Panic! At the Disco is breaking up.
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On Tuesday (Jan. 24), the band announced in a letter posted to Instagram by frontman Brendon Urie that they are disbanding after nearly two decades together. Urie announced that he and his wife Sarah are expecting their first child this year and that he’ll be using his time away from the band to focus on his growing family. He says the band will fulfill their 2023 tour dates in the United Kingdom and Europe on the Viva Las Vengeance Tour before going their separate ways.
“Well, it’s been a hell of a journey…,” Urie begins, reflecting on how when he was a child growing up in Las Vegas, he never imagined all the adventures he’d go on as part of a band. “But sometimes a journey must end for a new one to begin. We’ve been trying to keep it to ourselves, though some of you may have heard.. Sarah and I are expecting a baby very soon! The prospect of being a father and getting to watch my wife become a mother is both humbling and exciting. I look forward to this next adventure. That said, 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.”
Urie then sincerely thanks their dedicated fans for the “immense support” over the years. “I’ve sat here trying to come up with the perfect way to say this and I truly can’t put into words how much it has meant to us,” he continues. “Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or are just finding us, it has been a pleasure to not only share the stage with so many talented people but also share our time with you…I love you. I appreciate you. Thank you for existing.”
Panic! emerged in 2004, and released seven studio albums, all of which peaked inside the top 15 on the Billboard 200. Their last album, Viva Las Vengeance, was released in August 2022. Among their most well-known hits are “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, “High Hopes” and “Hey Look Ma, I Made It.”
The band’s international tour dates begin on February 20 in Vienna, Austria, and conclude on March 10 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Photo by Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images
