Hayley Williams shared how she reached out to Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s epochs tour is already proving to be one of the most exciting tours of the year, and the tour’s premiere night isn’t even over yet. Today (March 17) Taylor launched the epochs Tour in Glendale, AZ, which temporarily renamed itself “Swift City”. She was joined on opening night by “Abcdefu” hitmaker Gayle and Paramore.

During Paramore’s set, singer Hayley Williams recalled the first time she contacted Taylor. In a clip shared by diversity, Williams said she first saw Taylor perform at the Grammy Awards when she was a teenager. Then she got Taylor’s number.

“I was about 18 at the time and it felt kind of lonely being so young and doing things like the Grammys and all that,” Williams said. “And I met someone as I was leaving. And she said to me, ‘My daughter, she just played, she’s just starting out and she doesn’t know anybody in the industry. And I really want her to be with people her own age who are doing the same thing and that’s why I got her number.

The woman she is referring to is Taylor’s mother, Andrea Swift.

Williams went on to share the moment she decided to reach out to Swift, hinting that it was after the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she was infamously interrupted during her acceptance speech for Kanye West’s Best Female Video .

“Because I’m the shyest freak when I’m not on stage, I didn’t text [Taylor] to some VMAs scandal,” Williams said. “That was the first time I felt like I had to come forward because this person is really cool and didn’t deserve it. It was around this time that I met Taylor Swift. And the guys and I could watch them while we were playing shows and touring around the world, we gotta watch their trajectories. And I’m sure you know that because you’re here tonight, so obviously you get it, but there are moments when I’m talking to people and I’m like, ‘I’m not sure you get how damn amazing that’s an artist.’”

You can see the clip above.

Some of the artists featured here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.