Bohemian Rhapsody (The Muppets)
Encyclopedia
The song "Bohemian Rhapsody
", written by Freddie Mercury
and originally recorded by rock band Queen
for their, A Night at the Opera
album, has been subsequently covered
by many different artists.
in 2009. The cover is perhaps best known for its music video, which was originally posted on YouTube
on November 23, 2009 before the release of the track. The video features multiple Muppets characters singing partially modified lyrics of the original song and garnered over seven million hits within its first week of release.
The video and song is an official production of The Muppets Studio. The success of the video caused Walt Disney Records
to release the cover as a single on December 13, 2009, where it peaked at #32 on the UK Singles Chart
.
's "American Pie", but "Bohemian Rhapsody" was their ultimate selection. Filming was completed within a day by 20 staffers; Thatcher considered the task to be "epic in scale" considering they normally only use half a dozen Muppets for a single scene. Breier stated that this and other videos that the studio has released to YouTube are part of a promotional push for the Muppets; Breier likened outlets on the Internet like YouTube to the variety show
s of the 1970s, and felt that the Muppets easily fitted into that culture.
The video is a montage by about 70 different Muppets characters singing their part of the lyrics against a black screen, in the same style used by Queen for portions of their promotion video of the song and mimicking the four-person layout used for the cover of Queen's second album
. After completing the song, which ends up with mosaic of all the characters singing, it is revealed that this was one side of a computer video conference with Kermit the Frog
, who laments his decision for that type of meeting to Scooter
.
The video presents a shorter version of Queen's song with some lyric alterations to retain appropriateness of the characters for a younger audience. For example within the first stanza of the ballad portion of the song, the lyrics where the singer laments to his mother that he "just killed a man" are replaced by Animal
calling out repeatedly for "mama". Other aspects of the lyrics are changed for humorous purposes surrounding the Muppets characters. Pepe the King Prawn
starts the opera portion of the song stating that he sees "a little silhouetto of a clam". The back-and-forth lyrics, "Bismillah! No! We will not let you go...let him go!", are replaced with Fozzie the Bear begging "Let me joke" to Statler and Waldorf, who state "We do not like your jokes". The line "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me" is replaced with the remaining muppets who have not been in the video singing "Does anyone know if there is a part for me?" The song ends with Miss Piggy
, lounging on Rowlf the Dog
's piano, singing "Nothing really matters but moi!"
The video premiered on YouTube on November 23, 2009. Within a week, the video had accrued over 7 million views, and has nearly 15 million views within the following five months. The video was nominated and won the "Viral Video" category in the 14th Annual Webby Awards
. The popularity of the video led to the song being distributed through digital download on iTunes
in December by Walt Disney Records
and EMI
. The song reached #32 on the UK Singles Chart
for the week of December 26, 2009.
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
", written by Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
and originally recorded by rock band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
for their, A Night at the Opera
A Night at the Opera (Queen album)
A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock group Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, A Night at the Opera was, at the time of its release, the most expensive album ever recorded...
album, has been subsequently covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by many different artists.
List
| Year | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Fuzzbox We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It We've Got A Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It were an English alternative rock group. Formed in Birmingham in 1985, the all-female quartet originally consisted of Vix, Maggie Dunne, Jo Dunne and Tina O'Neill. The band's name was shortened to Fuzzbox for the U.S. release of their first album... |
on their 1987 single "What's The Point" |
| 1987 | Bad News Bad News Bad News were a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members were Vim Fuego , vocals and lead guitar ; Den Dennis, rhythm guitar ; Colin Grigson, bass ; and Spider Webb, drums .-Biography:Bad News made their television debut during... |
This spoof rock band Rock Band Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was... (created for the UK Channel 4 TV series The Comic Strip Presents...) also released "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single. It reached number 44 in the UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... . It featured on the album Bad News. The cover version was produced by Brian May.. A 12inch version was released as well ending completely different, when during the last guitar brake a false chord was played and the song stops whilst being shouted 'fuck basterds, I played the wrong chord'. The 12inch version then continues with some studio chatter and a 'bad news version' of Pretty Woman. |
| 1988 | Paige, Elaine Elaine Paige Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16... |
The Queen album |
| 1992 | Queen Queen (band) Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor... + Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor... and Axl Rose Axl Rose W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years... |
Elton John and Axl Rose performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the... . This version showed John playing the first verse of the ballad section in keyboards, and later singing in the front stage accompanied by Brian May Brian May Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen... , John Deacon and Roger Taylor (Spike Edney Spike Edney Philip 'Spike' Edney is a British musician who, since early 1970s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably, Queen, where his participation, starting in 1984, has been so extensive that some writers have described him as the "fifth member of Queen". In the earlier phase of his career,... plays the rest of the vamp until the operatic section). After the taped Opera section, Axl Rose appeared using a microphone similar that Mercury used in his live concerts; the Outro section was played in duet showing Rose's appreciation to John. |
