Pentatonix - Bohemian Rhapsody (BRITS REACTION!!) 

As an American, I can testify that there is only one Queen. This isn't a replacement... it's a very great homage. A PERFECT homage. Nobody could have done a better homage than this group.

"9 out of 10????" What??? This musically challenging, PENTATONIX arrangement was absolutely brilliant, in my opinion (as a professionally trained, classical musician)! The vocal arrangement is unparalleled in its complexity and a perfectly successful vocal execution. These are well-trained voices performing both vocal harmonies AND instrumentals (at the same time) with absolute precision (at least as far as the human voice is capable of producing). I am a 'great' QUEEN fan and always have been. No one group could ever replace them; however, PENTATONIX honors them with their own amazing BR version containing 'true adherence' to QUEEN that is subsequently blended with their own brand of 'musical magic.' I am in awe of this version and give its performance a very deserving "10 out of 10!" BRAVO, PENTATONIX!

The look on your faces when you hear Mitch playing the guitar solo through the Megaphone was PRICELESS!! From what I have read about this song, it took them years to get it right. Plus, Brian May gave them a thumbs up on social media after hearing the song. Great reaction as per usual gents!! Cheers!

If you start with PTX, then there's no need to go any further. PTX does the best cover of this song ever done, hands down.

The megaphone is just a prop! It's pure Mitch!!😂

Brian May, the Queen guitarist, gave this video a major shoutout on his social media.

The BULLHORN was just a prop. Mitch sings that live & BEAU-tifully!

Mitch's megaphone is just a prop. You might be interested to know, there are many "symbolisms" in this video track. The left-right ear panning is an homage to Queen's original recording. The moving couch recalls PTX's early start when they were just sitting on a couch to produce their music videos. The night sky and the stars toward the end is a recognition of Brian May's degree in astrophysics. It might be interesting to note too that Queen has never performed this song live in its ENTIRETY. When they reach the Scaramouch section, the band goes off the stage and projects the iconic video recording of four faces that we all know. Apparently, during studio recording, voices were overlaid many times to create the full sound which sadly Queen could not reproduce during live performances. PTX performs this live in full in concerts. I've seen it once in 2020 with Matt as bass. Amazing as always. Btw, there is also a behind-the-scene video for this MV. Interesting to watch

Scott says this is their hardest arrangement for him to do live. Specifically the "let him go" because he does both parts.

Nothing better than Pentatonix.

😑👉ANYONE with a great vocal can do this with the right backing instruments. BUT WHO ELSE CAN DO THIS IN FULL WITH THEIR OWN VOCALS??? PENTATONIX is the GREATEST!!!

You might notice that in the early section, Kevin sings that melodic accompaniment (originally played on piano) because he has a very credible tenor voice.

I love Queen. RIP Freddie. Also love PTX

It’s FANTASTIC!!! JUST THEIR VOCALS! Electric guitar......are you kidding me! TEN out of TEN!!!!!

They are all amazing for sure but Avi is my absolute favorite! I miss his depth of sound/bass in the new songs without him, but Matt does a great job as well. But there’s only 1 AVI!! There’s something about the fullness, and smoothness of his voice! It doesn’t get drowned out. There’s no missing it! Great reaction fellas!! Great job!

The Grassi Guitar does not require a megaphone. It is just a prop to draw attention to who is making the sound. I heard it done live and it was EPIC.

Brian May was so impressed with this version, that he put a link on Queens website and said “Enjoy!”

There is such a palpable sense of respect in this cover for the original material, that I feel a lot of people who have covered it have just not had. Also if you think Mitch does a great impression of an electric guitar, wait til you find the behind the scenes PTX and Superfruit videos where he perfectly replicates, I kid you not, a sharpie marker on cardstock immediately after Scott makes the noise with actual marker on cardstock. He grew up doing some sound imitations.

The megaphone was actually just a prop, it was completely Mitch’s voice. This is so good that Brian May, guitarist from Queen, shared this on his Facebook page, talk about a complement! Thanks guys, I am so glad you finally 😂 got around to it, Janet.

