own bars. At the performance’s conclusion, Williams called the song “Airplanes 2026,” to ecstatic applause and cheers.
Check out the performance below.
Before she hit the stage, the Paramore Brasil Instagram page noted that Williams’ pre-show playlist featured all the acts who abandoned Ed Sheeran’s US tour following Macklemore’s removal.
This week, after some touring from venues and tour organisers Frontier Touring, it was announced that, for the first time, Hayley Williams would bring her solo show to Australia.
In February 2027, she’ll perform two intimate gigs at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre and Melbourne’s Forum. She’s showcasing her latest tour, The Hayley Williams Show, which includes songs from all three of her solo albums: 2020’s Petals for Armor, 2021’s FLOWERS for VASES / descansos, and last year’s Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party.
In an effort to ensure tickets go to genuine fans and weed out bots and scalpers, tickets will be sold via a ballot next week. Everything you need to know about tickets for the Australian leg of The Hayley Williams Show is here.
