When most people hear the word “queen” a couple of things come to mind— hierarchy, the chess piece, or one of the world’s greatest rock bands. Queen is known for its many hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Somebody to Love.” Queen’s approach to music was different because of their recording style and the messages in their songs. On Nov. 2, a film celebrating the legacy of Queen and their lead singer Freddie Mercury was released. Some artists also released covers in honor of the film such as Shawn Mendes with “Under Pressure,” 5 Seconds of Summer with “Killer Queen,” and Troye Sivan with “Somebody To Love.” All artists paid homage to Queen while keeping their own personal style.

       The original version of “Under Pressure” is known for its foot-tapping bass rhythm which was also sampled in “Ice Ice Baby,” by Vanilla Ice. The Shawn Mendes cover, featuring Teddy Geiger, stayed true to that beat while incorporating his pop background. Mendes kept aspects to the original vocals and iconic high note. Where the songs differ is in the cover’s more acoustic style, which Mendes includes in many of his own songs, he incorporated a full quartet in the background which strengthens the acoustic effect veering it away from the rock genre. This can also be heard in the percussion, Mendes incorporated snapping as opposed to the drums in the original. Click here to Listen to Mendes’ version.

      5 Seconds of Summer has a pop-rock background and they kept that in their rendition of “Killer Queen.” 5SOS’s cover modernized Queen’s original. However, the band recorded the song in the same fashion that Queen recorded the original, placing 26 different tracks and harmonies over each— a process that took 5SOS three hours. The intro to the cover differs from the original because 5SOS started with the chorus, which was followed by the first verse. 

       Troye Sivan is known for his down-to-earth melodious songs that warm the heart. Sivan paid homage to Queen by starting off his cover of “Somebody To Love” with the original song slowed down. The rest of the song strayed away from Queen’s original with crescendos instead of a constant Forte like Queen’s rock version. The song has been recreated multiple times, but Sivan’s version differed in that it wasn’t uplifting or full of Queen’s characteristic harmonies like the others. It was full of echoes, carrying an ominous tone, which was all of Sivan but none of Queen. 

       Each artist had paid homage to Queen’s style in their own way while incorporating their own original style to it. Shawn Mendes in the vocals, 5 Seconds of Summer recorded “Killer Queen” the same way and kept the rock aspect. Troye Sivan used the original in his cover. While paying their respects to the band, each artist had their own twist to it to match their style making every cover interesting to listen to.