Bohemian Rhapsody is most streamed song from 20th century

Dec 12, 2018 06:00 am

They said it would never sell, with its six-minute playing time, operatic passages and lyrics about Galileo and Scaramouche, but the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody on Monday became the most streamed song from the 20th century.

Boosted by the recent Hollywood movie Bohemian Rhapsody, the 1975 single and music video surpassed 1.6 billion streams globally, record company Universal Music Group said in a statement.

The song overtook the likes of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O'Mine, and is now also the most streamed classic rock song of all time, Universal added.

The Bohemian Rhapsody film, starring Rami Malek as late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, has brought the music of the British rock band to a new generation. Five weeks after its release, it has also become the highest grossing musical biography movie, with a global box-office take of US$600 million (S$824 million).

Malek was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance and is widely expected to get an Oscar nomination. - REUTERS