Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ named most-streamed song from 20th century

Universal Music Group today announced that “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the iconic single by British rock legends Queen, officially became the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th Century, as well as the most-streamed Classic Rock song of all time.

On December 10, the original song and official video for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” taken from the group’s 1975 album “A Night at the Opera,” surpassed 1.6 billion streams globally across all major streaming services.

Playing no small role in this feat is the feature film of the same name, a biopic of the group and lead singer Freddie Mercury, which is one of the top films of 2018, Variety.com reports.

Brian May, Queen’s guitarist and founding member said, “So the River of Rock Music has metamorphosed into streams! Very happy that our music is still flowing to the max!”

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said, “’Bohemian Rhapsody’ is one the greatest songs by one of the greatest bands in history. We are so proud to represent Queen and are thrilled to see the song still inspiring new fans around the world more than four decades after its release.  My congratulations to Queen and [longtime manager] Jim Beach on an incredible achievement that is a testament to the enduring brilliance of Queen.”

UMG represents Queen’s iconic catalog globally outside North America, as well as providing support to the band across global merchandise, retail licensing and brand management through Bravado, UMG’s brand-management and merchandise company.