When Freddie Mercury joined Adam Lambert for a spine-tingling duet of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 2015

25 August 2022, 13:49

Adam Lambert: 'I learned a lot from Freddie Mercury'

Adam Lambert and Queen were performing at Rock In Rio in 2015 when Freddie Mercury joined them on stage for a staggering duet of his most famous hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

Freddie Mercury may be gone but he is certainly not forgotten.

The former Queen frontman, who died in 1991, gave a stunning performance when he joined his ex-bandmates and Adam Lambert on stage in 2015.

Queen and their new lead singer Adam Lambert were performing at the annual music festival in Brazil, Rock In Rio, when they launched into Freddie Mercury's most famous song, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

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As Adam Lambert sang the opening verses of the hit song, a screen then lit up the stage behind him showing footage of Freddie Mercury singing and playing the piano.

Queen and Freddie Mercury then proceeded to sing the song together – performing it over three decades apart.

Brian May gave a beautiful guitar solo and was then joined by footage of Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Freddie Mercury singing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' from the song's official 1975 music video.

The performance then culminated in Adam Lambert taking over on lead vocals as Queen continued to rock the stadium in Brazil.

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Adam Lambert has a long held association with 'Bohemian Rhapsody', famously singing the song when he was an unknown auditionee on American Idol, just six years earlier in 2009.

After singing a flawless acapella version of Freddie Mercury's famous 'Bohemian Rhapsody' during the audition in Los Angeles, the judges were quick to evaluate the 27-year-old Adam Lambert's performance.

Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Kara DioGuardi proceeded to argue over the young performers vocals, with Simon calling his performance "too theatrical", before eventually - and after much debate - agreeing to put him through.

Watch the video of Adam Lambert, Freddie Mercury and Queen below:

Queen + Adam Lambert: Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock In Rio 2015)

Rio de Janeiro's annual Rock In Rio concert also holds a lot of significance for singer George Michael, who met the 'love of his life' there while performing at the festival in 1991.

Video footage has resurfaced of the day George Michael first spotted his future boyfriend Anselmo Feleppa in the audience at one of his concerts.

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George confirmed he was singing on stage at the 1991 Rio de Janeiro concert when he locked eyes with Anselmo in the crowd for the first time and nearly forgot his words to the song.

The relationship with the Brazilian would become one of the most important of George's life, before their time was tragically cut short when Anselmo died from complications from AIDS just two years after they first met.

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