A glance at Billboard’s most recent Streaming Songs Chart features the usual suspects: Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Hozier, Sam Smith … and Queen?
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” the hit song from 1975, has been revived not because of a marketing push from their record label or placement on a popular car commercial, but because of a viral YouTube video entitled “Bohemian Carsody.”
Sketch She, a female comedy trio from Australia, sped up the classic rock standard and videotaped a silly, passionate reenactment of the song in their car. It sounds like another trivial YouTube video, but it racked 16.8 million views on the streaming video site in two weeks and spurred a 261% increase in weekly streams for Queen’s original song recorded 40 years ago.
We all know that viral Internet trends have a cultural impact, but it’s not usually quantifiable. Who are these new “Bohemian Rhapsody” consumers? Are they longtime Queen fans who are now reminded of the song? Are they a younger continent of music fans who are finding the song for the first time? It’s probably a combination of both, and it’s all due to a semi-professional video recorded by an Australian comedian troupe.
Will Sketch She revive more classic songs with their funny renditions? Only time will tell. You can follow them on Twitter here for more from the funny Aussies.
