After 7 studio albums, 4 live albums, 28 music videos and over a thousand concerts, Panic at the Disco! has announced that it will end after its European tour later this year.
Brendan Urie, the lead singer who slowly became the face and the frontman for the band has said he and his wife, Sarah, are expecting their first child “I am going to bring this chapter of my life to an end and put my focus and energy on my family, and with that Panic! At The Disco will be no more.”
Over their 19 year run there have been many changes. Originally formed in 2004 by Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith, Urie was originally the backup vocals until they discovered how strong of a voice he had and then offered him the lead instead, P!ATD have since undergone many changes.
Their debut studio album (‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’) was released in 2005 but the album was only popularised by the music video for the now well-known second song on the album, ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’.
The original band grew apart and eventually we were left with just Brendan Urie who has been keeping the original Panic! sound Alive for many years. The sound seemed to only really change in their most recent album but with Urie’s unique voice as the lead vocal it is hard to not recognise their music.
As a personal fan of Panic for close to 10 years and someone who has watched as band members left and were replaced as well as following Brendan Urie to the end as he did his best to keep Panic At the Disco! going as practically a one man show, it hurts as a fan to see this crazy run come to and end.
Many of the band’s songs are empowering and emotionally relatable, for instance the single ‘Girls/Girls/Boys’, is a song about love and being allowed to love whoever you want and ‘High Hopes’ promoting a positive outlook on life and achieving your goals.
Their newest album Viva Las Vengeance really plays homage to growing up in Las Vegas and the love, fame and burnout Urie has experienced and is almost the perfect final album to go out on. They have come a long way from their first popular single, ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’.
Urie is also walking away with some incredible achievements including having ‘Hey Look, Ma, I made it,’ holding Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs Chart for 62 consecutive weeks. This is an unheard-of achievement that just proves the immense following Brendon Urie has. “High Hopes” has now also held the number one spot for 52 straight weeks.
“Well, it’s been a hell of a journey… Growing up in Vegas I could’ve never imagined where this life would take me. So many places all over the world, and all the friends we’ve made along the way,” Urie wrote in a post shared on the band’s official social pages. “Sometimes a journey must end for a new one to begin.”
As the lyric says, ‘If you love me, let me go’ and that sadly is exactly what we need to do.
The final tour begins in Vienna on Feb. 20 and concludes in Manchester, England on March 10.