The 10 Best Brendon Urie Songs of All-Time
Brendon Urie is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman of Panic! at the Disco. The latter is a pop-rock band that enjoyed enormous success throughout the 2000s and 2010s, so much so that six out of seven studio albums were platinum-sellers in the United States. Urie can claim much of the credit for this success. After all, he has been in the band from start to finish, which is something no one else can say. In 2023, Urie announced the end of Panic! at the Disco to focus more on his personal life.
Here is our opinion of the ten best Brendon Urie songs ever released:
10. “Viva Las Vengeance”
“Viva Las Vengeance” is the title track of Panic! at the Disco’s final studio album. The song’s name is a play on a famous phrase, so interested individuals should have no problem guessing that the song is about Urie’s hometown. Some people think “Viva Las Vengeance” also showed he felt overwhelmed, meaning the song foreshadowed his decision to end Panic! at the Disco.
9. “Girls/Girls/Boys”
“Girls/Girls/Boys” is a single from 2013. It takes inspiration from the various ways that sexuality can express itself. Specifically, Urie has said it was based on his first threesome, which explains much about the lyrics. In any case, “Girls/Girls/Boys” did well enough to become a platinum-seller when it came out despite how it never managed to make it onto the charts.
8. “Emperor’s New Clothes”
Historically speaking, magnificence was considered a virtue for monarchs. It seems strange to us. However, monarchs were expected to show their power by spending money on themselves and those around them. As a result, they had a strong interest in novel things. That is the context of Han Christian Andersen’s famous fable in which an emperor is fooled into appearing naked in public by playing to his desire for magnificence.
Unsurprisingly, “Emperor’s New Clothes” is based on this story. Indeed, Urie has said he is the figure mentioned in the song’s name. The difference is that he knew how he was dressed but was choosing to head out anyways. Something that makes more sense when one realizes that “Emperor’s New Clothes” came out during the transition of Panic! at the Disco to being Urie’s solo project.
7. “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”
“The Ballad of Mona Lisa” was a platinum-seller in 2011. Famously, it was meant to be a new beginning for Panic! at the Disco, though its sound was closer to what the band made at the start. Much time has passed. Despite this, “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” holds up surprisingly well.
6. “Death of a Bachelor”
“Death of a Bachelor” came from the same studio album as “Emperor’s New Clothes.” Indeed, it was the title track, meaning interested individuals shouldn’t be surprised to see some of the same influences bubbling in the background. That said, “Death of a Bachelor” was meant as a modern take on Frank Sinatra, which seems to have worked because it was the best-selling single from the studio album by a considerable margin.
5. “High Hopes”
Urie is one of those musicians who move from strength to strength. “Death of a Bachelor” went triple-platinum in the United States. Urie’s next studio album, Pray For The Wicked, contained “High Hopes,” which went septuple-platinum in the same market. Pray For The Wicked featured much reflection from the musician on his rise. “High Hopes” is notable for describing his mindset when he was still chasing success.
4. “Miss Jackson”
Of course, “Miss Jackson” refers to Janet Jackson, one of the greatest superstars of the 1980s and 1990s who remained prominent well into the 21st century. That said, the song drew its main inspiration from Urie’s personal life. As he put it, he used to sleep around without caring what his partners thought. Eventually, Urie got knocked out of that mindset when he was on the receiving end, which prompted some soul-searching.
3. “Nine in the Afternoon”
Pretty. Odd. had the challenge of following a massive debut. Interestingly, Panic! at the Disco didn’t try to bottle lightning a second time. Instead, the band opted for a different approach, thus resulting in a sophomore album that could better stand on its own. “Nine in the Afternoon” met with an enthusiastic response in the late 2000s, thus confirming that Panic! at the Disco wouldn’t just be a one-hit-wonder.
2. “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time”
“Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time” was a promotional single for Death of a Bachelor. It isn’t what anyone would consider particularly deep. However, “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time” is a fun song, which is as it should be when it is supposed to be a party song. Panic! at the Disco made an extra effort to describe the right atmosphere, thus resulting in some rather memorable lines.
1. “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”
“I Write Sins Not Tragedies” is the obvious choice for the top of this list. It is no exaggeration to say that it laid the foundations for Urie’s success. After all, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” went eight-time platinum in the United States, thus making it one of the biggest rock songs in 2006. Moreover, the song didn’t just flare up for a time before effectively disappearing. Even now, it remains one of Panic! at the Disco’s most played songs, which speaks of its enduring popularity. This single is also notable for starting the band’s series of highly-memorable music videos.
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