About

Cell Block Tango also known as He Had It Coming is a song from the 1975 musical and the 2002 film Chicago. The song has received numerous fan parodies and fan animations in the 2010s. In the 2020s, the song gained traction TikTok under the name "He Had It Coming," a lyric from the number.

Origin

The musical number (shown below) comes from the film Chicago,^[1] which first released to theaters on December 27th, 2002. The film was an adaptation of the original 1975 Broadway musical. In the number, various female prison inmates each tell the story of how they wound up in prison. After each story, they all sing the repeating verse of "He had it coming!"^[2]

The musical television show Glee did a version of the Cell Block Tango in an episode that aired on May 1st, 2012. A reupload of the performance is shown below.^[6]

However, the earliest known internet parody is an October 28th, 2013 video posted by YouTuber^[5] Todrick Hall, where he plays a number of Disney villains. The video gathered over 14 million views and 280,000 likes in eleven years.

Spread

On August 27th, 2014, YouTuber^[9]Star Boots posted a edit featuring several characters from the anime Fairy Tail, gathering over 50,000 views in ten years.

On October 4th, 2016, YouTuber^[7] Broadway Comics posted a Brazilian version of the musical featuring several female comic book villains, gathering over 120,000 likes in eight years.

On May 18th, 2018, YouTuber^[8] Ijustwannahavefun posted the earliest known viral re-animation of the musical number, featuring several genderbent creepypasta characters. The post gathered over 3 million views in six years.

In early December 2024, TikToker^[3] @miraculousgastrapod posted an edit using the song to comment on the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as Martin Shkreli, another executive who benefited from overpriced medicine.

The post was removed from TikTok but reposted to X^[4] on December 7th, where it gathered over 94,000 likes in two days.

THEY ARE MAKING FAN EDITS ON TIKTOK pic.twitter.com/vZlIt8TUDn

— tooth 🔆🇵🇸🇮🇪 (@toothbrushlord) December 7, 2024

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References