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This Māori group's kapa haka performance of Bohemian Rhapsody will make your day.

This Māori group's kapa haka performance of Bohemian Rhapsody will make your day.

This article originally appeared on 03.01.19

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered dozens of different ways. But you've never seen it performed like this.

As one of the most iconic songs in rock music, Bohemian Rhapsody is recognizable no matter how it's done. As children, my brother and I used to belt out Galileos and Figaros in the backseat of our parents' Volkswagon whenever the song came on (yes, just like in Wayne's World). While other kids learned about Beelzebub in Sunday School, I learned about him from Queen's perfect harmonies. If there were an anthem from my classic rock-filled childhood, it would be Bohemian Rhapsody.

It's one of those songs that is hard to cover well, though it hasn't stopped people from trying. I've enjoyed some renditions, but nothing has caught my attention or delight more than this kapa haka version from New Zealand.

A Māori choir in native garb sang the song live in the Māori language, and it is something to see.

The group Hātea Kapa Haka performed the song on February 21 at New Zealand's national kapa haka festival, Te Matatini, in Wellington. The festival brings 46 kapa haka (Māori performing arts) groups together to compete against one another.

Newshub reports that Hātea Kapa Haka collaborated with musical artist William Waiirua to create a "Bohemian Rhapsody" cover in the Māori language, both as a tribute to Freddie Mercury and to celebrate the Oscar-nominated movie about his life.

The group had previously created a music video for their cover, but seeing it performed live is something else. The voices, the harmony, the presentation—everything—is wonderful.

This kind of cultural mashup reminds us how small our world has become.

The contrast between Queen's 1970s British rock and the Māori people's traditional kapa haka could not be more striking. And yet, the melding of the two totally works. Music has the power to bring people together, and this performance is a great example of how it can bridge cultures with beautiful results.

Watch the live performance here:

And if you want more, check out the music video too:

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Octopus fans, get ready for an epic deep dive featuring the ocean’s coolest creature.

What has eight arms, three hearts, and millions of fans?

Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash

shallow focus photography of octopus

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On Thursday, August 4 at 10 am PST, swim on over to join Upworthy’s Instagram Live with OctoNation, a nonprofit organization and Facebook group that proudly calls itself “The Largest Octopus Fan Club.”

If you’re a sucker for suckers, then you have found your tribe. Not only does OctoNation have a sticker club and create epic Octo-swag (we’re talking coffee mugs, stickers, sweatshirts…all designed to delight your inner cephalopod-ophile), they also provide amazing videos and resources like Octopedia that educate the world about the many, many different species of octopuses.

For instance, have you ever heard of a Mimic Octopus?

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Look out, Meryl Streep! This species should win an Oscar for all the roles it can play. There are 15 known animals the Mimic can transform into, including the flatfish, lionfish, sea snake, brittle stars, sea anemones, jellyfish, stingray, crabs, and the mantis shrimp…just to name a few.

What about a Seven-arm Octopus?

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Don’t worry—this species does have eight arms. But that doesn’t make it any less weird. Males of this super rare species grow a mating arm under their right eye, which they use to deliver sperm to a female up to 20 times larger than he is. In a perplexing display of chivalry, he’ll then break off his mating arm so that she can fertilize her eggs. How progressive.

Seriously, just when you think you’ve learned everything there is to know about these fascinating creatures, another new surprising fact emerges from the depths. Luckily, organizations like OctoNation are here to bring the pure wonder of these squishy sea puppies to dry land. And on Aug 4th, viewers won’t only get to geek out, they’ll get to show off their creative side…and perhaps win a special prize.

Chris Adams, OctoNation’s Creative Director, will be hosting a fun drawing class so that everyone can learn how to sketch out an octobuddy of their very own. Adams designs all of Octonation’s artwork, so you know you’ll be in good hands…even if he only has two of them instead of eight. Plus, folks will be able to post their drawings onto Instagram Stories for a chance to win 1 of 5 octopus plushies. I repeat, a squishy octopus plushie could be in your possession. This is not a drill.

Mark your calendars. We hope to see everyone there. Octopuses have captured our imaginations for centuries, and yet there’s still so much to learn and love about them.

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What's the most '80s song of all time? People share their most bodacious answers.

A time for big hair and even bigger energy.

A sound uniquely its own.

Maybe we have nostalgia-driven television shows like “Stranger Things” to blame, but music from the '80s has made its way back into the mainstream. Just what makes that '80s sound so distinctive?

You could go the scientific approach and attribute it to the heavy use of synthesized piano. And you’d certainly be right. A study published by Humanities Commons noted that one particular preset (E. PIANO 1) on the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer could be heard in up to 61% of No. 1 hits on the pop, country and R&B Billboard charts by 1986.

Of course, I think we’d have to acknowledge that there was more to it than electric piano. That music just had a certain attitude all its own. It was loud, both audibly and visually. And perhaps best of all—it encouraged people of all shapes and sizes to be bold and embrace their inner weirdo.

So, just what is the "most '80s '80s song" of all time? That was a question recently posed on AskReddit. Here are 16 of the best answers:

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