A new era of Paramore appears to be loading

Paramore fans everywhere were filled with dread last week when the band’s social media went totally blank, and their website was shut down. In an age of dramatic social media resets, such a move doesn’t necessarily spell disaster, but it was followed by Paramore pulling out of iHeartRadio’s ALTer EGO festival scheduled for January 13. (A statement from the band blamed “unforeseen circumstances” and apologized “for any inconvenience.”) Onlookers speculated wildly: Would their opening gig on the European leg of Taylor Swift’s stadium tour be the next to go Were these actions signaling the end of Paramore

It didn’t help that one of the group’s last posts on their Instagram Story before the page got wiped was an excerpt from an Uproxx interview, which read, “Now that Paramore has spent the year touring behind This Is Why (and making sure to take better care of themselves while they’re at it), a chapter of the band’s career has come to a close. They’ve now fulfilled all label obligations and are effectively free agents. As for the future of Paramore, all three members agreed that there’s a level of uncertainty.”

“Uncertainty” seemed like certain doom to some fans, who already began guessing what act might replace Paramore on the Eras Tour. (Maisie Peters had to shut down rumors that she was tapped to sub in on her own social media.) Yet in that same Uproxx piece, Hayley Williams, Zac Farro, and Taylor York had expressed their excitement about being on Swift’s tour. And the sentences immediately following the “uncertainty” are even more reassuring:

“But one thing’s for sure—they’re still going to be together, and they’re still going to keep having fun. ‘The only thing that matters is we will still get to be each other’s community,’ Williams says. Farro agrees: ‘I just hope we can keep building the Paramore empire and then rule the world.’ And wherever they end up, the massive community of fans Paramore has cultivated will be here for them, too.

Long story short: no, it’s not the end of Paramore. But it is the end of their contract with Atlantic Records, which is the reason that their Internet presence has been largely wiped, Variety confirmed. Plus, the ALTer EGO cancellation was just due to scheduling conflicts, a source told the outlet. The Eras Tour and other festival dates are still on, but Paramore is now a free agent. Headed into this year’s Grammys, where the band is nominated for two awards for their album This Is Why, the trio has a clean slate. We’ll see what this new era has in store for Paramore.