Brian May is actually Dr. Brian May. He is an astrophysicist. His PhD thesis a survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud" was published in 2007 and is a popular astronomy book of the same name. He started his research in 1970 and then stopped to run around the world in this rock band named Queen. Maybe you've heard of them maybe you haven't I had to Google them. That's sarcasm. The megaphone in a prop. Mitch does not use it in live shows. Plus the voice you hear when they're looking at the stars is the same voice homage to Brian May. Brian May was so impressed with the video that he posted it on all of his social media sites . There are 4 shooting stars and I always wondered about that because there are 5 members in PTX. I read in a comment that it's an homage to Queen because there are 4 members in Queen. At least that's how I interpret the shooting stars. The moving couch pays homage to how they started. After Sony drop them they did their own videos and uploaded them to RU-vid. They would just be sitting on a couch with a camera aimed at them. I think they did them all in one take because they didn't have money for post-production or editing. This is a link to a video titled a beginner's guide to Pentatonix ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lDxIfwfCmQE.html This is a link to a live version of Bohemian Rhapsody. I think it was filmed off of somebody's phone. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C1PelJIxHTQ.html Brian May is actually Dr. Brian May. He is an astrophysicist. His PhD thesis a survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud" was published in 2007 and is a popular astronomy book of the same name. He started his research in 1970 and then stopped to run around the world in this rock band named Queen. Maybe you've heard of them maybe you haven't I had to Google them. That's sarcasm. The megaphone in a prop. Mitch does not use it in his life. Plus the voice you hear when they're looking at the stars is the same voice Mitch uses with the megaphone . Iat the night sky is homage to Brian May. Brian May was so impressed with the video that he posted it on all of his social media sites . There are 4 shooting stars and I always wondered about that because there are 5 members in PTX. I read in a comment that it's an homage to Queen because there are 4 members in Queen. At least that's how I interpret the shooting stars. The moving couch pays homage to how they started. After Sony drop them they did their own videos and uploaded them to RU-vid. They would just be sitting on a couch with a camera aimed at them. I think they did them all in one take because they didn't have money for post-production or editing. This is a link to a video titled a beginner's guide to Pentatonix ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lDxIfwfCmQE.html This is a link to a live version of Bohemian Rhapsody. I think it was filmed off of somebody's phone. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C1PelJIxHTQ.html

There are two Bohemian Rhapsody performances that deserve 10s in the universe: Queen will never be topped and PTX’s acapella version will never be topped

Definitely my favorite version. Just mindblowing. It really doesn't get better than this version tbh

7:13 Mitch slapped! Love your faces here as you try to process what's happening! Pentatonix is so talented and do a great show live!

The megaphone is only a prop... Mitch doesn’t use it live! Brian May posted this on his social media stating,”Enjoy!”.

Mitch doesn’t use a megaphone when they perform this song live. When the space shot is a tribute to Brian May who has PhD in astrophysics.

I love all of your reactions for Pentatontix.

Pentatonix is the best ......

I love how you said it wasn't your favourite only for Mitch and his guitar solo to kick in and your faces go all 😶😦😮😯😲😱🤯🤯🤩🤩🤩 when you heard him!!! Lol Brian May gave his seal of approval for this rendition, so it's at the top.

One thing I suggest, (and fair warning I am a major Queen fan). Listen to the Queen version and pay close attention to both Roger's drum part and John's bass line and then compare. I was very skeptical when I first decided to listen to this "cover." I had read where people said that Brian May not only like their rendition but had a link to it on one of his websites to promote it (not shabby, IMHO). Avi's faithfulness to John's bassline and Kevin's faithfulness to Roger's beats was epic for me. The megaphone in Mitch's guitar solo is actually a prop for the video. When they do this in concert there is no megaphone. The "Pentaholics" can explain about the couch. I believe the couch driving down the road is an homage to the movie "Wayne's World" which brought Bohemian Rhapsody back to the charts, and the four shooting stars during the night sky is an homage to the four members of Queen and possibly to Brian May's passion for Astronomy.

As I'm sure people have mentioned,Brian May, put this out to his followers on social media saying simply, "Enjoy!" So I think they are definitely up there with the best covers of this song! At the end when it pans to the sky with the stars, it's a not to Brian Mays astrophysics degree!

Fun fact: Mitch apparently was actually making those wah wah sounds with his mouth (in the studio recording). The video director apparently just thought it looked better with the megaphone.

Brian May gave iPentatonix’s version a shout out and a link on his social media.

