Music Videos, Joe Jonas, and Smashing Pumpkins: Why My Chemical Romance Reunited in 2019

My Chemical Romance’s comeback is a welcome development to all of the emo-rock band’s diehard fans, but many of them knew it was only a matter of time — and that it would happen in 2019.

Written by Minnah Zaheer

Look alive, sunshine. My Chemical Romance is back.

MCR is all too familiar with establishing intrigue — their high-concept albums were surrounded by music videos and tours with unique characters and worldbuilding. Their breakup in 2014 wasn’t necessarily a surprise, as the band had gone through over a decade of lineup changes and other tumultuous interpersonal conflicts. But fans were ecstatic to learn that after five years of solo projects, the band is coming together for (at least) one more show. The band announced their reunion on Twitter with a minimalist image and a date for the one concert. Fans went crazy — tickets for the Dec. 20 concert went on sale Friday Nov. 1 and sold out within minutes.

The timing of their reunion might be a coincidence, but the year 2019 does have some significance to the band and its fans. A conspiracy theory relating to the Smashing Pumpkins, cryptic hints within the promotional materials for their fourth studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, and even a comment from Joe Jonas earlier this year all point to 2019 as the inevitable time that My Chemical Romance would return.

The Smashing Pumpkins Conspiracy Theory

In a 2006 Entertainment Weekly interview just a few months after the band released their third studio album The Black Parade, MCR frontman Gerard Way and his brother and MCR bassist Mikey Way reflect on a Smashing Pumpkins concert they attended together in the early days of their band. Mikey Way recalls: ”Me and [Gerard] were both like, This is the band we want to be. We want to save people’s lives.” The quote is buried in the meat of the story, which goes into much more detail about the band and its message, but when MCR announced their breakup in 2014, fans were quick to bring it back into the conversation.

Formed in 1988, Smashing Pumpkins experienced a period of massive ups and downs in the alt-rock scene of the ‘90s. They achieved mainstream success with their 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, only to experience internal tension that led to their breakup 12 years after they started making music, in 2000. Similarly, MCR formally began making music in 2002 and announced their breakup 12 years later. Additionally, the period between Smashing Pumpkins’ farewell show, in their hometown of Chicago, and their reunion show was just under seven years (Dec. 2, 2000 to May 22, 2007). MCR’s last show, in their hometown of New Jersey, was on May 19, 2012, and their upcoming reunion show is on Dec. 20, 2019, just over seven years since their farewell.

This criss-crossing of timelines may very well be a coincidence, but nevertheless, it solidifies the necessity of MCR’s comeback in 2019.

“Na Na Na” and the Danger Days Era

As mentioned, MCR is very familiar with the idea of building complex narratives around their albums and using them to tell intricate stories, the most intricate of which is the world surrounding their fourth studio album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Each member of the band had a “killjoy” name assigned to them, iconic costumes complete with customized ray guns, and a connection to the near-future world called “Battery City” constructed primarily through the album's accompanying music videos.

In MCR’s music video for “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na),” we see these characters in action — the four band members and a young girl fight off evil figures in masks led by a particularly heinous-looking supervillain. Directed like an action-adventure short film, the “Na Na Na” video sets up a lot of quick worldbuilding elements that make up this dystopian world, including a deserted diner, retro-looking but futuristic devices, and multiple references to an all-powerful corporation called Better Living Industries.

Perhaps most relevant to MCR’s return, however, is the year and location that Battery City seems to be in — California, in 2019, the location and year of their reunion show.

Photo courtesy of My Chemical Romance on YouTube

The crumpled-up map is one of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it elements that fans immediately clung to upon the music video’s release. Headcanons and fanfiction surrounding the Danger Days era often took place in 2019, and the year became etched into fans’ minds. Before the band’s breakup in 2014, many speculated that MCR would do something massive and monumental in 2019, but it seemed(at first) like that wouldn’t be the case upon their breakup. Fans who had dedicated hours and hours to fleshing out the world of Battery City, however, never forgot the year 2019 — and it seems their hopes paid off.

Joe Jonas

This explanation is infinitely less complicated than conspiracy theories or hidden messages in music videos. In an interview he did with Kiss FM UK back in June of this year, Joe Jonas reveals that MCR was at one point this year rehearsing right next door to the Jonas Brothers in New York.

MCR guitarist Frank Iero poked fun at the rumor (often at the Jonas Brothers’ expense), but didn’t exactly deny it — when asked about it, he stated that he “survived a bus crash, so anything’s possible.” The other MCR members, who have been largely absent from social media and haven’t been producing solo content quite like Iero has, didn’t respond to the comments.

Maybe My Chemical Romance’s reunion happened in 2019 out of sheer coincidence, or maybe it was written in the stars. Regardless, they’re back for at least one more night of the captivating chaos that kept fans satiated over the past five years. They might only do one show, but if the Smashing Pumpkins theorists are right, they’re not going anywhere any time soon.