| 1993 | Yankovic, "Weird Al" "Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts... |
a polka Polka The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia... cover named "Bohemian Polka" on his album, Alapalooza Alapalooza Alapalooza is the eighth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. The cover sleeve is a spoof on the movie poster of the hit movie Jurassic Park. The name is a parody of the music festival Lollapalooza.... . |
| 1993 | Comic Relief Comic Relief Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief... |
a parody of the original video by celebrities from major UK TV networks on the BBC telethon |
| 1995 | Dream Theater Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would... |
On the Album A Change of Seasons A Change of Seasons -Credits:* James LaBrie – Vocals* John Myung – bass* John Petrucci – guitars* Mike Portnoy – drums* Derek Sherinian – keyboards-Chart performance:Billboard 200:* A Change of Seasons – #58UK Albums Chart... is the song "The Big Medley" which consist of several cover versions, including Bohemian Rhapsody. |
| 1996 | Harris, Rolf Rolf Harris Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the... |
This version reached the British charts for one week at #50 |
| 1996 | The Braids | High School High High School High High School High is a 1996 comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams and Brian Hooks... soundtrack album. The San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... duo recorded an R&B version of this song for the soundtrack to the Jon Lovitz Jon Lovitz Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:... movie High School High. It was produced by Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup... 's lead singer Stephan Jenkins Stephan Jenkins Stephan Douglas Jenkins , is an American musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Third Eye Blind. Under Jenkins's leadership, Third Eye Blind has sold over eight million copies of four albums: Third Eye Blind , Blue , Out of the Vein , and Ursa Major... and was also released as a single in the fall of 1996. It peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... , while staying on the charts for 17 weeks. |
| 1997 | Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi.... with Bruce Dickinson Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.... |
On album Friends For Life Friends For Life (Montserrat Caballé album) Friends for Life is the title of a 1997 album by Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé.-Track listing:# Bohemian Rhapsody, with Bruce Dickinson [5:50]# March With Me, with Vangelis [3:49]... |
| 1998 | Molotov Molotov (band) Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs... |
As "Rap, Soda y Bohemia", on the album Molomix Molomix "Molomix" is the second album by the Mexican band Molotov. Its a remix album from their previous production ¿Dónde Jugarán Las Niñas?. It also includes two new songs "El Carnal de las Estrellas", which is an attack to the Mexican broadcasting company Televisa after its denial to run their music... |
| 1998 | Faye Wong Faye Wong Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing... |
Performed the song on her concert - Faye Wong Scenic Tour 1998-99. |
| 2001 | Ours (band) | Released as a limited edition CD single |
| 2001 | Paul de Leeuw Paul de Leeuw Paul Henri de Leeuw is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for broadcasting company VARA... |
Dutch singer and TV personality, performed the song during his live shows in Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam in 2000, released on single and album (zingen terwijl u wacht). The performance however was rather poor and falsely sung. |
| 2005 | DeLisle, Grey Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads... |
album Iron Flowers. A shortened rendition, covering only the ballad portion of the song to a much slower melody. |
| 2005 | Flaming Lips, The The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What... |
album Killer Queen Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Killer Queen is a tribute album of Queen songs. The album is named for the 1974 Queen song of the same name that first appeared on the Sheer Heart Attack album.The album peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 on August 27, 2005... . The cover was also performed live. |
| 2005 | G4 G4 (band) G4 were a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in ITV's talent show The X Factor in 2004. The members met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which the name G4, standing for "Guildhall 4", derives.-The X Factor:G4 auditioned for the... |
First performed on first series of The X-Factor, released as a single which became #9 in the UK charts. It was included on their self-titled album G4 (album) G4 is the self-titled debut album from the vocal group G4, released in 2005. It debuted at the number one spot in the UK Albums Chart on the Mother's Day weekend selling over 245,000 copies in the first week. It became the fastest selling album of 2005... |
| 2005 | McNeil, Suzie Suzie McNeil Susan Jane "Suzie" McNeil is a Canadian pop rock recording artist.-Early life:McNeil was born in Mississauga, Ontario. She has a sister, Laura Norris, a teacher at a public high school in Toronto.-Rock Star: INXS:... |
On the CBS reality show Rock Star: INXS Rock Star: INXS Rock Star: INXS is the first season of the reality television show Rock Star where 15 contestants competed to become the lead vocalist for the Australian rock band INXS.... |
| 2005 | Children in Need Children in Need Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long... |
a selection of BBC News BBC News BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online... presenters perform the song on the BBC telethon |
