Few artists out there are brave enough to cover a song as iconic as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, but a cappella quintet Pentatonix are one of those talented few. When they released their cover of the era-defining track earlier this year, created using nothing more than the sound of their voices, they ended up going viral online, racking up over a million views and sending fans into a frenzy over their crazy vocal talents in the process.
It’s hard to believe that a song like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ could even be recreated with just five voices, never mind made to sound good, but as the video below proves, Pentatonix don’t just recreate the track, they perform a version that makes it entirely their own. Lead singer Mitch Grassi even looks as though he might be channeling Freddie Mercury, sporting both a mustache that looks a lot like Mercury’s and a black blazer that really looks like something the former Queen singer may have worn.
The most impressive part of the rendition, meanwhile, is surely the instantly recognizable second section that begins ‘I see a little silhouetto of a man’. For this section, Pentatonix truly start using their voices as instruments, building up multi-layered vocal harmonies and percussive interludes with ease. And when the group’s female singer Kirstin Maldonado hits that incredible high note, you know that they have created something spectacular with this rendition.
If you’re now after more spectacular Pentatonix renditions, meanwhile, you’ll want to check out the group’s version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. Racking up 756 MILLION views to date, the video is by far the most popular upload on their YouTube channel, and when you hear their stunning harmonies and energetic delivery for yourself, readers, you will surely realize why.
Pentatonix might have taken a big risk by covering a song as iconic as Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ using only their voices, but if any a cappella group around today was going to pull it off, it was going to be them. And you never know, if you’ve got tickets to see them on tour in the US later this year, you may well end up hearing this incredible cover in person.
Few artists out there are brave enough to cover a song as iconic as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, but acapella quintet Pentatonix are one of those talented few. When they released their cover of the era-defining track earlier this year, created using nothing more than the sound of their voices, they ended up going viral online, racking up over a million views and sending fans into a frenzy over their crazy vocal talents in the process.