"Welcome to the Black Parade" is a song from My Chemical Romance's third studio album, The Black Parade. It was released on September 12, 2006 as the album's lead single, with the studio version available on the band's Myspace on September 2, 2006. The music video for the single was recognized as MTV's "Greatest Music Video of the Century" in 2017. The cover art of the single is the only artwork where the band appears, with the exception of the cover art for "The Ghost of You", where they are shown as silhouettes. Considered a modern day classic, it was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The song samples In the Evening Mist by Godiego from the soundtrack of the film House. An early demo containing elements of the song was titled "The Five of Us Are Dying" and was part of The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts.
Music video
The video for the single was directed by Samuel Bayer, known for his work with Nirvana and Green Day. The music video was released on September 26, 2006, in the UK and Canada, and was released on September 27, 2006, in the U.S. It was heavily played on MTV. It features the Patient dressed in a hospital gown, and being taken by death in the form of a "Black Parade". On the main float stands My Chemical Romance playing "Welcome to the Black Parade". Behind the float are dozens of masked figures. All the costumes were designed by Academy Award Winning costume designer Colleen Atwood. The setting of the music video transitions from a hospital room to a surreal cityscape with ash-covered wreckage, black snow and destroyed buildings. The video features four of the main characters: the Patient, Fear, Regret, and Mother War. Mother War is the woman in the Victorian-era gown and gas mask. The video tells a basic version of the story behind The Black Parade quite closely. Gerard Way has said that it is "the definitive video for the record" which "summed up the album".
Promotion
The song became the group's first number one in the UK on October 15, 2006, staying there for two weeks, and later rose to number one on the Modern Rock charts on October 26, 2006, where it would stay for seven weeks. It is the band's most enduring success and their highest-charting single to date on the BillboardHot 100, peaking at number 9. The song ranked at number 17 on Rolling Stone's "The 100 Best Songs of 2006". It was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. The song was made downloadable for Rock Band and . ITV used the song in a video montage in its final Formula One broadcast at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, after losing the rights to broadcast F1 in 2009 and beyond to the BBC. The video featured several prominent F1 drivers as well as ITV presenters lipsynching to the song. The song was also used by the Los Angeles Kings during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs as part of a video intro at the team's home games. The song also opened the team's Stanley Cup Champions rally and banner raising ceremony at the Staples Center.
Chart performance
The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71 for the chart week of September 30, 2006, becoming their highest debut for a single. It peaked at number 9 on the Hot 100 in its 17th and 18th week on the chart, becoming the band's first and only top ten Hot 100 hit. "Welcome to the Black Parade" became and currently is their highest-charting single, beating their 2005 single "Helena" at number 33, their second-highest-charting single. In addition, it topped Modern Rock Tracks for seven weeks in a row, and is the band's only number one on this chart to date. "I'm Not Okay " was their previous highest-charting single on Modern Rock Tracks, where it peaked at number 4. In the UK, the single knocked Razorlight's "America" off the number one spot on Sunday, October 15, 2006, after extensive airplay. The single was number 26 in the UK's top 40 singles of 2006, selling 169,000 units. The song was certified Platinum in the UK on June 16th, 2017, representing sales of at least 600,000 copies.
Accolades
Track listing
All songs written by My Chemical Romance.
Version 1 Version 2 Version 3 Version 4 Version 5 Version 6
