Released in 1977, We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions are perennial Queen live favourites, and were both performed in the Live Aid set whose recreation provides the climax of Bohemian Rhapsody. The line “no time for losers” in We Are the Champions has often been used as evidence by critics who find Queen bombastic and pompous – and may echo in the ears of those missing out on awards tonight.
Fronted by Adam Lambert, the former American Idol contestant who became the band’s lead singer in 2011, Queen performed We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions to an awkwardly moshing A-list crowd.
More importantly, opening with Queen didn’t seem that special in the context of the Oscars, where you expect to see all the stops being pulled out.
One of them was Javier Bardem, who two minutes into the Oscars seemed to be having the time of his life.