Queen Asked to Be on American Idol. The Reason Was One Contestant

In May 2009, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen reportedly asked to appear on American Idol, not because the show called them, but because of one contestant: Adam Lambert, who had auditioned with "Bohemian Rhapsody". They performed "We Are the Champions" with him at the finale. Days later, May told Rolling Stone he would like to work with him. This is the documented story of how Queen ended up on American Idol in 2009, the Queen + Paul Rodgers years that came before, what Brian May and Roger Taylor said afterwards, the 2011 MTV EMA performance in Belfast, the 2012 European tour and the 2014 world tour, and why the name Queen + Adam Lambert uses a plus sign instead of a replacement for Freddie Mercury. 0:00 Two Men Fly to America 0:43 Queen in 2009 1:13 The Paul Rodgers Years 1:50 Adam Lambert on American Idol 2:24 Why That Audition Song Mattered 2:58 Queen Picks Up the Phone 3:28 The Finale 3:58 Runner-Up, Not the End 4:23 What Brian May Said 4:48 Not a New Freddie 5:24 Careful Words 5:52 Belfast, 2011 6:26 Mixed Reactions 6:55 A Guest in the House 7:24 Queen + Adam Lambert 7:53 The World Tour 8:32 Why It Worked 9:00 An Unlikely Chain of Events 9:31 Where It Started Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story tells the real, documented human moments behind Queen's music and Freddie's life. Note: visuals are AI recreations. #Queen #AdamLambert #FreddieMercury #AmericanIdol