The 91st Academy Awards saw the world's biggest rock band own Hollywood's biggest night. Legendary rock group QUEEN + Adam Lambert opened — and stole — the show at the star-studded Oscars, performing a medley of two of their most iconic songs, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions", getting a much-deserved standing ovation from Tinseltown's elite. Watch their electrifying tour de force below. It was also a history-making performance, as QUEEN is the first rock band to ever open the Academy Awards. "Guitarist Brian May was the first to appear on stage, shredding on his guitar to the iconic beat of 'We Will Rock You'," wrote Rolling Stone. "Lambert joined, paying homage to [Freddie] Mercury's gravity-defying vocals and unmistakable showmanship." The QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" was up for five Oscars, including "Best Picture". Rami Malek, who plays Freddie Mercury in the film, took the "Best Actor" trophy for his portrayal of the late singer. Since Lambert first shared the stage with QUEEN for the 2009 "American Idol" final, his dynamic performances have reinvigorated the band and delighted fans worldwide. Their first full show together — starting as they meant to go on — thrilled a half-a-million-strong crowd in the Ukraine capital city of Kiev in June 2012. Since then, May and Taylor's musical fireworks have been matched by Lambert's vocal prowess and stage presence, making for an explosive combination. Over 180 gigs later, the partnership has proven a commercial and critical triumph, playing to enraptured full houses in every corner of the world. 20th Century Fox's "Bohemian Rhapsody" has topped the cinema box office in more than 35 countries around the world since its late October release, drawing worldwide box office receipts in excess of $845 million. The excitement the film inspired also saw QUEEN propelled back on to the music charts, where they hit No. 1 on Billboard's Artist 100 chart, reminding fans why they loved them and dazzling the previously-uninitiated. In the U.S., the band scored its highest-charting album in 38 years with the "Bohemian Rhapsody" soundtrack (Hollywood Records), which surged from #25 to #3 on the Billboard 200 chart on November 17, reached the top of the Billboard Rock Albums chart and were Spotify's most streamed artist in the world for the week ending November 22. In the same week, QUEEN's "Greatest Hits Vol I, II & III: The Platinum Collection" rocketed from #194 to #9 on the Billboard 200 and they had a jaw-dropping 22 songs charting on the Digital Rock Tracks chart including seven of the Top 10. QUEEN original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor will team up once more with vocalist Adam Lambert for the "Rhapsody" tour, an epic 25-date run from mid-July through late August. The North American headline tour will be produced by Live Nation.
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