5 Seconds Of Summer Honor Freddie Mercury With 'Killer Queen' Cover

5 Seconds of Summer has joined the pack in celebrating the glorious legacy of Queen with a faithful cover of "Killer Queen," which dropped on Friday (October 26).

It's all part of the rollout plan for the band's forthcoming biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, and follows Shawn Mendes' acoustic take of "Under Pressure," which was released earlier this month. Turns out, the Australian act didn't just choose "Killer Queen" because of its acclaim as the band's first international hit, but they kept on hearing the track while they were recording their latest album, Youngblood. "Queen have been such a massive influence on us as a band. Their unique harmonies, the fluidity to their songwriting and how they each used their own musicality to back each other up have always inspired us," 5 Seconds of Summer said in a statement.

"We chose to cover 'Killer Queen' because we kept hearing it while writing our third album, Youngblood and were so enamored by the production and their early realization of the minimalist approach to the track," they continued. "For us, the exploration of individual vocalists in a band is incredibly important and Queen helped us to see the future of how we want to sing, in addition to how we play our instruments. As a pioneer of individuality, Freddie taught us what it means to embrace the idea of truly being yourself and that’s a part of Queen that lives on in their music now, more than ever."

Proceeds from 5SOS' cover of "Killer Queen" will benefit the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an organization co-founded by Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor and the band's manager Jim Beach to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. In a statement, Beach explained that Team Queen is quite happy with the rendition, saying, "Everyone at the Mercury Phoenix Trust is thrilled that 5 Seconds of Summer have joined our global campaign fighting AIDS in celebration of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. Thank you 5SOS for giving us such an impeccable version of Freddie's classic 'Killer Queen.'"

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