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Tag: Freddie Mercury

  • Adam Lambert No Freddie Mercury, But Next Best Thing

    Adam Lambert, in his new role as front man for Queen, rocked Houston on Wednesday night, during one of the band’s few southern stops on its summer tour. Sources say it didn’t take long for the crowd to warm up to Lambert, whose vocal abilities sold them–if not before–then definitely during his rendition of ‘Somebody to Love.’

    Since Freddie Mercury’s passing back in 1991, finding a viable replacement with the vocal talent and similar over-the-top style to fill his larger-than-life shoes has been a difficult task for the band. Adam Lambert likely represents the end to that task. His glitz and glam via multiple costume changes compared to those of Cher–as well as his penchant for leopard print, leather, and fringe–kept the crowd singing along, cheering, and remembering Mercury, who died of HIV/AIDS. Film clips of Mercury’s performances from the 1980s peppered Wednesday’s performance, with Adam Lambert even ceding the vocals of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to his late, great predecessor. It was plain to see that Lambert had achieved the very delicate balance of leading with his vocals while still honoring Freddie Mercury–and with some of the band’s original fans in the audience–that was no small feat.

    Adam Lambert reportedly had more of a ‘practiced showmanship’ style than that of Freddie Mercury, who always kept his feet very firmly planted in the rock genre, but that was probably needed to prevent fans from thinking they were at a tribute show instead of enjoying a revitalized version of the classic rock band.

    The night after his Houston performance, Adam Lambert was rocking the crowd in Dallas.

    If any Queen fans held off their opinions of Adam Lambert until the encore, then they were sold the minute the young singer returned to the stage. His renditions of ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are the Champions’ left little to no doubt in their minds that he is good–even good enough to do Freddie Mercury proud.

    Adam Lambert is no Freddie Mercury. Mercury is irreplaceable in the rock world. But as a singer who can lead Queen into future sold out performances–it sounds like Lambert might just be the next best thing.

    Image via Instagram

  • Adam Lambert to Perform With Queen

    Adam Lambert will go on tour with Queen this summer. The band, known for its late lead singer Freddie Mercury and hit songs like Bohemian Rhapsody and Another One Bites the Dust, has been around since 1970. Lambert got to perform with them the first time while he was a contestant on season 8 of American Idol. He wound up as the runner up for that season, losing out to Kris Allen. Lambert has done far more musically than Allen since his loss to him in 2009.

    Adam has gotten to know original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor quite well over the past few years.

    The Queen tour will include 19 appearances that will all take place between June 19th and July 20th. They will kick off in Chicago and wind down in Washington, D.C. Lambert was very excited about making the announcement on Thursday morning, and he tweeted about it prior to the big day.

    “I’m completely in awe of the Queen phenomenon,” Lambert said during an interview on Thursday. “The thought of sharing the stage for a full set in North America is so beautifully surreal.”

    Adam Lambert is also proud to honor Freddie Mercury as he performs the lead vocals the phenomenal singer once sang.

    “He’s a personal hero of mine, and I am deeply grateful for the chance to sing such powerful music for fans of this legendary band. I know this tour will be a huge milestone for me, and with the support of Brian, Roger and the rest of the band, I feel like magic will be on display,” said Lambert.

    With Adam Lambert on tour with Queen, concert ticket sales are likely to sell out quickly. The band flailed for a long time following Mercury’s death and have tried putting different vocalists into his spot. None have had the power or the appeal that Lambert will likely have.

    Tickets for the Queen tour featuring Adam Lambert go on sale Friday. See if they’re coming to a city near you.

    Image via YouTube

  • Katy Perry Takes Inspiration From Queen

    Katy Perry Takes Inspiration From Queen

    A musician claiming to take inspiration from Freddie Mercury and Queen is nothing new. Aspiring rock stars have been channeling the charismatic frontman for decades, and every kid who picks up a guitar learns a Brian May riff at some point. So learning that Katy Perry drew on the band’s body of work for a project is not surprising, until you learn what type of project.

