It took 20 years, but My Chemical Romance finally have a No. 1 album in the United States. “The Black Parade”, the band’s famous 2006 record, is now at the top of the Billboard 200.
It is the first time the band led by singer Gerard Way has topped the chart. Billboard says no album has ever waited this long after its release to reach No. 1.
From No. 139 to No. 1
The jump came after a 20th anniversary deluxe edition of the album came out. Fans bought it in big numbers. Many of them went for vinyl, CD and cassette copies, and there were about 20 different versions to pick from.
In one week the album earned 78,000 equivalent album units in the US, and 68,000 of those were straight sales. That was enough to lift it from No. 139 the week before all the way to No. 1, on the chart dated 7 November.
A new record
“The Black Parade” first came out in October 2006. It went in at No. 2 back then, which was the band’s best result until now.
The old record for the longest wait to No. 1 belonged to Toby Keith’s “35 Biggest Hits”. That album reached the top nearly 16 years after it was first released. My Chemical Romance have now beaten that by about four years.
Still loved after two decades
“The Black Parade” is the album with songs like “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “Famous Last Words”. For many fans who grew up in the 2000s, it was the soundtrack of their teenage years.
The band have kept the album alive on stage too. Their “Long Live The Black Parade” stadium tour opened in Seattle in July 2025, and big crowds have come out to see it.
Our take
This is a lovely story for anyone who wore black eyeliner to school in 2006. The album never really went away. Old fans still play it, and younger fans keep finding it.
Twenty years is a long time to wait for a No. 1. Most bands would be happy with No. 2. My Chemical Romance got both, and the second one came with a record attached.
What is your favourite song from “The Black Parade”? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Gerard Way on stage in Detroit in 2022 by Thatcommonkid (CC0); My Chemical Romance at the Big Day Out in Perth in 2007 by Michael Spencer (CC BY 2.0); My Chemical Romance at Fenway Park, Boston, in 2025 by Daisymaydie (CC0); the band’s banner at Wembley Stadium, London, in 2026 by Hullian111 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
