Paramore’s album “After Laughter” explores many aspects of mental health and mental health awareness. Hayley Williams, Paramore’s lead singer, highlights her own personal experiences with mental health throughout the entire album, such as in the song “Fake Happy”. “Fake Happy” is about being honest with yourself, and with your own emotions. It demonstrates that individuals expressing mental health crises are forced to “Fake Happy” instead of expressing their true emotions, possibly due to stigmatization of mental illness. Paramore’s “Fake Happy” highlights that individuals experiencing mental health concerns should feel confident in expressing their emotions with others without the fear of judgement.

“I love making you believe
What you get is what you see
But I’m so fake happy
I feel so fake happy
And I bet everybody here
Is just as insincere
We’re all so fake happy
And I know fake happy

I been doing a good job of makin’ ’em think
I’m quite alright
But I hope I don’t blink
You see its easy when I’m stomping on a beat
But no one sees me when I crawl back underneath”
– Paramore (Fake Happy)

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