Hayley Williams brought Rico Nasty out during the encore of her show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on the night of 17 September. Williams shouted the rapper's name, the two hugged while the crowd made a noise about it, and then the band played Airplanes. It was, by every account of the night, the first time Williams had performed the song live in 16 years.
The arrangement handed Nasty the part of the man whose record it is. Airplanes was a 2010 B.o.B single with Williams on the hook, and Nasty rapped his verses, which is a neat solution to performing a hit you only ever sang half of. A second version of the song, Airplanes, Part II, added a verse from Eminem.
It is the biggest record either of them has been near. Stereogum points out that of everything Williams has been involved with across Paramore, her solo work, the side project Power Snatch and a long list of guest features, Airplanes remains the best known, a number two on the Hot 100 that went to number one in the UK. JamBase places the version with Williams on B.o.B's 2010 debut album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray.
The encore ran Mirtazapine, then Airplanes, then Parachute, closing out a 25-song set. Nasty had opened the concert herself, so she was already in the building, and Magdalena Bay is also on the run.
The two have been circling each other for years. Williams joined Nasty on stage in Los Angeles last November for Smack A Bitch, and Nasty played Misery Business with Paramore back in 2023. Both are on the bill for All Things Go in Columbia, Maryland, next week.
One small discrepancy is worth noting for anyone tracking the dates. NME calls the current run The Hayley Williams Show, while JamBase files the same two Queens shows under the Hayley Williams At A Bachelorette Party Tour. The tour itself opened in West Palm Beach on 3 September and runs into October before South America, Mexico City, Europe and the UK, and Williams opens for Fontaines D.C. at Slane Castle next summer. She also appears on beabadoobee's album Pylon, released the same day as this performance. We covered her 2027 UK and European dates and the tattoo pop-ups she set up around the solo tour, and more from this end of the map is on the rock hub.
The facts
- Hayley Williams and Rico Nasty performed Airplanes at Forest Hills Stadium on 17 September.
- It was the first time Williams had played the song live in 16 years.
- Nasty took B.o.B's verses, having opened the concert herself.
- Airplanes was a 2010 single that hit number two in the US and number one in the UK.
- The encore ran Mirtazapine, Airplanes and Parachute, ending a 25-song set.
- Magdalena Bay is also supporting on the tour.
- Williams joined Nasty for Smack A Bitch in Los Angeles last November.
- Both play All Things Go in Columbia, Maryland, the following week.
How this checks out
Confirmed
Reported by 3 independent outlets
Independent outlets reported it separately, enough to treat it as confirmed.
Cited sources 3
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