| 2006 | Williams-Fairley Engineering Band | An instrumental version in their album Best In Class |
| 2006 | Londons Horns | An 32 piece instrumental with arrangement by Richard Bissill and Geoffrey Simon conducting. |
| 2007 | CollegeHumor CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by InterActiveCorp and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's... |
a parody entitled, "Brohemian Rhapsody", set in a fraternity Fraternity A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union... house |
| 2007 | Moymoy Palaboy Moymoy Palaboy Moymoy Palaboy is a Filipino comic and singing duo known for their uploaded lip sync videos in YouTube. The duo consists of the Obeso brothers, James Ronald and Rodfil... |
A lip-syncing Lip sync Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals... rendition of the song. It currently has 6,736,033 views on YouTube YouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... . |
| 2008 | Autumn, Emilie Emilie Autumn Emilie Autumn Liddell , better known by her stage name Emilie Autumn, is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist. Autumn draws influence for her music—the style of which she has alternatively labeled as "Victoriandustrial" and glam rock—from plays, novels, and history, particularly the... |
recorded on the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun & Bohemian Rhapsody Double Feature EP and frequently performed live in concert. |
| 2008 | Rajaton Rajaton Rajaton is a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop... |
recorded on the Rajaton sings Queen with Lahti Symphony Orchestra and on several occasions performed live in concert. |
| 2009 | Muppets, The The Muppets The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference... |
see section |
| 2009 | Pink Pink (singer) Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress.... |
Funhouse Tour Funhouse Tour The Funhouse Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, Funhouse. The tour visited Europe, Australia and North America.... , and subsequent DVD release Pink: Live In Australia Pink: Live in Australia is a music DVD by American pop singer Pink. The DVD contains the July 17 and July 18, 2009 concerts of Pink's record-breaking Funhouse Tour at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. It was released in late October and early November 2009... |
| 2009 | Augusto Enriquez | On Rhythms del Mundo Rhythms del Mundo Rhythms del Mundo is a nonprofit collaborative album, which fuses an all-star cast of Cuban musicians including Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of the Buena Vista Social Club with tracks from US, UK and Irish artists such as Dido, Arctic Monkeys, U2, Coldplay, Sting, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5,... Classics album |
| 2010 | Prince Poppycock Prince Poppycock John Andrew Quale is an American singer, songwriter, and performer best known by the stage name and persona of Prince Poppycock. Quale, who specializes in musical theater and opera, describes Prince Poppycock on his website as a "roguish operatic dandy."... |
On Americas Got Talent |
| 2010 | Jonathan Groff Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St... in Glee Glee (TV series) Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues... |
Featured on the TV show in the episode "Journey Journey (Glee) "Journey to Regionals" is the 22nd episode and first season finale of the American television series Glee. The episode was written and directed by series creator Brad Falchuk, and premiered on the Fox network on June 8, 2010. In "Journey to Regionals", New Directions performs at Regionals in front... ", and released on the EP Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals is the second extended play by the cast of musical television series Glee. Containing six songs from the season one finale "Journey to Regionals", it was released on June 8, 2010, the same day the episode aired. Half of the tracks are cover versions of... |
| 2010 | The Fringemunks The Fringemunks The Fringemunks are a music group created by Seattle musician David Wu in 2008 consisting of three "cloned" anthropomorphic chipmunks: Feebo, Notchy and Pie. They are known mostly for recapping all episodes of Fox television series Fringe with song parodies... |
Parody that recaps Fringe Fringe (TV series) Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security... episode 3.01, "Olivia Olivia (Fringe) "Olivia" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by executive producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner, and was directed by Joe Chappelle. The third season spent its time alternating between the prime and... ." |
| 2010 | Never Shout Never | From the album Punk Goes Classic Rock Punk Goes Classic Rock Punk Goes Classic Rock is the ninth album in the Punk Goes... series, released by Fearless Records. It was released on April 27, 2010. This also features Your Love by The Outfield for the second time to be covered. And also has a Bonus Sampler CD with it... |
| 2010 | Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie is an American band which began in the autumn of 2000 with the release of their first album, A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC. The band performs a mixture of cover versions of hard rock songs and original compositions in a style that is a unique fusion of bluegrass and rock music and are... |
From the album Killer Grass Killer Grass Killer Grass is the 8th full-length studio album by the American band Hayseed Dixie, released in 2010 . The CD DVD package contains 7 original compositions along with 6 reinterpretations of previously known songs... |
| 2011 | William Shatner William Shatner William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T... |
From the album Seeking Major Tom |
The Muppets
The song was performed by characters from puppet group The MuppetsThe Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
in 2009. The cover is perhaps best known for its music video, which was originally posted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on November 23, 2009 before the release of the track. The video features multiple Muppets characters singing partially modified lyrics of the original song and garnered over seven million hits within its first week of release.
