Panic! at the Disco is one of the few artists capable of doing “Bohemian Rhapsody” justice, so is it any wonder they can hop outside their genre and power through a much newer vocal cord-stretching hit?
The band stopped by BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge and put its own spin on “Starboy,” The Weekend and Daft Punk’s collaborative single that currently sits at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Panic! frontman Brendon Urie has spent sizable chunks of his career singing similarly to Fall Out Boy‘s Patrick Stump and styling tunes like Frank Sinatra, but below, he takes on some R&B with “Starboy.”
Watch Urie adopt The Weekend’s quick-breathed, stop-start delivery:
BBC Radio 1’s Twitter account also caught Panic! riffing on a little Rihanna worship:
WHO KNEW that @PanicAtTheDisco were so good at @rihanna‘s songs? ——– #R1LiveLounge extra! pic.twitter.com/KuWuGuXz8A
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) November 21, 2016
On Sunday night (Nov. 20), The Weekend gave one of his most memorable television performances to date, singing the same song on the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Click here to see how the song’s original vocalist fared.