#SHOWBIZ: Two decades on, My Chemical Romance's 'Black Parade' tops US Billboard Chart

LOS ANGELES: Two decades after releasing their landmark opus The Black Parade, American rock outfit My Chemical Romance have finally carried the record to the top of the Billboard 200.

The band's latest release, The Black Parade (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), hit the top spot, marking the group's first No.1 album in a nearly 25-year career.

According to Billboard, the lavish reissue moved 78,000 equivalent album units across more than 20 physical formats and variants to seal the victory.

Celebrating the milestone on social media, the group posted an Instagram story set to Miley Cyrus' hit track "Wrecking Ball"—a tongue-in-cheek nod to 2006, when Cyrus' Hannah Montana soundtrack narrowly denied The Black Parade the top spot during its original debut at No.2.

The original third studio album saw the New Jersey emo pioneers dramatically expand their sound, crafting an ambitious rock opera heavily influenced by Queen that spawned the iconic Top 10 single "Welcome to the Black Parade".

Over the past two decades, the record has cemented its status as one of the definitive 21st-century rock albums.

This latest chart success follows the expanded package's release on Oct 23, which also earned the group their inaugural No.1 on the UK's Official Albums Chart just days prior.

Notably, the 20-year-old masterpiece managed to edge out pop megastar Olivia Rodrigo's latest effort, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.

Rodrigo proved a gracious competitor, posting a clip on Instagram from a My Chemical Romance concert she attended at New York's Citi Field earlier this year alongside a celebratory tag for the band.

The chart triumph arrives midway through the group's extensive Long Live the Black Parade stadium tour, which commenced in 2025.

Fans in Malaysia will see the band perform live in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 19 and 20 at TM Stadium Nasional in Bukit Jalil.