Fans are convinced Williams teased a collaboration with the superstar at a recent meet and greet.
Hayley Williams recently got tight-lipped after seemingly teasing a collaboration with Taylor Swift, but fans sure would like her to speak now.
At a recent Ulta meet-and-greet event, the Paramore frontwoman was captured on video accepting a homemade Speak Now-themed bracelet from a fan. “Let me just tell you, this is coming at a very interesting time that you’re giving me this to wear,” Williams said with a pointed smile while taking the bracelet. “And that’s all I’ll say.”
Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, Swift just announced a couple weeks ago that her next re-recorded album would be Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), surprising her Eras Tour crowd in Nashville with news that the project is set to arrive July 7.
The original 2010 Speak Now famously has no collaborations and was entirely self-written by Swift, but the pop star’s past two Taylor’s Version projects — Red and Fearless — both had a variety of guest appearances on previously unreleased “Vault” tracks. For instance, Phoebe Bridgers added duet vocals to “Nothing New” on Red (Taylor’s Version), and Keith Urban did the same for Fearless (Taylor’s Version) bonus track “That’s When.”
Plus, the “Still Into You” singer has previously said that Speak Now is her favorite of Swift’s eras, and in 2011, Williams made a guest appearance at one of the pop superstar’s Speak Now Tour shows. The longtime friends rocked out together on stage, and the “Anti-Hero” musician helped the Paramore singer perform the band’s Riot! track “That’s What You Get.”
Speaking of eras and tours, Paramore also opened for Swift’s first few Eras Tour shows in Glendale, Ariz., earlier this year.
Put that all together, and you’ve got a pretty compelling case that Williams may be getting a spot on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). At least, fans certainly think so. “Pretending not to care about the potential taylor and hayley collab on speak now tv so they announce it faster,” joked one Swiftie on Twitter.
“hayley motherf–king williams if you/paramore are featured on speak now taylor’s version i am going to levitate to places undiscovered by drugs or science please god,” tweeted another.
See more fan posts below:
me pretending not to care about the potential taylor and hayley collab on speak now tv so they announce it faster pic.twitter.com/8tNgi0QADv
— gabe (@____gabe__) June 1, 2023
hayley motherfucking williams if you/paramore are featured on speak now taylor’s version i am going to levitate to places undiscovered by drugs or science please god
— ty ✰ heard getaway car ! (@owndiscomfort) June 1, 2023
speak now vault track featuring hayley williams pic.twitter.com/Q4Ljo9ZO5v
— sav (@CTHWILLOW) June 1, 2023
HAYLEY WILLIAMS ON SPEAK NOW TAYLOR’S VERSION pic.twitter.com/DbVOU7QaqS
— maddie ras (@maddieeras) June 1, 2023