The album was first announced by the band on the live broadcast of the 2009 Grammy Awards. On February 9, 2009, Green Day announced the album title the that the album would be split into three acts, those acts being "Heroes and Cons", "Charlatans and Saints", and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" On March 17, a teaser trailer for the album was posted on the band's website. On March 25, the international release date of May 15 was announced. The first single was released on April 16, and the premiere of the music video was on April 24 on the MTV UK website.