The competition is already over in week one. You started the with the best cover rendition right out of the gate lol. But still check out the Acapop! KIDS rendition. Scott from PTX helped form the all children's a cappella group that features a rotating arrangement of about 30 or so kids all under the age of 17. A few of the founding members are 17 now but at the time of their debut everyone was between the ages of like 7 and 15. I think you'll be thoroughly impressed by them. The guys behind a lot of the PTX success (Ben Bram, Shams and Scott) do the arranging and filming of their music videos.

I loved the look of shock on your faces as the song continued to build. I hadn't seen it an awhile and it's still incredible!! That they did this so early in their career and with no budget to speak of - just speaks to their talent. Amazingly ambitious to even tackle this huge song, and then to deliver such a complex arrangement. Bravo PTX!!!

Hi, I love your reactions! I want to recommend their MTV Popspring performance from 2016, as you've mentioned before that you want to hear them live. It was professionally filmed and has great sound quality. They did 3 original songs and their Michaels Jackson Medley. I am sure you will love it.

Hi, Guys, glad to see you enjoyed this, always a little chancy to cover such an iconic work done by an equally iconic band. They actually spent a few years working on this arrangement to be sure that they would do justice to the original work. The air guitar solo over the star field was meant as a tribute to lead guitar and astrophysicist Brian May, I thought that was a very nice touch. In case you hadn't heard, PTX has concerts scheduled in London and Manchester this year, picking up the European legs to their COVID-interuppted 202 world tour. Worth it if you get the chance - I'm going to see their Christmas concert in Minneapolis this year and can hardly wait. Have a great day!

Always great to watch you being genuinely impressed with the talent and creativity of PTX. No false drama, just intelligent appreciation. As a viewer of a certain age, I enjoy reactors who are familiar with the subject matter. Nothing quite as disappointing as these young fellas who haven't heard of Queen, Freddie, or this iconic song, trying to react to the PTX cover. Btw, the star-scape portion of the video during the second guitar solo is paying homage to Brian May, who has a doctoral degree in astrophysics. I love how PTX always do their homework when they undertake a cover, especially one as legendary as this.

By the way. The mega phone was a prop. You’ll realise that when you watch a live performant. The 4 shooting stars are one for each of the Queen members. Like I said the megaphone wasn’t real, just a prop.😊😊😊😊😊😊

Just a brilliant arrangement top (Mitch) to bottom (Avi). Maybe someone else can top this, but it's a high bar indeed.

When they do this live, they don't use a megaphone. Mitch just uses his microphone.

Best cover of Bohemian Rhapsody of all time!!!!!

I’m typing in the middle of your reaction and i’m shocked you aren’t BLOWN AWAY! This is in my top 3 fave Pentatonix performances.

i knew you were speaking too soon on how it was just normal for ptx bcz we all knew the guitar solo was coming next and btw he does it without the megaphone live and also this video was professionally done there is a making of video for this video they paid people a good bit of money for this and the mobile couch hahahaha

Notice that on the second guitar solo at 10:20 the stars are shooting across the sky. This is in homage to Brian May, lead guitarist, who got a degree in astrophysics, the study of stars.

This was a challenging one for them to make as the moving couch tipped over easily. Their behind the scenes "The Making Of Bohemian Rhapsody" is very enjoyable.

👉You guys spoke TOO SOON about not being impressed😂. 👉Fun Fact! Dr. Brain May loved this cover and shared it on his Instagram and his Facebook page. 👉Fun Fact! PENTATONIX is among the artists that will be performing a tribute to QUEEN on a TV special mid November 👉👉BEST FACT! it's sad that you gentlemen are becoming jaded. Come on guys! This is done VOCALLY!! it's among a FAN FAVORITE when they perform it LIVE on tour!! And NO! Mitch does NOT use a megaphone on stage just his vocal and mic!! This is THEE MOST TALENTED ACAPELLA GROUP! 3 Grammys, Among MANY awards, Music industry respect and recognition ect......

Loved this idea! Its a different way of comparing cover artists and a fair one too.. About Pentatonix: a cappella singing of ay kind is amazing, but when you sing like that.. oh good lord.. A personal note here... The first a cappella group I ever heard - and it happened to be live - was the Yale University group called the Whiffenpoofs about 30 years ago, at their performance at the Afghan Church in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. The acoustics in a very old church built in 1865, made for a chorus at a time in a time when sound equipment and mikes were unheard of, is incredible. I think a cappella singing is never better than in a church with that acoustic capacity. Loced your reaction, and the very idea. Will be tuning in on Bohemian Monday...😊

Competition is over NOBODY will cover this as well as PTX!

