Paramore Cancel European Tour, Say They Need Time Off To Deal With 'A Lot Of Internal Issues'

Break will give band 'a chance to get away and work out our personal issues,' singer Hayley Williams wrote on band's Web site.

Are Paramore calling it quits?

That's the question fans of the breakout pop-punk stars are asking in the wake of a rather cryptic blog post written Thursday afternoon (February 21) by singer Hayley Williams, in which she announced that Paramore were canceling the remainder of their European tour due to "a lot of internal issues that have been going on in this band for quite a while now.

"A lot of it started right around the time we were gearing up for the Riot! tour in the U.S.," she continued. We were able to fight through all of it for this long, but unfortunately we weren't able to keep it together long enough to make it through the end of the tour. We really feel that taking this time is going to give us a chance to get away and work out our personal issues at home and on our own terms. We just aren't willing to risk the life of our band over one tour. ... Maybe one day we will tell the whole story, but for now, just know that all five of us are going to work so hard to get it right."

The post is signed by all four members of the group and touring guitarist Taylor York, and though it was perhaps intended as a way of presenting a united front and explaining the reason for the tour cancellation, the mere mention of "internal issues" was enough to get Paramore's fanbase into a veritable frenzy (sample post on Paramore.net: "Please don't split up you guys are like the Best Band ever !!! My Life wouldn't be worth Living if i couldn't listen to your Music !!").

After all, rumors of strife within the band have been brewing since earlier this month, when guitarist Josh Farro expressed his anger with the media's focus on Williams, saying, "We are a team. We are a band. It's not just Hayley— it's not her band. Just because she's the lead singer doesn't mean she's the only one involved."

Farro later clarified that statement to MTV News, saying that the rest of the members of Paramore "are totally fine" with Williams receiving the lion's share of attention.

So is the band just taking a much-needed break? When asked about the breakup rumors by MTV News, a spokesperson for their label, Atlantic Records, responded by detailing Paramore's forthcoming schedule.

"The band will be shooting a video for 'That's What You Get' in Nashville on March 2 and 3 with director Marcos Siega," the e-mail read, "then will embark on a co-headlining tour with their heroes, Jimmy Eat World, beginning on April 1 in San Antonio."


VMAs 2018