Listen: Panic! at the Disco debut their ‘The Greatest Show’ cover

Theatrics is one of Panic! at the Disco’s strongest suits, so being featured on the upcoming The Greatest Showman – Reimagined covers album was almost a no brainer. On Friday (Nov. 2), the Las Vegas-founded band unleashed their version of the soundtrack’s opening track, “The Greatest Show.” Originally performed by Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Keala Settle, and the Greatest Showman Ensemble, Panic! at the Disco’s version is clearly their own spin on the track as frontman Brendon Urie’s soaring vocals are unmistakable during the three-minute song.

“I admire Benj and Justin’s work and applaud the groundbreaking soundtrack they created for The Greatest Showman,” Urie said in a press statement. “I’m excited I got a chance to add a little of my own theatrics to the reimagined version of ‘The Greatest Show.’”

Listen to the newly released track above.

Panic! at the Disco’s “The Greatest Show” will join P!nk’s chart-topping version of “A Million Dreams” and the “A Million Dreams (Reprise)” performed by her daughter Willow Sage Hart on the forthcoming album. Atlantic Records will reportedly release Kelly Clarkson’s version of Jenny Lind’s tearing jerking track, “Never Enough,” next Friday, Nov. 9.

In addition to P!nk, Panic! at the Disco, and Kelly Clarkson, The Greatest Showman – Reimagined will also include a special version of the album’s breakout track, “This is Me,” performed by the film’s breakout star Keala Settle, Kesha, and Missy Elliott.

The covers album will also feature four bonus tracks: a capella group Pentatonix’s take on “The Greatest Show”; Craig David’s version of “Come Alive”; Kesha’s “This is Me”;  and an acoustic version of “Rewrite the Stars” by the film’s star Zendaya.

The Greatest Showman – Reimagined will arrive on Nov. 16 through Atlantic Records.

Pre-orders for the forthcoming release are currently available here.

The reimagined version of the album was produced by the soundtrack’s songwriters Grammy, Tony, and Academy Award-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Travel to Bikini Bottom in ‘(Just a) Simple Sponge’

If you haven’t had the chance to see the new “SpongeBob SqaurePants: The Musical” then you should probably get on that soon before tickets for the Tony-nominated show are sold out indefinitely. But, if you can’t make it to New York any time soon, don’t worry because you can get a little sneak peek at the musical now. On Friday (May 4), the official music video for the show’s tune “(Just a) Simple Sponge” was released.

The almost four-minute clip features the show’s star, Ethan Slater, recording the song in a recording studio surrounded by the show’s ensemble. In between the footage of the musicians in the studio, there is footage from the showing which brings the cartoon version of Bikini Bottom to life. Watch the music video for “(Just a) Simple Sponge” above.

“(Just a) Simple Sponge” was written by Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie. In addition to Urie, the multi-award nominated musical includes songs from Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Tony-nominated Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, David Bowie, and many more.

The musical is described as: “The stakes are higher than ever as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage.”

The cast includes Slater as said unexpected hero, SpongeBob SquarePants; Gavin Lee as Squidward Q. Tentacles; Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks; Brian Ray Norris as Eugene Krabs; Danny Skinner as Patrick Star; and Wesley Taylor as Sheldon Plankton.

Last week, it was announced that the musical was nominated for a total of 12 Tony Awards tied with fellow newcomer “Mean Girls.” Those categories include “Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical” for Slater, and “Best Musical.”

SpongeBob SquarePants, The New Musical Original Cast Recording is now available from Masterworks Broadway wherever music is sold.

“SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” is now playing at the Palace Theatre. To purchase tickets for an upcoming show, head on over to the musical’s website here.

Panic! at the Disco frontman to hit Broadway

Photo by Erica Dominguez

Just when you thought Panic! at the Disco couldn’t get any more theatrical, they just elevated it to another level. On Tuesday (April 11), frontman Brendon Urie took to social media to announce that he will be heading to Broadway during the summer months for a stint in the Tony-award winning musical, Kinky Boots. The singer posted a short video on Twitter and Facebook to announce his summer plans. He also revealed that being on Broadway is on his bucket list.

“I’m thrilled to be making my Broadway debut with this fantastic company,” Urie said in a statement. “I’m a huge fan of Kinky Boots and musical theater and am honored to be joining the cast.”

He add: “That’s crazy to say because this has been on my bucket list for the longest time and it really is a dream come true. I’m just so incredibly excited. That’s wild. Plus, you guys get to see me in those heels now, so that’s pretty cool!”