The video and song is an official production of The Muppets Studio. The success of the video caused Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
to release the cover as a single on December 13, 2009, where it peaked at #32 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Video
The Muppets' version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was directed by Kirk Thatcher, who has been involved with several other Muppets videos. According to studio manager Lylle Breier, the idea of the Muppets singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" had long been an idea that they wanted to do, but only was able to bring the project together within a short time before the video's release. Thatcher noted they had a long list of possible songs they wanted to do with a large group of Muppets, including Don McLeanDon McLean
Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
's "American Pie", but "Bohemian Rhapsody" was their ultimate selection. Filming was completed within a day by 20 staffers; Thatcher considered the task to be "epic in scale" considering they normally only use half a dozen Muppets for a single scene. Breier stated that this and other videos that the studio has released to YouTube are part of a promotional push for the Muppets; Breier likened outlets on the Internet like YouTube to the variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s of the 1970s, and felt that the Muppets easily fitted into that culture.
The video is a montage by about 70 different Muppets characters singing their part of the lyrics against a black screen, in the same style used by Queen for portions of their promotion video of the song and mimicking the four-person layout used for the cover of Queen's second album
Queen II
Queen II is the second album by British rock group Queen, released in March 1974. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London in August 1973 with co-producers Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Cable, and engineered by Mike Stone....
. After completing the song, which ends up with mosaic of all the characters singing, it is revealed that this was one side of a computer video conference with Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
, who laments his decision for that type of meeting to Scooter
Scooter (Muppet)
Scooter is a bespectacled character from The Muppets. In The Muppet Show he was the troupe's backstage "gofer". He was originally performed by Richard Hunt.-Characteristics:...
.
The video presents a shorter version of Queen's song with some lyric alterations to retain appropriateness of the characters for a younger audience. For example within the first stanza of the ballad portion of the song, the lyrics where the singer laments to his mother that he "just killed a man" are replaced by Animal
Animal (Muppet)
Animal is the primitive man and crazed drummer of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, the fictional band from The Muppet Show. He is one of the Muppets originally created by Michael K...
calling out repeatedly for "mama". Other aspects of the lyrics are changed for humorous purposes surrounding the Muppets characters. Pepe the King Prawn
Pepe the King Prawn
Pepe the King Prawn is one of The Muppets, performed by Bill Barretta. He was first introduced in the 1996 TV show Muppets Tonight. At the time, he would sing along with his partner, Seymour the Elephant, although neither of the two had any real musical talent.Pepe ditched his partner and began a...
starts the opera portion of the song stating that he sees "a little silhouetto of a clam". The back-and-forth lyrics, "Bismillah! No! We will not let you go...let him go!", are replaced with Fozzie the Bear begging "Let me joke" to Statler and Waldorf, who state "We do not like your jokes". The line "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me" is replaced with the remaining muppets who have not been in the video singing "Does anyone know if there is a part for me?" The song ends with Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
, lounging on Rowlf the Dog
Rowlf the Dog
Rowlf the Dog is a Muppet character, a scruffy brown dog of indeterminate breed with a rounded black nose and long floppy ears. He was created by Jim Henson....
's piano, singing "Nothing really matters but moi!"
The video premiered on YouTube on November 23, 2009. Within a week, the video had accrued over 7 million views, and has nearly 15 million views within the following five months. The video was nominated and won the "Viral Video" category in the 14th Annual Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
. The popularity of the video led to the song being distributed through digital download on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in December by Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
and EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The song reached #32 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for the week of December 26, 2009.