Besting Bowie and Adele, Panic! at the Disco reaches the top
LOS ANGELES – Debuting at No. 1 is certainly an accomplishment, but bumping artists like David Bowie and Adele down the music charts has Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie simply gobsmacked.
“That’s insane. I mean, to be in same sentence as anyone like that – I’m not worthy,” Urie said. “I was just floored!”
“Death of a Bachelor,” released last month, topped the Billboard 200 chart and sold 190,000 equivalent albums in its first week, according to Nielsen Music.
It’s the fifth album and first No. 1 for Panic!, of which Urie is the only remaining original member after his band mates decided to leave the group over the years.
But the 28-year-old vocalist is loving life as a solo act. He co-wrote the album’s songs and plays most of the instruments on the pop-rock project.
“It’s amazing because I don’t have to compromise or I don’t have to argue as much,” he said.
In an interview last week, Urie discussed doing things his way on “Death of a Bachelor,” touring with Weezer and his eclectic inspirations, from Beyoncé to Frank Sinatra.
AP: What did you think when you heard you knocked Bowie’s album from the top spot?
Urie: I’m conflicted about it. I’m happy, but man, just losing a legend, yeah, I mean, that’s unreal but I’m glad that at least I had a chance to pop in there, get on people’s radar. David Bowie had so many hits, too; it’s not like I’m hurting his career by any means.
AP: How confident were you about your solo debut?
Urie: There’s always nerves when you’re releasing something. These are all very personal to me. Every song is autobiographical. It’s about something I experienced or want to experience, so it’s all very close to my heart.
AP: Who were some of your inspirations on the album?
Urie: Queen, Bruce Springsteen. …There’s a pretty good, in my opinion, a good mash up of Beyoncé and Sinatra on the title track. …I wrote the song actually trying to make a Sinatra song …and then I hit this wall, just writing-wise, where I was getting so frustrated. …So I took a break from it and went back to this beat I had worked on like months before and it kind of had this ‘Drunk in Love,’ Beyoncé-kind of feel. …It was just like a happy accident.
AP: Has Beyoncé heard the track?
Urie: I wonder. I doubt it, but I would love to show her (and say), ‘You inspired this, Queen B!’
AP: What can fans expect from your summer tour with Weezer?
Urie: That is really crazy to say. Anytime I say it, it doesn’t feel real. I don’t think it’s gonna feel real until the first week of the tour where we’ve established set times and hang out. …But knowing that we’re going to be touring together was just like my childhood fantasies come true. …Ten-year-old me would just be crying right now, flipping out, ecstatic. I might cry (onstage). No promises, but maybe.