Panic! at the disco is a US alternative pop-rock band, formed in Las Vegas in 2004 by the singer
and guitarist Ryan Ross and the drummer Spencer Smith, who were classmates.
Soon after, Brent Wilson joined them to play the bass, as well as Bredon Urie as main vocalist,
after they showed their great skills.
The band’s name comes from the son “Panic”, by the americans Name Taken.
They started playing covers of songs from other bands, and then they started writing
their own.
Out of luck, their music was heard by Pete Wentz, bass player in Fall Out Boy and owner
of Decaydance Records.
Wentz liked his original and fresh style, and thanks to him, Panic! at the disco got
a record contract with the label Fueled by Ramen.
In September 2005, his debut album was released, A Fever You Cant Sweat Out, which meant a
fresh of fresh air for alternative rock.
With the single “I write sins not tragedies” they got several awards, like “Best Rock
Video of the Year” in the MTV Video Music Awards in 2006, and it was one of the most
watched videos on youtube back then.
Their casual style and their original performances helped them connect to the young public, and
they soon made a space for themselves in the music panorama.
Their fame also increased after they were named Band of the Moment by the magazine Spin.
Also, with their presence in social networks, they gathered a strong community of followers.
In a turning point, when they had already become an internationally famous band, the
bass player Brent Wilson was fired and replaced by Jon Walker in mid 2016.
With this new formation of the band, it didn’t take them long to to work on their new cd.
But when it was pretty much finished, they decided to rewrite it, completely, as they
weren’t really convinced about the style of the songs.
So, in March 2008 they released Pretty: Odd, with singles such as Nine in the Afternoon,
Mad As Rabbits or Northern Downpour.
The sound of this CD was softer than the previous one, influenced by bands such as The Beatles
or the Beach Boys.
Even tho it wasn’t as successful as their debut album, the critics were still positive,
and the band went on important promotional tours.
But the future of Panic! at the disco was again put to the test in July 2009, when they
announced Ross and Walker were leaving the band, due to artistic discrepancies.
After this, Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith went through a really tough time, finding
themselves, for the first time, leading the band alone.
Urie then thought it was the perfect chance to work in new music, taking the role of main
songwriter.
They first tried with the release of “New Perspective”, the first one without Ross
and Walker.
The critics were really positive, and later on it was included in the soundtrack of the
movie Jennifer’s Body.
The third album, Vices & Virtues, was released in March 2011 after two years of work, and
the first single was “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”.
Again, the public’s reception was mainly good, tho the shadow of their successful first
cd was still after the band, especially now that there were only two of the original members.
Too weird to live, too rare to die! was the title of their fourth cd.
Released in October 2013, it debuted in the second position of the Billboard 200 - same
success as Pretty.
Odd.
"This is Gospel", "Miss Jackson" or "Girls/Girls/Boys" were the most successful singles.
The album had a great influence from hip hop and electronic music, and this was praised
by the critics - they were experimenting with new music styles.
However, a new blow marked the future of the band when the drummer Spencer Smith announced
he was leaving the band temporarily due to personal problems.
After a year and a half away from the group, he confirmed he was actually leaving for good,
leaving Urie as the only member from the original band.
From that moment on, the singer of the band took all the musical and artistic responsibility.
His first moment of truth would come with his 5th studio album “Death of a Bachelor”,
in January 2016.
In it, Brendon Urie wrote all the songs and recorded pretty much all the instruments.
And even tho he had help from professional musicians, they were never part of the band
as the official members were.
Everything was against him, but the album was still as successful as the previous ones!
It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and it was
nominated to the Grammy Awards as Best Rock Album.
Making the most out of it, the new cd didnt take long.
Pray for the wicked was released during the summer of 2018, and it was also written, composed
and recorded by Urie alone.
It was praised for going back to the festive and optimistic style in most of its songs,
like the singles High Hopes or Say Amen (Saturday Night) (both really successful).
Thanks to Brendon Urie's charm and his constant musical innovation, the band has made it to
the spotlight of alternative pop rock.
Clearly, his horizons are now a lot wider.
He's proven it with his participation in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots or with the successful
and recent collaboration with Taylor Swift in the song ME!.
Without a doubt, an unexpected success that took everyone by surprise.
So, whatever the next step is for Panic! at the disco, we are sure great achievements
are coming their way!