Hayley Williams stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, October 8th to perform “True Believer,” a stirring cut from her recent album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party.
The Paramore singer began the performance seated at the piano solo, but was quickly joined by a full band, including a seven-piece string section. With a powerful chord progression and vocals that rise in intensity, Williams laments the changes she’s seen in Nashville, the rise of megachurches and bigoted Christians, and the way capitalism is responsible for both of these developments.
“Act like God ain’t watching/ Kill the soul, turn a profit” she sings in the first verse, later seething “The south will not rise again/ ‘Til its paid for every sin/ Strange fruit, hard bargain/ Till the roots, Southern Gotham.” Not only was this Williams’ first late night TV performance in support of Ego Death, it marked the live debut of “True Believer.” Watch her potent performance below.
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Williams officially released her third solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, in late August after leaking the album earlier that summer. The album arrived amid a busy year for the Paramore vocalist, who has released collaborations with David Byrne, Turnstile, and Moses Sumney; this week, she revealed a collaboration with Jay Som, “Past Lives.”
Back in August, we named Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party one of the best albums of the month. Pick up a physical copy of the album here.