Benson Boone did a few “Beautiful Things” during his Coachella set Friday.
The up-and-coming pop superstar, with his signature dark mustache and flamboyant stage presence, is frequently compared to Freddie Mercury online. But on Friday evening at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, the Grammy nominee really leaned into the comparison during his set.
Performing in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 fans with the backdrop of the California desert, Boone wore an all-white jumpsuit with light blue straps on his pants and shirt, which was without sleeves.
“Do you like it?” Boone asked the crowd with a smile.
Who is Benson Boone? The backflipping Grammys best new artist nominee
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Early in the set he backflipped off a platform on the stage, similar to his stunt at the 2025 Grammy Awards in February. Then, Boone made an obvious ode to the late Queen frontman: he asked the crowd to repeat after him as he briefly sang Queen’s “Ay-Oh,” as Mercury did at the legendary Live Aid concert in 1985.
Boone later brought out Queen guitarist Brian May onstage to help him perform one of Queen’s most popular songs, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The crowd erupted, then collectively sang along.
Boone, 22, patrolled the stage like a seasoned pro. May stayed on and played guitar as Boone closed with his biggest hit, “Beautiful Things,” as pyrotechnics shot into the sky.
May also took to his Instagram on Friday to post a picture with Boone, writing “Do we look happy ? !!! Gonna treasure this moment on the plane with @bensonboone – a truly golden 22 year old prodigy. I’m proud and happy to say we are now officially pals.”
Brian May’s Coachella appearance comes after ‘minor stroke’
May‘s appearance comes after he revealed harrowing health news in September. In the fall, the beloved British musician revealed on his website that he suffered a “minor stroke,” calling the incident a “health hiccup.”
But at the time, he had a happy update for fans, too.
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“The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days and I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago,” May said, while also addressing his recently aired BBC documentary “Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me.”
