"Famous Last Words" was released to radio on January 9, 2007. [6] The video was officially premiered in the United States on the January 11 episode of Total Request Live , and debuted on the countdown the following Tuesday at No. 5, the band's highest TRL debut for a video. It went on to become their third No. 1 video on the countdown (following "Helena" and "The Ghost of You"). On March 26, 2007, the video retired at No. 5 on TRL. On March 12, 2007, they performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was made available for download for the video game Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 on August 15, 2007, along with "Teenagers", and "This Is How I Disappear"; included with the game already was the song "Dead!". [7]
In the United States, "Famous Last Words" debuted at No. 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart on the week of January 27, 2007, [8] before peaking at No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 three weeks later. [9] The single has additionally reached No. 4 on the Alternative Airplay chart [10] and No. 23 on the Mainstream Rock chart. [11] In 2025, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song two-times platinum, indicating sales of 2,000,000 copies. [12] In Canada, "Famous Last Words" peaked at No. 3 on the Canada Rock chart, [13] and reached No. 57 on the Canadian Hot 100. [14] In addition, the track reached #2 on the Venezuelan Pop Rock chart. [15]
In the United Kingdom, the track debuted and topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles chart the week of January 27, 2007, [16] and reached No. 8 on the UK Singles chart. [17] The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the song gold in 2022. [18] The song also reached No. 2 in Scotland. [19] Throughout the rest of Europe, "Famous Last Words" reached No. 11 in Norway, [20] No. 30 in Ireland, [21] No. 37 in Sweden, [22] No. 57 in Austria, [23] No. 68 in Germany, [24] and No. 84 in the Czech Republic. [25] Additionally, "Famous Last Words" charted at No. 6 in New Zealand [26] and at No. 20 in Australia; [27] Recorded Music NZ certified the song platinum in 2024. [28]
Music video
The official video for "Famous Last Words" was directed by Samuel Bayer. It was filmed before the band had even named the song, and the day after they filmed the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video. [29] [30] The music video shows the Black Parade float that the band performed on in "Welcome to the Black Parade" burning and destroyed. The rest of the background is scattered with burning props from the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video, and fire is seen all around. Lead singer Gerard Way is wearing makeup that makes him look particularly rough. This makeup is similar to that worn by The Patient in the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video. The band's condition deteriorates as the song goes on until they revert to thrashing around in the dirt while performing.
Although this video appears to represent a relatively basic concept in comparison to past videos, it is regarded by fans as by far the darkest video the band has created. In an interview for the music video, Way said that it was written at "the darkest period in this band's career." [29] A shortened edit of the song is used in the video, with one bridge and two chorus repeats removed. The instrumentals at the end of the song continue in the video, with a sustained guitar chord accompanying the last few vocal lines; in the album version, they were faded out by engineer Chris Lord-Alge until only Way's voice and a harmony of other band members can be heard, along with a backing of soft organ chords.
Several members sustained injuries, some serious, during the filming of the video. [31] Drummer Bob Bryar sustained second and third degree burns on the back of his legs while shooting, yet persisted in staying until the recording was finished. This burn later resulted in gangrene. Way tore muscles in his leg and foot when Frank Iero tackled him while he was in a kneeling position, leaving him in a hospital for several days. Way recalls that, during the filming, they were all "mortified" from the engulfing flames surrounding the set. After the stay in the hospital, the doctors refused to let them perform in San Diego as the band originally planned. Ray Toro fractured his fingers also during shooting and Bob Bryar received multiple blisters around his hand as a result of extreme playing over a long period of time. [29]
The video premiered in the United States on Total Request Live on January 11, 2007. [32] On January 24, 2007, the video reached the No. 1 spot on TRL, and spent nine days at the top of the countdown, before becoming the band's first video to retire on the countdown on March 26, 2007. The US version of the video is mostly the same as the version first seen in the UK, the only difference being that it completely cuts out Bryar's incident with the heat at the end of the video. This version has started to air on British television, or at least on the music channels Scuzz TV and Kerrang! TV.
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