Impromptu
Boy Channels Freddie Mercury To Play 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
His mannerisms were perfect and the crowd was in the palm of his hand.
Ryan Aliapoulios
10.02.19

One of the unique things about the internet is that it allows music and media to exist in a kind of timeless state.

Although plenty of famous musicians and artists may actually be dead today, their legacies can live on anyway. In fact, many artists even get their biggest recognitions and resurgences well after they were first popular.

wikipedia.org
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wikipedia.org

As one good example, Queen has been making a huge comeback in popular culture, perhaps beginning with the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Although they’re not quite as popular now as they once were, they’re finding an entire new audience of young fans.

flickr.com/kentarotakizawa
Source:
flickr.com/kentarotakizawa

Though you can find plenty of evidence of that fact all over the internet, you can also look no further than this video.

The clip in question was loaded to YouTube by Alexander Penkov in June of 2019. As the description says, the clip is a video of a talent performance filmed in front of an entire middle school.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

As it begins, Penkov walks out in front of the whole school dressed in jeans a white shirt with his hair slicked back. For those who are Queen fans, it’s clear that he’s wearing an outfit as a tribute to one of Freddie Mercury’s iconic looks.

After that, Penkov walks up to the piano bench and sits down.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

After a quick cut, the camera closes up on his face somewhat as he gets the feel of the piano he’s playing.

A moment later, he starts playing the iconic first notes from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Though he’s very young and the song is notoriously difficult to both play and sing, Penkov gives it his all.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

Most impressive of all is that his voice has the delicate warble that Mercury’s own unique voice had.

About halfway through the song, he turns to the crowd and blows them a kiss—and everybody laughs.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

As the performance continues, he starts playing the iconic melody with even more emphasis.

He gets to a powerful part in the music and punctuates it by throwing a fist up in the air. At this, the whole crowd gives him a spontaneous round of applause.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

Even though he’s young and it’s not a perfect performance, it’s hard not to say that he’s giving it everything he’s got—he’s definitely channeling the spirit of Freddie Mercury pretty well! After that, the song builds towards a crescendo and into a part that’s normally a guitar solo.

Though it’s difficult, Penkov steps up to the challenge.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

He does his own unique interpretation of the solo all on the piano keys—before getting into the dark and dramatic part of the song.

Before getting into the final verse, he does a few rapid fire trills on the piano keys and strikes one last chord. With that, he stands up and nods and the whole audience gives him a huge round of applause!

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

So far, the performance has earned Penkov about a million views on YouTube and it’s not hard to see why. With some songs and artists, their power stretches well beyond their time and continues to inspire. In the case of this video, it’s clear that was definitely the case with Penkov.

Congratulations to Alexander Penkov on his awesomely brave piano performance! Check out the full thing in the link below:

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