9 out of 10? You are deaf then guys. Nobody could do a capella cover of this quality !

Great idea guys! Respect to all the BR covers just for daring to do so, such an iconic song. I’m a Pentaholic so of course, I just love their rendition. It’s always an earful of goodies. Their arrangements are always so clever. Keep enjoying. It’s always fun to watch your reaction. 🤗

For an inside look, watch Pentatonix's "Behind the Scenes" for this video!

At last! 👍👍 The sheer enjoyment and amazement on your faces, from the beginning to the the end, plus comments like, "wow, that was impressive!", "brilliant, clever, fun, very well done" etc etc, after all that, a 9/10 is a bit low gentlemen. I really enjoy watching you react to PTX and other phenomenal artists. I'll be on this Rhapsody journey with you and I'll be watching your reactions and scores very closely. 🧐 😀 Let see how other B Rhapsody covers compare to this no instruments masterpiece. Its a 10/10 from me. 👍👌👍

I'm not who was more shocked at that megaphone bit! How freaking cool is this?! I loved it, Chuey is back squiggling with 4 paws up! I love Queen, Pentatonix isn't really my thing, BUT they are so talented, creative, and captivating! Didn't Slayer do Bohemian Rhapsody..............??????????? Don't panic! They didn't do it! LMAO

You should see Pentatonix do this live, Mitch does the guitar solo without the megaphone

I can’t believe you haven’t done Hallelujah!

Oh yeah...PTX. There simply isn't anything that I can say that hasn't been said already about their stupendous talent!!. I could write a 10 page dissertation on each of the singers, but don't want to run on at teh ...mouth? Keyboard? LOL. I'm not sure which of the vocal percussionists I like the most between Kevin and Adam from Home Free. Those two are easily the top 2 in the world. Both tops in their genre perhaps is the better way to view it. I'll leave it at...Awesome..simply a masterpiece. Daniel OMG you guys have to do Home Free, The Butt's Remix LOL.

Pentatonix is the winner...mic drop!

Wow!Cool song and voices!They sing very beautifully!Super!Thank you friends. Great reaction!👏🇷🇺

This has got to be Kevin's best beatbox where it comes to percussion

Pentatonix is great at everything they do! Zac Brown Band also does a stellar job on Bohemian Rhapsody!

Home Free's version from April 2021 will really get you.

I bet no one else’s will be a cappella.

So many PTX songs I want to see you guys react to.....hate the wait lol

Relevant I think Mitch had just been diagnosed with cancer at this point...

Can't compare the two. Those are 2 different songs, when each of them sing the same song

That was so cool. I love that video❣️

Check out Aha live at the star vista. When you see what Mitch and Avi can do you won’t believe your ears.

Want a suggestion that’ll be your new favorite PTX video? Hmm? Pentatonix - New Rules X Are You That Somebody Trust me 👌🔥

The motorized sofa most likely cost more than the 3,500 pounds. There is a making of the "video" of make of the video. Scott and Kirstin almost flipped the sofa climbing over the back which was edited out. This was made outdoors at night and it was cold enough to see their breath in the video. Thank you Guys!

The strings in the Beginning simulate the Piano of the live version of Queen. The Megafon is fake. Mitch can do it without.

Brian May put the Pentatonix version on his page. As Michael said below. thanks for the reaction

Thank you for a great, very positive, reaction! The look on your faces at several points says it all! ;)

This is a song they did not want to do. In an interview Scott said it's to complex and didn't think they could do it justice, plus they did not want to disrespect Queen or the song. However, the nonstop fan pressure they decided to give it a shot. He said if it was up to them it would never have seen the light of day but because of the fans they went ahead and released it.

