Ahead of Royal Thunder‘s 2023 US tour, set to kick off in July, Revolver asked the frontwoman, Mlny Parsonz, to name her top five vocalists of all time. So, while making her list, she opened up about the artist who could step into Freddie Mercury‘s shoes.
The singer first talked about Mercury himself and praised his musical skills by saying:
“I love how fierce this man was. I know perfection is not a thing outside of nature, but Freddie Mercury’s was like a rocket flare piercing through ocean water and ejecting from the water, bursting into a wild flaming firework display, and maybe that turns into snow on its way down. That motherf-cker could sing.“
Then, including George Michael in the list, she described how the two gave similar vibes:
“Nobody could fill Freddie Mercury’s shoes, but I do believe (and he did at one point) that George Michael could squeeze into a pair and walk the miles. I won’t ever forget that booty-shakin’, blue-jean-wearing total babe glowing on my TV screen in the Eighties.
Much like Freddie, he, too, had this confidence, and it walked with such grace from one note to the next. He swirled around the instruments like someone dancing in a ballroom that thought nobody was watching them. But I could see him. He was magical.”
Michael performed with Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. He sang the songs’ 39,’ ‘These Are the Days of Our Lives,’ and ‘Somebody to Love’ with the band.
These performances spurred rumors about whether the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer would replace the late vocalist, with some names from the industry favoring the idea. For example, in 2006, Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins told Classic Rock the following:
“All those brilliant singers, and not one was able to do everything he could. That’s why I think that Queen should have gotten both Paul Rodgers and George Michael in the band... between them, they could cover most of what Freddie did on his own!”
Despite these suggestions, George Michael did not join Queen. He pursued his separate career until his passing in 2016 and gave his last performance at London’s Earls Court in October 2012.