    Perry borrowed the title of the band’s 1974 hit “Killer Queen” for her new fragrance, which is set to be released next month. The fragrance will be the third to bear Perry’s name, following “Purr” and “Meow”.

    In abandoning the cat theme of her previous products, Perry sought to evoke the spirit of the woman being described in Mercury’s lyrics, a woman who she says she feels she is on her way to becoming.

    “Freddie Mercury painted the lyrics of this woman who I wanted to be. She seemed very powerful, and she captivated a room when she walked in. I named my company Killer Queen after those lyrics. I feel like, after all this time, it was appropriate to use that name in association with something I did. I feel like I’m falling, finally, into that woman Freddie painted.”

    The fragrance, which was designed by Internation Flavors and Fragrances, reportedly took over 30 attempts to reach its final form. Whether or not that hard work will pay off will have to wait until “Killer Queen” is released.

    When Perry isn’t putting out new scents she is still performing to sold out arenas, including an upcoming headlining spot at the iHeart Music Festival at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where she will perform alongside such pop heavyweights as Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, and Elton John. Perhaps she will look to John’s catalogue for her next fragrance and girls everywhere will be spritzing on “Island Girl” before heading to the club.

  • Freddie Mercury Will Perform with Queen Once Again

    Freddie Mercury, the voice behind the legendary rock powerhouse Queen, may have passed away in 1991, but that’s not stopping him from performing with his band one more time. Brian May, guitarist extraordinaire, has revealed that Mercury will be performing at Monday’s (May 14th) 10th anniversary production of the musical “We Will Rock You”. However, don’t call it a hologram. Instead, Mercury will be performing as an “optical illusion”.

    This news comes hot on the heels of the holographic return of fallen rapper 2Pac at this year’s Coachella music festival, a performance that May claims is a little unfortunate.

    “It’s a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we’ve been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite a while,” May explained to the BBC. “[That technique] is something we’ve looked at ourselves but I think probably for a show that runs eight shows a week it’s not really quite practical.”

    In other Queen news, it’s been reported that director Stephen Frears will direct the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic, which finds funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead role. Cohen’s involvement with the picture was confirmed way back in 2010, though it was only recently announced that the “High Fidelity” filmmaker would helm the project.

    Excited about Freddie Mercury posthumous return to the stage? Good to hear. Twitter users, however, seem to be divided on the announcement. A selection of their excitement has been sliced and served up below.

    (image)@natalie_shaw
    Natalie Shaw    A Freddie Mercury illusion or some shit? What is happening? Can we put Brian May in a basement, forever http://t.co/xDrDnBre(image) 1 minute ago via Twitterrific for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@F16at1000
    Nina    Oh please, please leave Freddie Mercury in peace, and not turn him into some weird posthumous sideshow. http://t.co/wRiTxrrD(image) 44 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@BoozeGoggles
    Booze Goggles    Certainly won’t be throwing bottles of piss on stage if #Freddie Mercury makes a digital apparance. If it was Limp Biskit, I certainly would(image) 15 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@TraderDansTwit
    Dan     They brought back Tupac to make some cash, now Freddie Mercury? Where does profit go when they bring back dead performers?(image) 5 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Tive
    Stephen Tive Pirrie    What @VICEUK said about how #holograms will ruin music is true (http://t.co/IET35GtK) starting w/ Queen & Freddie Merc http://t.co/iqxLcn01(image) 4 hours ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Freddie Mercury Doodle Now Available On U.S. Version of Google

    And on the 6th of September, 2011, Queen conquered America. At least in regards to Google Doodles. As we reported yesterday, Google celebrated the posthumous birthday of Freddie Mercury, the world famous lead singer of Queen. For holiday reasons, the latest Google Doodle was available worldwide, but not in the United States.

