In honor of the life and legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, and in celebration of the upcoming biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, multi-platinum band 5 Seconds Of Summer release a cover of Queen’s 1974 seminal hit, “Killer Queen” today at all digital providers. Stream/Download “Killer Queen” HERE.
Says 5SOS, “Queen have been such a massive influence on us as a band. Their unique harmonies, the fluidity to their songwriting and how they each used their own musicality to back each other up have always inspired us. We chose to cover, ‘Killer Queen’ because we kept hearing it while writing our third album, Youngblood and were so enamored by the production and their early realization of the minimalist approach to the track. For us, the exploration of individual vocalists in a band is incredibly important and Queen helped us to see the future of how we want to sing, in addition to how we play our instruments. As a pioneer of individuality, Freddie taught us what it means to embrace the idea of truly being yourself and that’s a part of Queen that lives on in their music now, more than ever.”
The song, produced by Linus, follows singer-songwriter and musician, Shawn Mendes’ acoustic interpretation of the iconic 1981 No. 1 hit, “Under Pressure” and was recorded as the second installment in a series of three artist covers in support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust (MPT). The MPT was founded in 1992 by Brian May, Roger Taylor and Jim Beach to support the global fight against HIV/AIDS. 5SOS, together with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Queen, will donate net profits of the track to the MPT.
“Everyone at the Mercury Phoenix Trust is thrilled that 5 Seconds of Summer have joined our global campaign fighting AIDS in celebration of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. Thank you 5SOS for giving us such an impeccable version of Freddie’s classic Killer Queen,” said Queen’s manager, Jim Beach.
