My Chemical Romance’s ‘The Black Parade’ Was a No. 1 Album 20 Years in the Making: Inside the Campaign
Categoria: Musica
“I think a great record is always relevant, one year, five years, 20 years or even 50 years after its original release,” says Warner Records’ Jesse Ervin.
Por Billboard | 06/11/2026
When My Chemical Romance released its landmark third album The Black Parade in 2006, it was met with widespread acclaim and hailed as the group’s greatest — and yet, despite it becoming the biggest album of the iconic New Jersey group’s career, it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, blocked from the top spot by Hannah Montana . Related My Chemical Romance Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 After ‘The Black Parade’ Reissue Kenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71 Diddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania Now, 20 years later, The Black Parade has finally achieved that No. 1 position, following a reissue on the album’s 20th anniversary that propelled the reunited rockers to the best chart peak of their career — and set a record for the longest wait for an album between its release and it hitting No. 1 in the chart’s history. But that milestone didn’t just occur in a vacuum — the reissue came on the heels of an extended tour in celebration of the album that began last year, as well as a five-night run at The Hollywood Bowl last month. It also benefitted from a full-court press by the band’s label, Warner Records, that involved 20 different vinyl variants, digital exclusives, the resurrection of the group’s old fan army and an exclusive release on an iPod Nano, harkening back to the era when the album first came into the world, all of which helped The Black Parade finally reach its rightful place as a chart-topping epic. And that helps Warner Records senior vp of marketing and digital Jesse Ervin earn the title of Billboard ’s Executive of the Week. Here, Ervin talks about the buildup to the new release, why several reissues have made it to the top 10 of the charts this year and what will come next for My Chemical Romance after this huge success. “There’s no doubt we’ll be talking about My Chemical Romance for years to come,” he says. This week, My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, 20 years after its initial release — the longest such wait before reaching the top spot in the chart’s history. What key decision did you make to help make that happen? It really is an incredible milestone having the album reach No. 1 after 20 years. This was a true collaboration between the band, the band’s manager Brian Schechter , me, Tom Corson , Aaron Bay-Schuck , Mike Chester and the core team [at Warner Records]. We started with the reissue of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys earlier in the year and planned to time The Black Parade ‘s 20th anniversary release around the actual album’s anniversary on October 23, ensuring it coincided with MCR performing their five historic sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl. Having the Bowl shows and the anniversary at the same time allowed us to lay out our marketing campaign well in advance and have tentpoles along the way to get the fans really excited about a full Octobe