Brendon Urie has a range that makes most professional singers want to retire. It’s a fact. When Disney announced that Panic! At The Disco would be covering the flagship anthem for Frozen 2, the internet basically had a collective meltdown because everyone knew exactly what was coming: those high notes. Specifically, that high note. You know the one.
Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown wasn’t just a promotional tie-in; it was a collision of two massive cultural juggernauts. On one side, you had the Disney machine, which was trying to follow up the impossible success of "Let It Go." On the other, you had a pop-rock frontman who spent the last decade transitioning from emo-cabaret to high-gloss theatrical pop. It worked. It worked because Urie treats every song like he’s auditioning for a role in a musical that doesn't exist yet.
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The song dropped in late 2019. It was a weird time. The movie version, sung by the incomparable Idina Menzel, is all about internal conflict and magical destiny. But the Panic! version? That’s just a straight-up vocal flex. It’s loud. It’s brassy. It’s unapologetically dramatic.
The Vocal Gymnastics of Brendon Urie
Most people don't realize how difficult this track actually is. If you go to a karaoke bar and try to sing the Menzel version, you might struggle with the bridge. If you try to sing the Panic! At The Disco version, you will probably need a throat lozenge and an apology for your neighbors.
Urie didn't just sing the song; he transposed it. The Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown cover is actually in a higher key than the film version. Let that sink in. He took a song written for a Broadway legend and decided it needed to be sharper. It’s a B4 in the chorus and then he hits that soaring Eb5. For a male singer, that’s hitting the stratosphere without a pressurized cabin.
Why do this? It fits the brand. Panic! has always been about the "more is more" philosophy. From the circus themes of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out to the Sinatra-meets-Queen energy of Pray for the Wicked, subtle isn't in the vocabulary. By the time Disney called, Brendon Urie was the only choice. He has that rare ability to sound like he’s smiling while he’s screaming.
Breaking Down the Production
The arrangement is fascinating because it trades the orchestral sweeping of the film for something more aggressive. It uses a driving drum beat and a lot of horns.
- The Horns: They give it a big-band, Vegas-era vibe.
- The Tempo: It feels faster, even if the BPM is similar, because of the syncopated rhythm.
- The Energy: It’s less "I'm scared of my powers" and more "I'm going on an adventure, get out of my way."
It’s interesting to look at the credits. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the song, but the Panic! version was produced by Jake Sinclair. Sinclair is a name you’ve seen on credits for Weezer and Fall Out Boy. He knows how to make rock music sound massive on a radio. He took a Disney ballad and turned it into a stadium anthem.
Why the Fans (and Critics) Lost Their Minds
When the track hit the Billboard charts, it did something rare. It actually charted alongside the original. Usually, the "end credits" version of a Disney song is the one that people skip. It’s the background noise while parents are packing up popcorn and trying to find their kids' shoes in the dark theater.
Not this time.
Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown became a staple on pop radio. It resonated with the "Emo Parents"—the generation that grew up on I Write Sins Not Tragedies and now has kids obsessed with Elsa. It was the ultimate bridge. You could listen to it with your toddler and both of you could scream-sing in the car without anyone feeling out of place.
Critics were surprisingly kind, too. Some purists felt it was too "shouty," but most acknowledged the technical skill. It’s hard to hate a performance that is so obviously earnest. Urie loves musical theater. He spent a stint on Broadway in Kinky Boots. He wasn't mocking the material; he was worshipping it.
The Comparison Trap: Menzel vs. Urie
You can't talk about this song without the comparison. Idina Menzel is a powerhouse. Her voice has a "wood" to it—a resonance and a weight that feels grounded even when she’s hitting those high notes.
Brendon is "steel." It’s bright, it’s piercing, and it cuts through the mix.
One isn't better than the other, but they serve different purposes. Menzel's version is about the character, Elsa. It’s about her fear. Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown is about the spectacle. It’s the celebration of the melody itself.
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The Impact on the Panic! Legacy
Looking back, this was one of the final peaks for the band before they eventually disbanded in early 2023. It solidified Brendon Urie as a "household name" artist rather than just a niche rock star.
It also proved that the "Panic! sound" was versatile. You could drop it into a billion-dollar animated franchise and it didn't feel like a sell-out move. It felt like a natural evolution. The song has racked up hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube. Even now, years later, it’s a go-to for vocal coaches on YouTube who want to react to "male singers with impossible ranges."
There's a specific moment in the music video—which is mostly just Brendon in a dressing room and on stage—where he hits the final note and just sort of shrugs. It’s a flex. He knows he nailed it.
A Note on the "Into The Unknown" Phenomenon
Disney was trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. "Let It Go" was a monster. They needed something for the sequel that felt just as grand. They actually released several versions of this song globally. In Norway, it was Aurora. In Mexico, it was David Bisbal.
But the Panic! version remains the most culturally relevant cover. It captured the theatricality of the late 2010s perfectly. It was the era of the "Showman."
How to Appreciate the Track Today
If you’re revisiting Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown, do yourself a favor: don't listen to it on your phone speakers. This is a song that needs air. It needs a good pair of headphones or a car stereo where you can actually hear the bass line under the brass.
Pay attention to the backing vocals. Urie layered his own voice dozens of times to create that wall of sound. It’s a technique he’s used since Death of a Bachelor, and it’s perfected here.
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- Check out the live versions. If you think the studio version is impressive, watch the live performances from the Frozen 2 premiere. Urie hits those notes without the help of studio magic.
- Compare it to "The Show Must Go On." Panic! covered Queen for the Suicide Squad soundtrack, and you can hear the same DNA in Into The Unknown.
- Vocalists: Don't try this at home without a warm-up. Seriously. The "siren" slides in this song are a recipe for vocal nodules if you aren't using proper breath support.
Panic! At The Disco Into The Unknown stands as a testament to a specific moment in pop culture where emo-pop royalty met the Magic Kingdom. It shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but because of Brendon Urie's sheer technical ability and the production’s refusal to play it safe, it became a modern classic in its own right.
To get the most out of this track, listen to the Menzel version first to understand the emotional core, then blast the Panic! version to feel the raw energy. It's a masterclass in how to do a cover that honors the original while completely reinventing the vibe.