Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ video reaches 1 Billion views and is the first pre-1990s YouTube video to reach this milestone. The accompanying video for Queen’s 1975 single, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, is generally recognized as the first-ever promotional music video, kick-starting and setting the gold-standard for the genre for decades to come. Today, it continues to inspire and entertain millions of fans around the world, more than 40 years after it was first created.
Speaking from the band’s current sold-out North American tour, founding Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor said, “We are honoured that Bohemian Rhapsody has just hit one billion views on YouTube. We want to thank you all and celebrate with our amazing fans all around the world by creating three new music videos to our songs, all featuring you! Whether you are a musician, singer, dancer, visual artist or you just want to have some fun. Go to youarethechampions.com to find out more and we’ll see you on the road somewhere.”
To celebrate this monumental achievement, a newly remastered HD version of the video is available today, for the first time ever and exclusively on the bands’ YouTube channel. Fans can now see the video restored in all its glory, as it was originally intended. Additionally, fans will now be able to access the song’s lyrics in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Polish, German, Indonesian Bahasa, Korean, Czech, Russian and Turkish while watching the video.
Queen – in partnership with YouTube Music, Universal Music Group and Hollywood Records – have announced the launch of ‘You Are The Champions,’ a unique new campaign that will give fans an exclusive chance to become a part of Queen history with a starring role in three brand-new, user-generated videos for three of the band’s most celebrated tracks. The campaign launched at the end of July.
Further details will be published on YouAreTheChampions.com so to find out more and add your submission go here. submissions! The finished videos will be published later this year on the bands’ official YouTube channel.
“Bohemian Rhapsody is a sonic and cinematic masterpiece that’s one of the most enduring songs of all time,” said Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music for YouTube. “The newly remastered video on YouTube will ensure the song continues to be rediscovered, embraced and beloved by old and new generations of music fans around the world. It’s incredible to help change the way fans experience music and provide a place for artist and fan connections worldwide.”
As well as its status as being the first music promo video of its kind, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is regularly cited as one of the greatest songs ever recorded. In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and Freddie Mercury’s vocal performance was named by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine as the best in rock history.
The song has continued to inspire a new generation of fans following the global success of the biographical film ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which tells the story of the band’s career, as well as the genesis of the song. The film is the highest-grossing music biopic in history, having generated more than $900 million dollars at the box office. The film also won four Oscars, including Rami Malek as Best Actor for his portrayal of legendary frontman Freddie Mercury on the big screen – a feat he repeated at both BAFTA and the Golden Globes.
