Brandon Uri is an American singer and musician who gained fame as the frontman of the youth punk rock band Panic! At the Disco. He stands apart from other rockers thanks to a four-octave voice range and unobtrusive vibrato.
Biography: early years
Brendon Boyd Urie was born April 12, 1987 in the city of St. George, in the southwestern part of the US state of Utah. This city is considered the most "Mormon" in the States. Brandon's parents were also Mormons - followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). This religious group in the States is very influential in society.
The family grew five children. Brandon was the youngest. When he was just about two years old, his family moved to Las Vegas. However, they did not leave the Mormon community.
In early childhood, Brandon was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He was forced to take powerful drugs. Because of his hyperactivity, he suffered greatly in childhood. Peers mocked him in every way.
Brandon became interested in music at school. At that time, he liked Blink 182. He could listen to their music for hours. Parents did not approve of his hobby. Despite this, Brandon in high school, along with peers, organized his own group. At the same time, he decided to abandon Mormonism. Uri came to the conclusion that this religion does not provide answers to a number of vital questions that at that time concerned him.
Brandon devoted a lot of time to his passion and brainchild. The first rehearsals of the group took place in the gym of the native school. There, the guys gave a debut concert. Their performances were always looking forward with great impatience.
Soon, the school gym was not enough for them. The guys rented an apartment, this allowed them to rehearse more often. To pay for it, Brandon got a job in a restaurant. In it, he often sang for customers. In an interview, Brandon recalled that visitors often asked him to perform compositions from the repertoire of such famous groups as Scorpions and Queen. For this he was given a good tip.
Career
At the end of 2004, Brandon received an interesting invitation from an old friend of Brent Wilson. He invited him to his group, in which the place of a guitarist was vacant. At that time, the team was called the Summer League.
In the group, Brandon not only played the guitar, but also helped with backing vocals. One day during a rehearsal, Uri replaced the sick vocalist. The band members were impressed by its performance. So Brandon became the frontman of the team. Soon the band was renamed Panic! At the Disco. The initiator of the name change was Brandon. He invented it, or rather borrowed a line from the composition of the band Name Taken.
The group quickly gained popularity. Soon the guys were known throughout the state of Nevada. The secret of their success was that they completely surrendered to creativity and wrote songs for the same young guys as themselves. They "spoke" the same language with their listeners.
Even then, they stood out from other rock bands. The guys managed to combine different styles in their songs and create something new, driving and bright.
The guys owe much success to Pete Wentz, a member of the popular Fall Out Boy band. They sent him their songs through LiveJournal. Wreath liked their tracks. A few days later, he personally came to the guys in Las Vegas to listen to them live. After this, Wentz offered them a contract with his label. Subsequently, Brandon took part in a number of joint projects with the Fall out Boy. So, he starred in their videos and helped in recording songs.
In 2005, a debut album called A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was released. It sold a decent print run, as did the following albums. A year later, the guys shot the first clip.
Soon followed the first overseas tour. So, the guys went on a big tour of European cities.
Brandon is a very versatile person. Despite the busy schedule of the group, he managed to participate in recordings of songs for other bands as a backing vocalist. Uri also tried himself in commercials. So, in 2008, he "noted" in the composition of Open Happiness for the Coca-Cola Company. And in the commercial with this song, he appeared as a reporter.
In 2009, Brandon composed the song New Perspective, which later became the soundtrack for the comedy "The Body of Jennifer." Since 2010, Uri has become the main songwriter for his group.
In 2017, Brandon tried on a new role - a musical actor. He was entrusted with playing the main character in the popular Broadway production of Kinky Boots. In an interview, he admitted that he had dreamed about this for a long time. The musical with his participation was very popular with the audience. In 2019, Uri said he wanted to stage a musical autobiography with his songs.
