Listen To 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Cover Of Queen’s ‘Killer Queen’

5 Seconds of Summer celebrate the legacy of Queen and their late singer Freddie Mercury with their new version of the classic song Killer Queen. The Australian popsters’ rendition is the second – following Shawn Mendes’ acoustic take on ‘Under Pressure’ – in a series of three cover recordings marking the upcoming release of the band’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. You can hear the track below.

“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,” 5 Seconds of Summer said in a statement.

“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.”

Net profits from 5SOS’ version of Killer Queen will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an organization co-founded by Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor and the band’s manager Jim Beach to support the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

“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,” Beach said in a statement.

The Bohemian Rhapsody official motion picture soundtrack album is out now and can be bought here.

Format: UK English