Wilson was fired from the group mid-year undaunted, Panic! continued with their friend Jon Walker on board for a full summer tour that culminated with appearances at Lollapalooza and the Reading and Leeds Festivals. Proving to be a popular lineup, the Nintendo tour consistently sold out venues across the country. The band continued touring into early 2006, while their single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" found its way onto MTV and the Billboard Top 40.
With their record scheduled for release in September 2005, Panic! At the Disco joined the successful Nintendo Fusion Tour and hit the road alongside Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Boys Night Out, and the Starting Line.
Even though Panic! At the Disco had yet to play a live show, they subsequently became the first band signed to Wentz's label. After tiring of playing another group's material, they recruited two additional classmates, guitar/vocalist Brendon Urie and bassist Brent Wilson, and the newly formed quartet decided to model their name after a line in Name Taken's "Panic." Crafting pop-influenced songs with theatrical touches, quirky techno beats, and perceptive lyrics, Panic! At the Disco posted several demos online that caught the attention of Decaydance Records, the Fueled by Ramen imprint headed by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz. Despite the changes and ever-evolving music scene, Panic! At the Disco have retained a loyal following and remain creatively engaged, scoring chart-topping albums with 2016's Frank Sinatra-influenced Death of a Bachelor and 2018's Pray for the Wicked.įormed in 2004, Panic! At the Disco came together when high-school friends Spencer Smith (drums) and Ryan Ross (guitar) began covering blink-182 tunes together. Urie and co-founding drummer Spencer Smith pushed the band's sound toward synthy, '80s-style new wave and dance-punk on 2011's Vices & Virtues, and expanded into a swaggering blend of electronic pop, hip-hop, and R&B on 2013's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! With the departure of Smith in 2015, Urie took the helm as the sole original member and mastermind behind the band's sound. Odd., split fans and critics, and found them beginning a creative journey that would also bring lineup changes. However, their follow-up, the '60s psychedelia-influenced Pretty. Championed from the start by fellow emo-pop favorites Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco found success on MTV and on the charts with the wordy, hyperkinetic anthem "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from their 2005 debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. One of the biggest acts to emerge out of the emo movement of the mid-2000s, Panic! At the Disco transcended their early fame, transforming into a vehicle for singer Brendon Urie's charismatic, cross-pollinated brand of pop.