    Now, a day after Mercury’s birthday has passed, much like the United States’ celebration of the Labor Day holiday, the Queen Google Doodle is now viewable for visitors to the Google.com address, the default version of Google for United States users. While the delay for the United States is understandable, some were disappointed Google didn’t do a separate logo to commemorate the Labor Day celebration.

    From yesterday’s initial Freddie Mercury doodle article, courtesy of WebProNews reader, Steve:

    I realize that Google is under no obligation to produce ANY holiday doodles, but I still expected one for Labor Day. I was disappointed when I went to the Google site for just that purpose and there was not one to be found. Too bad they did not take the time to create one.

    While Google is indeed multinational and global in its reach, it’s still an “American” company. It was founded here and their primary headquarters/campus is still in Mountain View. With that in mind, it is kind of surprising there wasn’t a Labor Day logo for American Google users.

    Nevertheless, the Freddie Mercury HTML5-driven Google logo is active for Google’s American audience, and here’s what it looks like when activated:


    Because of the nifty doodle, Mercury has also become a bit of a trending topic this week, and that, of course, includes Twitter. The reaction to the Google Doodle was quite positive:

    @GoogleDoodles
    Google Doodles    Our Freddie Mercury doodle has finally arrived in the US for a belated birthday celebration. http://t.co/Z8Y1plP 7 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @Mike2600
    Mike Davis    UGHHHH this Freddie Mercury Google video is incredible. http://t.co/8Tqg3Fm 5 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @yayponies
    jessica    The Freddie Mercury Google Doodle is now live in the US and it is GLORIOUS. /o/ #havinagoodtime #knowyourlegends 6 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

    What other doodles would you like to see Google tackle? Are you a fan of these more elaborate logos or would you prefer the standard image alteration instead of the animated video? Was Google’s decision to delay the U.S. release of the Freddie Mercury logo the correct one? Let us know what you think.

  • Google’s Awesome Freddie Mercury Doodle

    Google’s Awesome Freddie Mercury Doodle

    The style and fun Google approaches their logo doodles nowadays makes for an entertaining visit to Google’s search page. Whether it’s Pac-Man, Les Paul or Alexander Calder’s nifty mobile–all courtesy of robust HTML5-style web design–the Google Doodles rarely disappoint.

    Actually, they’re never disappointing, even if they aren’t as obvious as others. With that in mind, the latest worldwide Google Doodle–more on the “worldwide” aspect in a second–celebrates one of the most famous lead singers who’s walked the planet, the incomparable Freddie Mercury of Queen. In true modern web development fashion, the latest celebratory logo is done with all of the HTML5 goodlness you’ve come to expect from Google and their new path regarding doodles.

    When clicked, the logo loads an animated Queen performance of “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and it’s awesome. Because Google hasn’t yet allowed embedding of their awesome animation-rich logos, the power of YouTube will have to suffice:


    If there’s a better way to search the web, it needs to introduce itself in a hurry.

    As indicated, the Freddie Mercury Google Doodle can be viewed on a worldwide basis, but for obvious reasons, its not available in the United States. Mercury’s birthday is on September 5, 1946, and in 2011, that’s the same day the United States celebrates Labor Day, which falls on the first Monday of September. It’s pretty clear Google didn’t want to appear disrespectful to its United States visitors. That being said, the fact there’s not a Labor Day logo for IP addresses originating in the U.S. is little surprising.

    With that in mind, you can view the Freddie Mercury logo on just about any international Google index page, but, considering the Doodle’s subject matter, a link the British Google homepage is only logical. Granted, Mercury wasn’t born in England, but he certainly made his fame there. Speaking of, here’s a tried-and-true Queen song to continue the celebration:


    And if you have the time, I seriously recommend Queen’s 1986 performance at Wembley Stadium. The official Queen YouTube page is also offering it as a celebration of Mercury birthday. It’s over 90 minutes long, but if there’s nothing on the docket, it’s worth the watch:


    Thoughts on Google’s latest? Let us know in the comments.