
Welcome to the Black Parade
Lead vocals: Man
Taal: Engels
Welcome to the Black Parade is een nummer van de Amerikaanse rockband My Chemical Romance. Het is de eerste single van hun derde studioalbum The Black Parade.
Het nummer begint dramatisch, met het geluid van marcherende troepen op de achtergrond en een prominent aanwezige piano. Na anderhalve minuut mag de drummer zich echter uitleven en verandert het nummer in een uptempo punkplaat. Het nummer werd in diverse landen een hit. In de Amerikaanse Billboard Hot 100 haalde het de 9e positie. In Nederland moest het nummer het echter doen met een 8e positie in de Tipparade, de Vlaamse Ultratop 50 wist het nummer nog net te bereiken met een 50e positie.
"Welcome to the Black Parade" is a song by the American rock band My Chemical Romance from their third studio album The Black Parade (2006). It was released as the album's lead single on September 12, 2006. An emo and pop-punk song, it opens up with a piano introduction that evolves into a fusion of several other rock-esque genres throughout its run time. The lyrics are based around the album's central character, the Patient, as he recalls a childhood memory before his death. According to band frontman Gerard Way, the broader theme of the song is the "triumph of the human spirit".
Development of the song began during the band's earliest recording sessions after they were formed in 2001 under the title "The Five of Us Are Dying". The band attempted many times to work on the song over the course of several years, but struggled to create a final product that they were satisfied with. The band was finally motivated to finish it after they attached to its beginning a piano line previously created by the producer Rob Cavallo. Samuel Bayer directed the music video, which depicts the band in their "Black Parade" alter-ego as they guide the Patient towards the afterlife. It was later labeled as the "Greatest Video of the Century" following a MTV viewers poll in 2017.
"Welcome to the Black Parade" was a critical and commercial success, often being considered one of their best songs, if not their best, as well as their signature song. It became their only number one on the UK singles chart, their most successful song on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted in other regions such as Venezuela and multiple European countries. It has several platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America, British Phonographic Industry, Music Canada, and Recorded Music NZ. Music journalists have often considered "Welcome to the Black Parade" to be an "emo anthem"; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has listed it as a song that "shaped rock and roll". It has been covered by many other artists and is a staple of My Chemical Romance's live shows.