"Rose-Colored Boy" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...

. It was released on March 2, 2018, through

Fueled by Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the l ...

as the fourth single off their fifth studio album, ''

After Laughter ''After Laughter'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released on May 12, 2017, through Fueled by Ramen, as a follow-up to their self-titled album ''Paramore'' (2013). The album was produced by guitarist Taylor Yor ...

'' (2017).

Composition

"Rose-Colored Boy" has been described as new wave by Rockfreaks.net,

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. The song also has an 80s vibe like other tracks in the album.

Release and live performances

The band performed the song at ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' on August 25, 2017, along with four other tracks from ''After Laughter''. The band released a

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...

of the song on March 2, 2018, titled "Mix 2", with small changes. "Rose-Colored Boy" impacted American

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on March 27, 2018. Williams often interpolates the lyrics of

Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include " Wordy Rappinghood", " Genius of Love", and a cover ...

Genius of Love "Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by Tom Tom Club from their 1981 eponymous debut album. It reached number one on the '' Billboard'' Disco Top 80 chart. Background "Genius of Love" is Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not ...

into the chorus.

Music video

A music video for the song was released on February 5, 2018. It was directed by

Warren Fu Warren Fu is an American music video director, illustrator and designer. He has directed videos for artists such as Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, The Strokes, the Killers, Hayley Williams, Mark Ronson, and Julian Casablancas. Fu is signed to ...

and produced by Jona Ward. The video surrounds a fictional 80s

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

called ''Wake Up! Roseville'', with the band members hosting. As hosts, the band members are under constant stress from executives, who scold the band (particularly vocalist Hayley Williams) for not creating a more positive environment, matching the lyrics "I ain't gon' smile if I don't want to". Williams at one point, frustrated, yells "F*ck it! We'll do it live," parodying an outtake from political commentator Bill O'Reilly on ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is no ...

''. The video ends with the band shown playing the song and causing chaos on set, before resuming the show the very next day, ending with Williams' smile fading. As of October 2022, the song has 17 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. * Kevin "K-Bo" Boettger – assistant engineer *

Dave Cooley Dave Cooley (David J. Cooley; born 1970) is an American mastering engineer and audio restoration specialist. His numerous mastering credits include J Dilla's ''Donuts'' and '' The Diary'', Paramore's ''After Laughter'', 40th anniversary release ...

– mastering engineer *

Carlos de la Garza Captain Carlos de la Garza (1807–1882), also known as "Don Carlos," was a fourth generation Tejano rancher and entrepreneur in Goliad, Victoria and Refugio counties of Texas. His participation in the Mexican Army leading to the Battle of Coleto ...

– mixer, engineer *

Zac Farro Zachary Wayne Farro (born June 4, 1990) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Paramore. He is the younger brother of Josh Farro, who is Paramore's former lead guitarist and backing vocalist. After he and his bro ...

– drums, bells, keyboards, percussion, background vocals *

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American musician, record producer, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, and St. Vincent. Meldal-Johns ...

– producer, engineer, bass guitar, keyboards, programming * Zelly Meldal-Johnsen – additional background vocals *

Mike Schuppan Mike Schuppan is an American producer, mixing engineer and recording engineer. He is known for his work with Paramore, M83, Jimmy Eat World and others. He has been the long time engineer for Justin Meldal-Johnsen and served as his bass tech ...

– engineer, additional mixer * Hayley Williams – vocals, keyboards, percussion, background vocals *

Taylor York Taylor Benjamin York (born December 17, 1989) is an American musician who is the guitarist of rock band Paramore. His brother Justin was a touring member of Relient K and was a touring guitarist for Paramore until 2022. Biography York was born ...

– producer, additional mixer, engineer, guitar, keyboards,

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

, percussion, programming, background vocals

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Songs written by Hayley Williams 2017 songs Songs written by Taylor York Paramore songs American new wave songs American synth-pop songs Songs written by Zac Farro Songs about depression Music videos directed by Warren Fu