According to the Australian boarding school for girls called Frensham, music is at the heart of the educational experience for their students.
The Frensham Madrigals, a choral group, is an award-winning part of that music program.
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One of the groups many performances went viral for wowing audiences around the world after it went viral on YouTube and beyond. It’s racked up over 3.5 million views since it was uploaded.
An iconic song
The song being performed is the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Written by the late Freddie Mercury in 1975 for the band’s album A Night At The Opera.
It’s topped the charts over and over again – when it was released, upon Mercury’s passing, when it played during a particularly hilarious moment during the 1992 film Wayne’s World, and most recently when a biopic on Mercury of the same name was released.
And if you don’t find that impressive, it was posted to Facebook by former Queen member (and current astrophysicist) Brian May! We’re taking that as the ultimate seal of approval.
A cover for the ages
The song has been covered far too many times to count, and even the Frensham Madrigals have covered it nearly every year. But it’s this particular performance that seems to be knocking socks off.
It appears to be updated by member Kate Lee, who identified just herself and a friend – Charlotte Nicholls – as part of the 18-person group.
As the curtain opens, the women are in relative darkness, reminiscent of the original video.
As the song begins, the stage lights illuminate the faces of the young women as they begin to sing.
But just as the solo begins, the lights go dark again except for one student who steps into the spotlight to sing the haunting lyrics.
A second student joins her (we imagine they are Lee and Nicholls who are identified in the caption).
The young women have beautiful voices and this particular vocal arrangement (with just a piano accompaniment – which manages to rock its way through the well-known guitar solo as well) still makes us want to sing along.
Thunderbolt and lightning
Freddie Mercury has originally envisioned three songs as a sort of musical trilogy until he found a way to mesh them together to create “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But as a result, there are 3 “acts,” so to speak, that are very distinct.
When the young women get to the second part of the song (the trial, we’ll call it), they change formation.
The audience lets out a giggle as they jump into their new places, but the singers all remain very serious.
Well, that is until the epic guitar solo mentioned above. In the film Wayne’s World, this is the part where all four passengers in the car do some serious headbanging. And now that’s just become the standard reaction to getting through that part of the song.
It would almost seem odd not to it!
And these ladies don’t disappoint.
As as you might imagine, the audience was all for it.
Now we see why this has been an award-winning performance for the school’s vocalists throughout the years.
Be sure to scroll down below to see the rest of their incredible show!
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