
Freddie Mercury (Photo by Carl Lender; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen is the most streamed song of the 20th century.
Universal Music Group announced on Twitter that the British rock band broke the record with 1.5 billion streams.
Breaking news 🚨 Bohemian Rhapsody by @QueenWillRock has officially become the most-streamed song of the 20th century passing 1.5 billion streams. 👑 pic.twitter.com/utOYWH3S2r
— Universal Music Group (@UMG) December 11, 2018
The second most streamed song of the 20th century is the 1991 Nirvana hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” followed by Guns N’ Roses songs “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain.”
The revived interest in the song, which was recorded in 1975, is attributed to the recent release of the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The film’s soundtrack includes a cover of the song.
The film was a major hit at the box office grossing more than $173 million domestically. It is now the second-highest grossing biopic of all time right behind the NWA origin story “Straight Outta Compton.”