Urie’s stint as Charlie will begin on May 26 and conclude on Aug. 6.

Urie will play Charlie Price, a man who inherited a failing shoe factory from his late father. Throughout the show, Charlie befriends a cabaret performer and drag queen named Lola and the two strike up a partnership to start producing a line of high-heeled boots in an effort to resurrect the shoe factory.

The Broadway show was inspired by the 2005 British film also named Kinky Boots. The British film, in turn, was inspired by a 1999 documentary by BBC titled Trouble at the Top. On of the episodes of the series centered around Steve Pateman, who was struggling to save his family-run shoe factory from closure. Instead of closing, Paterman decided to produce fetish footwear for men, under the brand name “Divine Footwear.”

Currently, orchestra seats for Urie’s shows are available at a discounted price of $99 using the promo cod BRENDON. This special offer is only available until Friday, April 15.

As for Panic! at the Disco, the group will wrap up their massive Death of a Bachelor arena tour this Sunday, April 16, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Panic! at the Disco Frontman Breaks Silence About Drummer’s Departure

It’s been a couple of weeks since Panic! at the Disco fans were given the sad news that original drummer Spencer Smith had extended his leave from the band, indefinitely.

Since Smith’s official announcement on the band’s website, remaining original member and lead singer Brendon Urie had been quiet about the departure, but as it turns out, the leave did not come as a surprise to him.

Speaking to Billboard recently, Urie finally broke his silence about Smith’s departure which according to the interview, he know shortly before it went public.

“[The decision] didn’t take me by surprise,” admits Urie.

“It wasn’t talked about a lot. We had minimal conversations about what he wanted to do. Any time we’d hang out we were just hanging out as friends. There was never any business or band meeting. We still hang out all the time. It’s nice to have a friend instead of worrying about band and business stuff. I knew shortly before [the announcement]. We had a few discussions and he told me what he wanted to do and I backed that 100 percent. Obviously I’m going to miss him in the band, but I’m proud of him. I love him to death.”

Even with Smith’s departure, it doesn’t sound like Urie and the rest of Panic! will be stopping anytime soon especially on the new music front.

“I’ve really never stopped writing. I’m picking through demos that I’d been working on for the last couple of years,” he said.

“Every day I’m writing something. I write an idea a day. Even if it’s 10 seconds of a melody or a lyric. I love it too much to not work. It would drive me crazy to not do anything.”

When asked what are the chances new Panic! music will be heading our way in the near future, he responded with “If I had to guess, I’d say this year.”

You’ve got about eight months to make that happen, Brendon.

Brendon Urie Drunkenly Retells Fall Out Boy Story

What happens when you give someone a boatload of alcohol and then have them tell a story?

Pure hilarity and that’s exactly what Fall Out Boy did to an unsuspecting victim.

During their Save Rock and Roll tour, the boys of Fall Out Boy gave Panic! at the Disco frontman, Brendon Urie and had the singer tell the story of Fall Out Boy from their inception, to how the band members became members to present day, or at least until said tour was going on.

As Urie tells the story, the way that his drunken mind remembers it, the guys recreate the scenes which features bassist Pete Wentz’s old “emo” hair and eyeliner and frontman Patrick Stump’s old side burns.

Check out the video below which was the last incarnation of Fall Out Boy’s “12 Days of Christmas” special/ publicity for their upcoming new album, American Beauty/American Psycho.

Brendon Urie Helps Dillon Francis in a “Firefight”

After teasing a collaboration earlier this week on Twitter, Dillon Francis has released his joint track with Panic! at the Disco frontman, Brendon Urie.

The song is titled “Love in the Middle of a Firefight” and apparently has been something Francis has been adamant about doing; some fans pointed out that he’d been wanting to do a collaboration with Urie for a while now. According to a message to fans on YouTube, Francis confirms his desire to work with Urie by saying the recording “was a dream come true.”

“This song was a dream come true to make w/ Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the album and I’m so happy I finally get to share it with the world!!! I hope this shows you how diverse all of my album is going to be!”

Check out the song here.

For those digging the track, it will be available on the DJ’s debut album, Money Sucks, Friend Rule due out on Oct. 28 through Columbia Records. For those who pre-order the record on iTunes, they would get an instant download of previously released tracks, “Get Low,” “When We Were Young,” “Set Me Free,” and “I Can’t Take.”

