Paramore's Hayley Williams Defends Family Friend Miley Cyrus -- 'She's A Great Girl' -- Talks New Album

Hayley Williams has a lot on her plate these days. In addition to wrapping a co-headlining tour with Jimmy Eat World, she and her Paramore bandmates are gearing up for a long, hot summer on the festival circuit in the U.S. and Europe, followed by a late-year jaunt with Jack's Mannequin. And then, if all goes according to plan, perhaps the band will record a new album.
"Well, [guitarist] Josh [Farro] writes most of the music, so he has got tons of ideas coming on like crazy right now, and it's really inspiring and motivating me," Williams said backstage at "TRL." "So, I started writing to some of the ideas while we were on tour, and hopefully with some time off, I'll be able to focus and spend a lot of time on that. We're hoping to have a good 20 songs done by the time we get off the road, and we'll see where we go from there by the end of the year."
What are the new songs shaping up to sound like? Well, according to Williams, pretty much everything, with a slight leaning towards the harder side of things. Then again, ask her in a month and all of this could change.
"We're going back and forth, because there are so many things we want to accomplish as a band, and right now it's all over the place," she laughed. "We gotta get it focused. That's part of the writing process. ... I'm a big fan of a lot of heavier music. I've been listening to stuff like H20 and Set Your Goals' new album, Mutiny! So there's a lot of that. ... We all listen to so much stuff."
Williams said that Paramore haven't decided whom they'd like to work with on the follow-up to Riot!, but they haven't ruled out David Bendeth, who produced that disc. She added that they're hoping to make this album a decidedly hometown affair.
"There are so many great producers out there, and we all know that this next [album] is gonna be important to us," she said. "This one has got to be better than Riot! And we would love to record at home. We hope to work in Nashville, because we've been on the road for so long, and to be away from home has been tough."
And of course, there's also more than music on Williams' mind these days. She's been closely following the ongoing Miley Cyrus situation, and not just because she's weathered her own share of public — and seemingly unnecessary— controversies as a fellow female celeb.
As it turns out, Cyrus is a family friend of Williams', and the Paramore frontwoman thinks that the embattled "Hannah Montana" star is going to make it through "photogate" unscathed.
"We grew up around the Cyrus family, and they're amazing people, and I know they wouldn't steer their daughter wrong," Williams said. "Miley's got a good head on her shoulders, so I think she'll come out of all this strong. She's a great girl."