Hayley Williams on 'crazy' fears

Hayley Williams would have gone "crazy" if she'd stayed in a small town

The Paramore singer grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, before moving to Franklin, Tennessee, aged 13 following her parents' divorce. After being bullied at school, Hayley was educated at home before she formed the group with original bandmates Zac Farro, Jeremy Davis and Josh Farro, who recently left.

Since finding fame in 2004 the rock star struggles to relate to the place she grew up.

"At some point you have to wake up and see what's outside that bubble," she explained to British newspaper Metro. "When I go back home, the people I grew up with are having kids and getting married - it's sometimes hard for me to go back because it's still the same world and I've grown accustomed to seeing different places and new things. If I'd stayed in a small town my whole life I'd have gone crazy."

The 24-year-old musician is the only female in the band. Because of her status as frontwoman people have previously assumed she runs the group and makes all the decisions. Hayley insists these statements are false and they all contribute to the music.

"Way too much has been written about me being the singer, me being the girl, and when I give my opinion about anything some people are like: 'Whoa, Hayley is the dictator of Paramore,'" she added. "It's not like that at all – we hold each other up, everyone brings their own thing and that's what makes us Paramore."

Even after hit singles worldwide and an impressive collection of awards, the I'm Into You hitmakers are still in awe of their fame. They constantly feel grateful for their success after working so hard.

"Even though we're older now, when we're hanging out together – we were just walking around Paris in our black hoodies – it's such a wonderful feeling. It's like: 'Yeah, we did it, we totally conquered,'" Hayley smiled.