Panic! at the Disco and the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (Masterpost)
The date was August 31, 2006. Against all odds, the four young men calling themselves “Panic! at the Disco” had racked up an incredible four VMA nominations, for Best Group Video, Best New Artist in a Video, Best Rock Video, and most impressively of all, Video of the Year. They were also selected to perform their hit song, “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” live at the award show.
This was all despite budgetary restraints for their music videos, poor critical reception of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, public skepticism of a band discovered via the internet, mass ridicule of the entire “emo” genre, and the startling youth and inexperience of the boys (average age: 19). But even in the face of so much controversy, the show went on.
In front of 5.77 million viewers, the boys performed their single “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies”.
Even if Brendon’s main vocals were slightly shaky from nerves, this is still an undoubtedly impressive performance.
Love was also in the air during the show. If you look closely at the backup dancers, the blonde woman in the lavender skirt and elaborate feathered hat is none other than Ryan Ross’s future ex-fiancee, Keltie Colleen. (The two of them attended the VMA after party together that evening and immediately jumped into an ill-advised relationship.)
You can also see Keltie in the picture below, on the far right:
So, Panic! obviously aced the “live performance” part of the exam. But the VMAs are an awards show above all else. So how did the boys fare with their four nominations?
Throughout the evening, as the winners for each award were announced, Panic! at the Disco lost category after category. The All-American Rejects’ “Move Along” took Best Group Video, Avenged Sevenfold in “Bat Country” were deemed the Best New Artist in a Video, and AFI’s “Miss Murder” won Best Rock Video.
But finally, at the end of the show came the announcement for Video of the Year. The competition for the award was fierce, as you can see from the nominations:
Christina Aguilera - “Ain’t No Other Man”
Panic at the Disco - “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies”
Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Dani California”
Shakira (ft. Wyclef Jean) - “Hips Don’t Lie”
No one expected Panic! to win, especially given that they were a new act and hadn’t won any of their less prestigious award nominations.
But Jennifer Lopez ascended the stage to announce the winner…….
And just as Brendon was about to begin their acceptance speech, his microphone was unexpectedly stolen by an impetuous filmmaker named Sixx.
That’s right, kids: Kanye West was not the first one to try this.
“What’s up, MTV? How y’all doing? My name is Sixx. MTV never gave me my own show, so I want everybody around the world to log onto mtvsixxthousand.com and give it up for these guys!” (Sixx, the 2006 VMAs)
Over a resounding chorus of boos, Sixx handed the microphone back to the band, and the boys could finally accept their award and thank everyone who helped them achieve their success.
This was a huge victory for the underdog, especially given the low budget of “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” compared to the other videos in the category. Panic! at the Disco were even interviewed about this immediately after winning their award.
A 2016 article from Billboard elaborated on this a bit:
“For video of the year, we were up against Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and we won,” Panic! manager Scott Nagelberg told Billboard last year for our oral history of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. “That video was probably shot for a fraction of what the others were. It was a huge statement to the entire music community: This is the future. This band started online. They’re utilizing this new space that nobody’s done before.” (x)
Panic! at the Disco’s win sent a powerful message to the world about the changing landscape of the music industry. This was the beginning of a new era, where even four newcomers who were barely out of high school could shake everything up and make everyone swear to listen.
Happy 12th anniversary of this fateful day, everyone!
