Queen Rhapsodizes to the top of the Streaming Charts

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the most-streamed song from the 20th century, and the most-streamed classic rock song of all time. The song, which reached and stayed at No 1 in the UK for 9 weeks in 1975 and then again in 1991 following Freddie Mercury’s death, has now been streamed 1.6 billion times across platforms that include Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and other streaming services, according to Queen’s label, Universal Music Group (UMG).

The song is currently as popular as it has been in a generation, following the release of the Queen biopic also entitled Bohemian Rhapsody, which has made almost $600m at the global box office since its release in November. The song re-entered the UK charts the same month and reached No 45, and for the week of 22 November, was the 11th most streamed song in the world on Spotify.

When told about the achievement, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “So the river of rock music has metamorphosed into streams! Very happy that our music is still flowing to the max!” Lucian Grainge, CEO of UMG, said it was an “incredible achievement that is a testament to the enduring brilliance of Queen”.

The top five most streamed tracks of the 20th century might surprise you, with major stars like Michael Jackson and the Beatles noticeably absent. Nirvana’s 1991 grunge anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is at No 2 with more than 1.5bn streams, followed by two songs by Guns N’ Roses: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain.” A-ha’s synthpop hit “Take on Me” rounds out the top five.

Freddie Mercury must be dancing on a cloud.

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