How My Chemical Romance's 'The Black Parade' hit No. 1 in the US, 20
years later
[November 03, 2026]
By MARIA SHERMAN
NEW YORK (AP) — It's official: The influential New Jersey rock outfit My
Chemical Romance has the No. 1 record in the U.S., having topped the
all-genre Billboard 200 for the first time in their career. It just
happens to be with an album that is two decades old.
“The Black Parade (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition),” a new reissue of
their career-defining rock opera, 2006's “The Black Parade,” is No. 1,
Billboard announced Sunday.
Upon its initial release, the album cemented My Chemical Romance's shift
from mainstays of the emo scene to mainstream recognition, becoming one
of the most inventive bands of the 21st century. Twenty years on, it
continues to resonate with nostalgic fans and new ones.
Why didn't ‘The Black Parade' hit No. 1 in 2006?
Competition was stiff. Back in 2006, the soundtrack to Disney’s “Hannah
Montana” was released the same week, selling 281,000 copies in the U.S.,
according to Nielsen SoundScan. “The Black Parade” debuted at No. 2 with
240,000 copies. (Compare that to their previous album, 2004's “Three
Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” with a best sales week of 38,000 copies, and
it was a massive commercial leap for the then-still alternative band.)
“It’s hard to go up against that type of a dedicated fan base, for Miley
(Cyrus), Disney and pop music,” says Paige Owens, author of “500
Essential Emo Albums.”
“The Black Parade” is also an unusual, hyperambitious release. Back in
2006, when My Chemical Romance’s contemporaries were still playing in
emo tropes, the band released a rock opera for outsiders — replete with
world-building, characters, narrative, costumes and spectacle, covering
themes of mortality, legacy, resilience and defiance.
And sonically, it was a giant step forward: a ’70s rock-inspired release
filtered through the metallic noodling of guitarist Ray Toro, the punk
rock ethos of its other guitarist Frank Iero and the unmistakable tenor
of frontman and mastermind Gerard Way. Comparisons to various classic
rock greats, including David Bowie and Queen, were frequent. Critical
acclaim followed. “All of those things are familiar,” says Jason
Pettigrew, former editor-in-chief of “Alternative Press.” “But they were
also recontextualized with something remarkably contemporary.”
Why did it hit No. 1 now, 20 years later?
There are a few reasons. “The Black Parade” was re-released with 20
physical variants and six bonus tracks last week, which inspires sales,
encourages collectability and fosters a sense of exclusivity among fans.
According to industry data and analytics company Luminate, it earned
78,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. last week, up 653% from the
previous week. That was largely driven by pure album sales, which
accounted for 68,000 units, a figure up 2,082% from the previous week.
Pettigrew points to a few other factors: The band broke up for a period
in the 2010s, driving interest in a reunion. They stopped releasing
records after 2010's “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous
Killjoys,” inspiring fans to return to their early material. But that
wouldn't add up to much if “The Black Parade” “sounded like everybody
else’s records,” he says. “They made the big gestures.”
In addition to the release, the band embarked on an extensive
anniversary tour for the album, playing in some of their biggest venues
yet. But instead of simply resurrecting the album on stage, they
breathed new life into it, “expanding the lore and conceptualization
behind the record,” says Owens, with new characters, set designs and
even a fictional language. “I don't think we'd see the same excitement
or attention around ‘The Black Parade’ if it weren’t for these live
shows building off their initial vision.”
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Lead vocalist Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance performs during the
opening night of the band's "Long Live the Black Parade" tour in
Seattle on July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
 Pettigrew agrees. “They reframe
their masterpiece into essentially a Broadway show with very dark
undertones of the current political situation of the world,” he
said. “They’ve completely raised the bar in terms of possibilities
and conviction.”
Do old albums and their reissues typically top the charts?
It's a good question, and lately, the answer appears to be yes. In
2026 alone, Beyoncé's “B’Day,” The Beatles' “Rubber Soul” and Mac
Miller's “The Divine Feminine” have all returned to the top 10 on
the Billboard 200, though no catalog title had claimed the top spot
until “The Black Parade.”
According to Billboard, “The Black Parade” marks the longest wait
for an album to hit No. 1 after release. My Chemical Romance's
20-year stretch overtakes country star Toby Keith, whose “35 Biggest
Hits” hit No. 1 in the wake of his 2024 death, nearly 16 years after
the album's initial release.
Who is connecting with ‘The Black Parade’ two decades later? And
why?
Pettigrew argues both nostalgic audiences and newer, younger fans
coming to the music for the first time helped power the recent
sales. “Those guys had vision,” he said, and anyone can connect to
their symbolism, which appeals directly to “disenfranchised people.”
Streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music play a role, too.
Younger generations of fans have discovered “The Black Parade” years
after its initial release — and many don't seem to mind that the
record came out decades ago, sometimes before they were born.
“One of the silver linings of living in a streaming world is that
it's very apparent that young people today do not care when
something is in their hands,” said Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben
Gibbard, whose band opened for MCR on their 2025 “The Black Parade”
stadium tour. “I’m a firm believer in the idea that if something is
new to you, it is new.”
Gibbard says My Chemical Romance are “absolutely” the best example
of a veteran band experiencing an explosion of interest decades
after their biggest release. He also says his own band has benefited
from new, younger audiences discovering their catalog: Death Cab for
Cutie was able to play arenas instead of their usual theaters when
they took their career-defining albums, 2003’s “Transatlanticism,”
and later, 2005’s “Plans,” on an anniversary run.
“I was not listening to John Coltrane when I was 12 years old, but
at the point that his music came into my life and started to really
move me, I was just glad it was there,” he said. “I think a lot of
young people seem to have that attitude.”
In the case of My Chemical Romance's “The Black Parade,” they
certainly do.
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