Benson Boone covers ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at Coachella 2025 with Queen’s Brian May as surprise guest

Benson Boone channeled his inner Freddie Mercury during his Coachella 2025 set, welcoming none other than Queen‘s Brian May as a surprise guest to back him up and give him the stamp of approval for his impressive cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The “Beautiful Things” crooner had an epic debut at the festival on Friday night. After running — and flipping — through his most beloved songs, the 22-year-old pop singer announced that his sophomore album, American Heart, will be out June 20. He then paid homage to the late Queen frontman by performing Mercury’s iconic Live Aid call-and-response before singing his own song, “Forever and a Day.”

But it turned out that Boone’s “Ay-Oh” cover was just a tease for the show-stopping performance that ended his set. After leaving the stage, he returned wearing a royal fur cape and began playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the piano with a choir singing behind him. Boone then shed the cape to reveal his viral Grammys jumpsuit underneath and did one of his signature flips off the piano.

As Boone continued singing, Queen guitarist May rose on a platform at the back of the stage, playing along as the crowd went wild. “Brian May, everybody!” Boone shouted as May shredded his guitar solo.

Watch a video of May’s surprise appearance during Boone’s set below.

After the rousing cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” May and the choir remained on stage to help Boone close out his set with his biggest hit, “Beautiful Things.” Boone even managed to fit in one final flip — this time, into the crowd — to cap off his Coachella debut, which will no doubt be remembered for years to come.

While many gathered at the music festival didn’t know May was going to perform with Boone, the Queen member spilled the beans earlier on Friday on social media, posting two photos with Boone on an airplane traveling to Coachella.

“Look who I bumped into — on the way to the fabled Palm Springs … Maybe something will happen?!” May wrote. “Do we look happy?!!! Gonna treasure this moment on the plane with @bensonboone — a truly golden 22-year-old prodigy. I’m proud and happy to say we are now officially pals.”

May previously revealed that he suffered a “minor stroke” in September 2024 but that he was still able to play. “The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days,” May wrote on social media. “And I say this because it was in some doubt, because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago, and what they called it was a minor stroke. And all of a sudden, out of the blue, I didn’t have any control over [my left] arm. So it’s a little scary.”

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Boone went viral during the 2025 Grammy Awards in February when he adjusted his, well, beautiful things after his performance at the ceremony. The former American Idol contestant, who was nominated for Best New Artist and lost to Chappell Roan, later posted an apology for fixing his crotch through his jumpsuit after doing a flip at the end of “Beautiful Things.”

“Sorry for adjusting my jumpsuit so aggressively on stage tonight,” Boone wrote on social media. “That thing was extremely restricting in certain areas.”

Boone is scheduled to return to Coachella for the second weekend on Friday, April 18.