Watch Full Alternative Press Music Award Performances

We’ve already given you the winners from last night’s inaugural Alternative Press Music awards, and like we promised we have gone ahead and looked for all the performances that took place and will be putting them up below.

Instead of talking about each of the bands performing, we will let the music speak for itself.

Enjoy.

ALTERNATIVE PRESS MUSIC AWARD PERFORMANCES:

“Luck Be A Lady” and “Fly Me To The Moon” (Frank Sinatra covers)// Brendon Urie (Panic! at the Disco) feat. the Contemporary Youth Orchestra:

“City Of Ocala” and “Right Back At It Again”// A Day to Remember feat. Neck Deep’s Ben Barlow:

“Devil’s Rain,” “Where Eagles Dare,” “Dig Up Her Bones,” and “Die Die My Darling.”// The Misfits feat. Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack:

“A Love Like War”// All Time Low feat. Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil:

Medley of “Dear Maria, Count Me In” Yellowcard’s “Lights and Sounds”, New Found Glory’s “All Down Hill From Here”// All Time Low feat. members from Yellowcard and New Found Glory:

“If You Can’t Hang”// Sleeping with Sirens:

“There Goes the Neighborhood” and “Talk Shit=Get Shot”// Ice T and Body Count:

“See My Tears”// Machine Gun Kelly:

“Guns for Hands”// twenty one pilots:

“Car Radio”// twenty one pilots feat. the Contemporary Youth Orchestra and featuring Issues’ Michael Bohn:

“Gangsta’s Paradise” (Coolio cover)//Falling in Reverse feat. Issues’ Tyler Carter:

“The Phoenix” (Closing performance)// Fall Out Boy:

Travie McCoy Releases “Keep On Keeping On”

Like we said earlier, the official music video for the track which featured both Travie and Brendon has been released today. Watch it here:

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Travie McCoy is currently streaming a new track today titled, “Keep On, Keeping On” and it looks like he asked for a little help from label mate, Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie.

Last year, the former Gym Class Heroes frontman worked with Jason Mraz on “Rough Water,” a track that was to be featured on his second solo album also titled Rough Water. The album is supposed to be coming out sometime in 2014, but as of yet, there’s no word about it.

As for “Keep On Keeping On,” the track is currently available on iTunes while the official music video is set to be released sometime today. As for whether or not the song will be featured in McCoy’s yet to be released album, there has been no word about that, but the chances are very likely.

Listen to the song below and tell us what you think about the collaboration.

Watch Brendon Urie Play All Instruments for ‘This is Gospel’

For those that think that Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie is just a pretty face that can sing, well, prepare to be surprise.

In a video that was provided by Alternative Press, the frontman goes on to play every instrument used on one of the band’s new tracks, “This is Gospel” from their recently released album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die.

Panic! at the Disco are finishing up their current American tour and are slated to begin their European tour at the end of April. Current your dates can be seen below.

PANIC! AT THE DISCO TOUR
(North American dates):

2/7- Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
2/8- Miami, FL @ Fillmore
2/9- Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
2/11- Houston, TX @ House of Blues
2/14- Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee
2/15- Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre

(European tour dates)
4/28 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ The 013
4/29- Antwerp, Belgieum @ Trix
5/1- Berlin, Germany @ Astra
5/2- Dusseldorf, Germany @ Stahlwerk
5/3- Strasbourg, France @ Artefacts at La Laiterie
5/4- Paris, France @ Trianon
5/7- Glasgow, UK @ Academy
5/8- Manchester, UK @ Apollo
5/9- London, UK @ Hammersmith Apollo
5/12- Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
5/13- Belfast, Ireland @ Mandela Hall

Brendon Urie Covers Billy Joel at ‘Kennedy Center Honors’

Is what might be one hell of an honor, Panic! at the Disco frontman, Brendon Urie got the opportunity to perform Billy Joel’s hit song “Big Shot” for the piano man himself last night as part of The Kennedy Center Honors on CBS.

Joel had two others performers pay tribute to his honor; country singer Garth Brooks also paid homage to him with “Allentown” and “Good Night Saigon” and Rufus Wainwright with “New York State of Mind” and “Piano Man.”

Other performers that took the stage last night included Snoop Dogg for Herbie Hancock, Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick performed “It’s Not Where You Started, It’s Where You Finish” for Shirley MacLaine. Taking the reigns for Carlos Santana’s tribute were Steve Winwood, Sheils E. and Orianthi as well as Buddy Guy slaying on guitar for “I’m Your Hoochie Coohie Man.”