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bohemian rhapsody

@juliencohen_pinao/TikTok

Oh to have been there to witness it IRL.

Just when you think you’ve heard every amazing "Bohemian Rhapsody” cover imaginable—from standout AGT performances to spontaneous crowd sing-alongs to haka renditions—this one literally comes out of nowhere. And it’s every bit as exciting, magical, profound, and inspiring as the OG.

On the streets of Paris, window shutters open to reveal three women clad in white who begin to sing, “Is this the real life…” in a way that can only be described as heavily Disney-coded. A pianist appears seemingly out of nowhere. Then another singer from another window. And another. Then, a blonde man in a horse drawn carriage comes down and belts out “Mama, just killed a man…” so good you just know it made Freddie Mercury smile wherever he is now.

Oh, and did we mention the 11-year-old who absolutely shreds a guitar solo??

These are just some of the 30, yes, 30 musicians and singers that came to deliver a truly epic flash mob performance of Queen’s signature rock ballad. Really, this was something between a flash mob and immersive theatre. Wow.

To say the clip has gone mega-viral would be an understatement. In under 24 hours, the clip has received over 30 million views across TikTok and Instagram. Of course, most viewers expressed more than a little FOMO.

“Could you imagine seeing this? Like omg I’d be freaking out.”

“This is tremendous, and I am so envious of those who witnessed it in real life.”

“Flash mob of healing vibes 😍”

“This right here is what Queen WANTED.”

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Julien Cohen, the pianist in the video and mastermind behind this epic flash mob, was able to pull off such a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration. After all, his entire social media is dedicated to outstanding duets with talented musicians…many of which have also gone viral. And, if someone invites you to come to Paris to be part of a “Bohemian Rhapsody” flash mob, are you really gonna say no?!

Among the star studded line up are Michael Spence, aka Mickey Castillo (lead singer) and Olly Pearson (second guitar), both of whom competed on Britain’s Got Talent. Fittingly, Castillo often got compared to the late, great Freddie Mercury by BGT judges. Pearson also played Queen’s "Don't Stop Me Now" while on the show.

Other performers include:

DDKN: A French pop group consisting of sisters, Stella, Nounée, and Anouche, known for angelic harmonies. They were the first three singers.

Sone & Coline Sicre: Made up the pop choir near the piano.

Michaël Koné: The opera singer who belted out “I’m just a poor boy” and gave those amazing "Galileos."

Martin Pennec: Came out of nowhere with those drums.

Axel Thomas & Paul Pasmanian: On the second guitar and bass guitar.

And then there's the operatic choir, who really help bring Cohen’s artistic vision come to life (and Mercury's, for that matter):

Eeva Matilda

August Chevalier

Michel El Ghoul

Emmanuelle Jakubek

Dounia El Baaj

Lisa Chaïb-Auriol

Alessandra Rizzello

Lou Thomas

Lejeune Céleste

Chuck Pariton

Nicolae Hategan

Olga Vojnovic

Sara Paone

Shadi

Moonsy

Tirso Ramirez

David Lefort

Romain Jurmande

Aside from being such an auditory delight, part of what makes “Bohemian Rhapsody” so incredibly compelling is how it brings people together with connecting threads of pure, raw emotion. This group handled both those elements so well, and the result is not only a celebration of one of Queen’s most beloved works, but of humanity as a whole—how good it feels to create with one another, and to physically witness art being made. Truly, this could not have come at a better time.

@juliencohen_piano The most INSANE Bohemian Rhapsody Flashmob you will ever see!! With 30 musicians and singers in the streets of Paris 😍 Lead singer: @Mickey Callisto Lead guitar: @GuitarOlly First 3 singers: @✨ DDKN ✨ Pop choir: @ddkn.off @Sone and @coline sicre Counter-tenor solo: @michaelkonesaki Second guitar: @Axel Thomas ♬ son original - Julien Cohen


Excuse me…off to go listen to this for the 20th time.

Angelina Jordan blew everyone away with her version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody."

At Upworthy, we've shared a lot of memorable "America's Got Talent" auditions, from physics-defying dance performances to jaw-dropping magic acts to heart-wrenching singer-songwriter stories. Now we're adding Angelina Jordan's "AGT: The Champions" audition to the list because wow.

Jordan came to "AGT: The Champions" in 2020 as the winner of Norway's Got Talent, which she won in 2014 at the mere age of 7 with her impressive ability to seemingly channel Billie Holiday. For the 2020 audition, she sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," but a version that no one had ever heard before.