Suggestions -- Shallow, Can't Help Falling in Love, Sing, Problem. And when you are ready for Christmas -- The First Noel, Deck the Halls, Carol of the Bells, That's Christmas to Me, O Come All Ye Faithful

To me its the best, including queen

I am here for all versions of Bohemian Rhapsody you react to but Pentatonix will always be my favorite cover ❕❗

Can't believe you guys hadn't already done this one! It's just amazing, nice job as always!

i also want to add mitch can do that guitar solo with his voice live so it's not just the autotune helping him it sounds the same live

SO GLAD you finally got to this one

Hi guys, I’m so glad you chose to do Pentatonix bohemian Rhapsody, it is one of my favorite PTX recordings. (And I will stop bugging you now) I would have marked it higher, but your the boss, and I’m very bias. When performing on stage I’ve read that Mitch doesn’t need the megaphone to make the same guitar sounds, but it was more believable for the video. Thank you again for playing this great hit by PTX, and thank you both so much for sharing this video xxx

Mitch, Scott, and Kirstie are all 19 or 20 here. They had just won the TV Acapella show (sorry I don't recall the name at the moment). Those three were school mates and are all the same age. Avi and Kevin were a little older.

This is so well done. The arrangement is very clever - again. And it works so completely that one really needs no instruments for this massive rock song. Then there are all the brilliant parts, of course, I also like the video al lot. The sofa, starting seemingly safe in a room, becomes a vehicle for a ride through the night, quite fitting the dark undertones of Bohemian Rhapsody, while the group acts quite seriously, sprinkled with funny elements, to return to the once more complete room... Nice to watch and food for thought, if one wants that.

LOL....You facial expressions were worth the price of admission by itself. Loved it! For the record, I believe the remote controlled moving couch exhausted the the $3,500 you referenced.

Good job guys

Just stumbled across your reaction in my feed (I’m both a Queen -first and foremost- and Pentatonix fan so no surprise the algorithm brought you here 😉) I really like the idea of reacting to just Borap covers so will subscribe & stick around for that! If I recall the management had a fit that Queen would spend so much on a video! 😂. They were usually ahead of the curve! I’d say it was a good return on their money…much to Top of The Pops dismay 😁

This was Avi's parting shot to Pentatonix

Love it, please can ye react to the making of this..... it shows just how much they put into rehearsals etc; they recorded this until 5:30 in the morning, the couch theyre sat on they nearly fell off it,

Glad to see you have found Pentatonix you need to react to Hallelujah and Sound of Silence and Imagine....you should also check out Home Free which is another Accapello group a bit more on the country side.

Great reactions as always. I'm looking forward to rest of the covers.

Pls react Forestella "Bohemian Rhapsody" (KBS Immortal Songs 2) also!

If you guys are going to keep reacting to bohemian rhapsody covers, one of my favorites is VK Goes Wild's piano cover. She is an absolute beast.

I would like to suggest The Braids, because I like the vibe of their cover. Theirs and Pentatonix’ covers are the only ones I’ve heard/listen to other than the original.

Hi guys, another bohemian Rhapsody you should check out is Og3ne's. Recorded in a home situation during Corona. Well worth it. You will be amazed.

This is an interesting excursion into the various covers of the song. I am really enjoying your reactions and comments. I thought the look of pleasure on both your faces even before Mitch started singing showed that you knew you were in for a treat.

Hahaaa! That was awesome! You were so kind of blasé because you knew they'd be good, and you were both Megaphone Mitch slapped 🤣🤣🤣 absolutely priceless! And the Evolution videos are fab (of course). I think you'd enjoy them as they are all one take live recordings, and you can really see what each member is doing (BP1, I know how you love that 😉). Their newest video for Stevie Wonder's I just called to say I love you is sublime, one of their best vocal arrangements to be sure. And I'm not sure whether you'd react to an original of theirs called 'Anchor' as there's no video as of yet, but it's stunning. (I may have mentioned it before, but there's hardly any reactions to it yet and I'm in love with it ❤). You still need to complete their trilogy of Grammy award-winners with Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy too (nudge nudge wink wink). It's Christmassy feel, and you DID say you were going to start their Christmas stuff soonish... 😁

Might as well stop after Pentatonix’ performance of it. None better!

Brian May is actually Dr. Brian May. He is an astrophysicist. The scene in whiche they're looking up at the night sky is homage to Brian May. There are 4 shooting stars and I always wondered about that because there are 5 members in PTX. I read in a comment that it's an homage to Queen because there are 4 members in Queen. At least that's how I interpret the shooting starts. Brian Lai was so impressed with their cover that he posted it on all his social media Outlets. You can't improve upon Bohemian Rhapsody the best you can do is to know that Freddy's looking down saying well done darling darling

The megaphone is just a prop by the way. That is Mitch all the way.

Masterful PTX. Nothing is beyond them!

Can you get any better than that ? Awesome !!