K-Pop and rock might seem like an unlikely combo, but there’s actually a lot more crossover than you would think. Case in point: South Korean rock group Xdinary Heroes’ recent cover of the absolute emo classic — My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade.”
The band, which operates under STUDIO J (a sub-label of JYP Entertainment — the company responsible for massively successful K-Pop groups Twice, Stray Kids and more), performed the beloved rock track as a full band as part of their recent fanmeeting.
If you’re wondering what a fanmeeting is, it’s an event like a concert that includes not just performances of songs but also other activities that involve more fan interaction such as games and answering fan questions.
In addition to performing their original songs at fanmeetings, many groups perform covers songs such as the one we’re talking about right now. Even beyond this, Xdinary Heroes have performed many covers and we were able to dig up at least one other instance of the band covering a large band with emo ties (you can learn more about that later).
READ MORE: BTS Once Danced to Limp Bizkit for Live TV Performance
My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” appears on their 2006 album The Black Parade, which has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The track is a classic of the era, and it’s popularity has permeated well beyond the rock genre.
Xdinary Heroes debuted in December of 2021 and consists of six members (Jooyeon, O.de, Gaon, Jun Han, Jungsu, Gu-nil) who range in age from 20 to 25.
The performance, which you can see in full below along with the original, appears to have garnered the group praise from not only K-Pop fans, but rock fans, too. Keep reading to find out what they had to say about the performance.
Xdinary Heroes, “Welcome to the Black Parade” (My Chemical Romance Cover)
My Chemical Romance, “Welcome To The Black Parade” Music Video
“I’ve never heard any songs by this group before, but as a MCR stan for 15 years… I had to click on this. And I was so surprised by how well they did it!” one user commented on the YouTube video. “Usually covers of ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ are not that great, because it’s such a difficult song for just one singer to sing from start to finish without losing steam. But since they switched the singer who does the lead parts, they managed to remain sounding really solid through-out.”
Other apprehensive rock fans who came across the video also appear to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the performance and even seem to think MCR themselves would approve.
“This popped up in my recommend, and I was afraid to watch it but it wouldn’t go away, so I was like, ‘Well I’ll just listen to a bit” it’s such an iconic song that the thought of anyone else performing it was unsettling BUT….. they made me cry,” the commenter admitted. “I don’t know why I was just listening to this song the other day, but I had a few tears in my eyes, and I sang right along. It was sooooo well done. They kept the spirit of the song. They made it theirs without changing it too much and their pronunciation was so good there were parts I didn’t know the words to but now I do because they spoke it so clearly. Their fans and them have so much to be proud of. My only regret is that I waited so long to watch it!! I think even MCR would be proud of this cover; it’s so well done.”
Another user put it even more simply.
“Not a big fan of K-Pop, but holy shit this is amazing,” they said.
Some viewers even said the cover converted them into fans.
“I must say I’m not a fan of this band but god dang! They did justice to MCR’s WTTBP as a Killjoy, my emo heart reawakened. I always thought nobody could pull this off! I might become a fan of this band lmaooo,” they said.
Others pointed out that many crossover fans of emo exist within the K-Pop fandom.
“They really are hitting that emo-turned-kpop-fan demographic. Great cover!” one viewer wrote.
“As someone who grew up listening to rock music and eventually discovered kpop… this warmed my heart,” another said.
So, did the cover convert you? If you are curious to hear more from Xdinary Heroes, you can check out their original song, “Freakin’ Bad” down below, too. And remember that other rock cover we mentioned earlier? You can also see video of the band covering Bring Me the Horizon’s “Drown” on the South Korean variety show Weekly Idol down below.
Xdinary Heroes, “Freakin’ Bad” Music Video
Xdinary Heroes Cover of Bring Me The Horizon’s “Drown” on Weekly Idol
33 Amazing Examples of Emo Hair
Every My Chemical Romance Song Ranked
Counting down every My Chem song to the very best.