With just her Amy Winehouse-ish voice, a guitar and a piano, Jordan brought the fan-favorite Queen anthem down to a smooth, melancholy ballad that's simply riveting to listen to.

Especially considering that Jordan was only 13 years old when she did this.

Watch:

What this video doesn't show is Heidi Klum hitting the Golden Buzzer faster than you can say, "Nothing really matters to me." The judges were blown away by Jordan's performance, as were the people in the comments.

"That's a ONE in A BILLION voice right there. Just amazing," wrote one commenter.

"I am typically not a fan of songs being redone particular to such a magnitude," shared another. "They almost always fall short of the original. But to completely rearrange a song in the manner that she has, from a legend, and then make you forget about how the original even sounded because her rendition is so good is utterly amazing."

"As Freddie once said, 'Do whatever you want with my music as long as you don't make it boring.' I think he'd really like this," shared another.

Though Queen's lead vocalist Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, the band did offer words of praise for Jordan's performance, retweeting her audition video with the comment, "Wow! What a rendition of #BohemianRhapsody."

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is such an iconic song, it's hard for anyone to do a cover of it justice. But 13-year-old Angelina Jordan managed it masterfully.

Jordan would move on to the Top 10 in "AGT: The Champions," and though she didn't take home the top prize, she did impress the audience with another classic rock tune, Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." You can enjoy that performance below, and you can follow Angelina Jordan—who is now 17 and still singing her heart out—on YouTube and TikTok.

Become Angelina's patron at Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/angelinajordanThis performance on Angelina Jordan's TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@angelinajor...


This article originally appeared two years ago.

America's Got Talent/Youtube

Kodi Lee has become an "AGT" fan favorite with his next level skills

Since 2019, Kodi Lee has wowed “America’s Got Talent” audiences with his next-level musical skills. That goes for whether he’s performing touching original works or putting his own personal touch on well-known songs. For “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League,” the music savant was guided by his mentor Howie Mandel to cover “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.

It’s hard to imagine a version of this fan-favorite tune you haven’t already heard before, since the song has been covered quite a few times. But once again Lee delivered something epic and completely unique.

Even though judges Mel B and Heidi Klum still prefer Lee’s original songs, all applauded his haunting and emotional piano rendition of the rock-n-roll anthem.

Simon Cowell even said “You use these words ‘Star Quality’ a lot, but you genuinely, Kodi, over the years we’ve got to know you, you’ve just got better as an artist. You’ve never given up, and the Finals just wouldn’t be the same without you in it this year.”

Other viewers applauded Lee for one-of-a-kind performance, agreeing that he did freddie Mercury proud.

One wrote, “‘You can do whatever you want to do in my music, just don't make it boring’ -Freddie. What a magical performance.”

Another added, “Kodi has an amazingly rare talent to be able to sing across different musical genres. He owns them all!!!”

Last but not least, I think this comment sums up the general consensus pretty well: "This version is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. It’s truly a masterpiece. Kodi is an amazing gift to our world. He continues to change the world just by being himself."

Watch below. And enjoy.

This article originally appeared last year.

Pop Culture

A stadium of people launched into an incredible, spontaneous 'Bohemian Rhapsody' sing-along

"For almost 6 minutes, the equivalent of a small city sang, with one voice, the beautiful song of a man who has been dead for decades. If you can do this, you're not just a famous person, you're a legend."

A sea of people sing their hearts out.

When polarization starts to feel like a defining characteristic of humanity, sometimes we need a reminder that people really are capable of coming together as one.

Watching a stadium full of Green Day concertgoers bust out their best "Bohemian Rhapsody" when it came over the loudspeakers is just such a reminder.

As the person who uploaded the concert footage to Reddit noted: "For almost 6 minutes, the equivalent of a small city sang, with one voice, the beautiful song of a man who has been dead for decades. If you can do this, you're not just a famous person, you're a legend."


What could be more palette-cleansing than hearing thousands of people breaking into song together for an entire six minutes? What's more unifying than a piece of music being so beloved and well-known that a whole stadium knows every note and word and sings it in unison with all their heart?

a gif of Freddie Mercury dressed as a king.

Truly a legend.

i.giphy.com

As one commenter on Reddit wrote, "Ever notice how one crowd singing together always sound the same as other crowds, as in has the same tambre [sic] and sound quality? It's like the recognizable and familiar voice of humanity. Regardless of how different the people in the crowd are, the crowd always sounds the same. I think the idea that we are listening to humanity's voice when hearing a crowd sing is a beautiful concept."


Listen to the voice of humanity. It's truly a beautiful thing.

This article originally appeared four years ago.