Roger Taylor Says Adam Lambert’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Vocals Are the Closest Match They Could Expect

For more than ten years, Queen’s live lineup with Adam Lambert has been debated, praised, and compared. This week, drummer Roger Taylor added his own clear view — saying Lambert’s live voice on “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the closest match they could ever realistically hope for in place of Freddie Mercury.

Taylor noted that the song’s demands are uniquely complex: huge range, sudden jumps in register, and a form that shifts through ballad, hard-rock, and an operatic mid-section. It is six minutes of high-pressure, iconic detail to perform night after night — and Lambert’s vocal precision, Taylor said, allows the band to preserve the song’s shape in its original form.

Lambert, trained in musical theater and known for clean upper-range power, often performs Queen catalog tracks in the same keys they were recorded in — something that is not common for legacy rock bands. It allows arena crowds to hear the material without transposing or restructuring around vocal limits.

The Queen + Adam Lambert partnership has been a consistent global draw. Beginning with occasional performances in 2011 and then evolving into full touring in 2014, it led into 2019’s Rhapsody Tour, which continues internationally in multiple markets.

The combination of Taylor’s comment and the tour’s continued success points toward a single conclusion: the band has found a way to honor its original sound — not through imitation, but by casting a singer whose range allows the music to stand at its original height.