"This Is Why" 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 ...

, released as the lead single from their sixth studio '' This Is Why'', on September 28, 2022. It was written by

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore. Born and raised in Missi ...

, Taylor York, and

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 broth ...

and produced by

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 ...

. The song was accompanied by its music video, released the same day.

Background

"This Is Why" was released on September 28, 2022. It was the last song written for the album, at which point Williams was "tired of writing lyrics", although guitarist Taylor York convinced Williams and drummer

to work on one "last idea". Williams stated that it "summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last three or four years" and thought that following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and "the impending doom of a dying planet", "that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something".

Composition

"This Is Why" has been described as a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

dance-punk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song. It is the band's first title track.

Critical reception

Quinn Moreland of '' Pitchfork'' wrote that the track "builds on the funky pop that colored 2017's ''

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 ...

'', but shifts away from its predecessor's bright gloss for something muddier and vaguely threatening" and called the chorus "spiky" with instrumentation from

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 ...

s making for a "suspense ul bridge, after which "the song creeps forward, ultimately never pulling itself out of its paranoid spiral". Ali Shutler of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described it as a "snarling, defiant middle finger to the haters" and a "giddy statement of purpose" with "newfound urgency to the party-starting music that takes influence from their angsty days as scrappy pop-punkers" accompanied by a "disco stomp". Steffanee Wang of ''

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

'' called it a "disillusioned anthem" as well as "explosive" and remarked that it "sonically fits in the neat in-between space between he band'solder pop-punk stuff and the electronic contemporary sound of 2017's ''After Laughter''".

Accolades

Music video

The music video was released the same day as the song, and was directed by Brendan Yates of the American punk band

Turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

and filmed in Malibu, California. It depicts the band performing and "frolick ng ...in the Malibu wilderness, amid the grasses, against the blue sky, and ..in the spare interiors of a house".

Personnel

– vocals, backing vocals, percussion, piano, composition * Taylor York – backing vocals,

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, guitar, keyboards, programming,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, composition *

– backing vocals, drums, glockenspiel, keyboards, percussion, programming, vibraphone, composition *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, backing vocals * Brian Robert Jones – bass guitar * Henry Solomon –

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

, clarinet,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Phil Danyew – glockenspiel, keyboards, programming * Em Mancini – mastering *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing * Harriet Tam –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Kyle McAulay – engineering assistance * Patrick Kehrier – engineering assistance * Scott Moore – engineering assistance * Joey Mullen – drum technician * Erik Bailey – guitar technician * Joanne Almeida – guitar technician

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Paramore 2022 singles 2022 songs Paramore songs Songs written by Hayley Williams Songs written by Taylor York Atlantic Records singles