Helena (song)

While touring in 2003 for their first studio album, My Chemical Romance began writing material for their second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004). By the time the band had concluded the tour in November, a large part of the album was already written, and they had also signed a record deal with Reprise Records to publish it.' The same day that the band had finished touring, the grandmother of band members Gerard and Mikey Way, whose name was Elena, died. The brothers were heavily impacted by her death, with Gerard being upset over how he was unable to see her one final time.' Determined to honor her legacy, Gerard began writing "Helena".'''' While "Helena" was one of the latter tracks from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge to be created, the direction that Gerard took the song in influenced how the rest of the album would be produced.'' He said that "the emotions I went through [when she died] and over the next six days were what completely fuelled Revenge''", and that every emotion that someone could cope with loss with was present on the album.' The band began recording the album in 2004 after concluding a short, already scheduled tour in the United Kingdom.' The album, including "Helena", was produced by Howard Benson. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was released on June 8, 2004, through Reprise; "Helena" is the album's opening track. On streaming services such as iTunes, its full title is "Helena (So Long & Goodnight)". A live recording of the track, performed at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey was released on iTunes on May 23. "Helena" was later included on the band's greatest hits album, May Death Never Stop You, released on March 25, 2014. Additionally, a remastered version of the track, produced by Rich Costey, appeared on a deluxe edition of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, alongside a 2005 live recording from BBC Radio 1's The Lock Up. == Composition and lyrics ==

"Helena" has been described as emo song. It is 3 minutes and 22 seconds long. It begins with an introduction of a muffled, reverberating guitar with Gerard Way whispering the track's opening lines. 16 seconds later, the song fully begins with what Billboard described as a "captivating raucous" of guitars and drums. While Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge itself follows a specific narrative, "Helena" is completely separated from the story.'''' He stated that he wrote the track with a lot of self-hatred towards himself, for not being there during the last year of his grandmother's life. Similarly, Variety's Katie Reul wrote that "Helena" could also be interpreted as an mournful breakup song. == Commercial performance ==

In the United States, "Helena" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, In the United Kingdom, it reached number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal chart, and 20 on the UK singles chart. Elsewhere, it reached 19 on the Scottish Singles and albums chart, 27 in New Zealand, 46 in Ireland, 67 in Germany, and 78 in Australia. "Helena" has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry, platinum by Recorded Music NZ, 2× platinum by Music Canada, and 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. == Critical reception and legacy ==

Upon its release, several reviewers highlighted "Helena" as a standout track on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. A staff editor of IGN described "Helena" as a song that "covers every base", featuring every element that one would typically expect out of an emo song. and Ian Mathers of Stylus highlighted the song's usage as an opening track. Upon the song's release as a single, Billboard staff described the track as one that "bursts with energy" and considered it more catchy than the album's lead single, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)". In retrospective rankings, "Helena" is often regarded as one of the best songs from My Chemical Romance's discography. Louder's Marianne Eloise and Stereogum's Margaret Farrell both ranked it as the second best in the band's discography, and both Exclaim! and Kerrang! ranked it fourth. "Helena" has also been considered one of the best emo songs of all time by Variety and Vulture, and has also been considered My Chemical Romance's breakout hit. With the popularity of "Helena" and its music video, My Chemical Romance became one of the most popular emo bands of the 2000s. It also contributed to the commercial success of its parent album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, which went on to sell three million units. It remains My Chemical Romance's second most successful song in the United States, behind "Welcome to the Black Parade". Louder's Marianne Eloise wrote that, while "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was a more well remembered track from the album, "Helena" was a turning point for the band as their first widespread hit, as well as a song that changed emo on a commercial level. They further described the song as a "beautiful, mournful track", and one of the most unique from the band. Bryan Reesman of American Songwriter described "Helena" as a song that not only stood out among the rest of My Chemical Romance's discography, but early 2000s rock music as a whole. Aliya Chaudhry of Stereogum wrote that "Helena" and its associated music video were cultural touchstones for emo and pop-punk. == Music video ==

(pictured in 2013) in Los Angeles. The song's music video was directed by Marc Webb. It was filmed from January 7–8, 2005 at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. During filming, fans of the band were invited to appear in the video as mourners at a funeral. As the woman is carried out, the funeral attendees dance around the casket with black and red umbrellas. reached number one over a dozen times on Total Request Live, and was frequently played on Fuse. Best New Artist in a Video, Best Choreography, MTV2 Award, and Viewer's Choice. It did not win any of these nominations. In 2017, Paste's Ashley Laderer ranked it as the best music video for an emo song. Aliya Chaudhry of Kerrang! ranked it as the band's best music video, believing that it demonstrated the band's artistic ability. They further wrote that the music video could be considered one of the greatest ever made. == Live performances ==

"Helena" is among My Chemical Romance's most performed songs at their concerts, "Helena" was performed at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, with audience members participating in the performance by unfolding white umbrellas. During the band's 2007 tour to promote their third studio album The Black Parade (2006), "Helena" was typically the last song performed on the standard set list.'''' Before the band's temporary breakup in 2013, "Helena" was the last song they performed live, as the closing track of their final performance on May 19, 2012, at Asbury Park, New Jersey.'''' == Credits and personnel ==

Credits adapted from iTunes. My Chemical Romance • Gerard Way – lead vocals, songwriter • Ray Toro – lead guitar, backing vocals, songwriter • Frank Iero – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, songwriter • Mikey Way – bass guitar, songwriter • Matt Pelissier – drums, percussion, songwriter Additional personnel • Howard Benson – Hammond organ, samples, producer, mixing engineer • Paul DeCarli - editing engineer • Rich Costey - mixing engineer • Tom Baker - mastering engineer • Keith Nelson - guitar technician • Jon Nicholson - drum technician • Eric Miller - engineer • Mike Plotnikoff - engineer == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==