That precedent gave the May-Bocelli appearance a place within an existing history of Queen-related collaborations with Italian opera stars. The earlier event centered on Pavarotti and May’s solo song, while the 2025 performance placed Bocelli alongside May for a number from Queen’s catalogue. In each case, rock musicians and an operatic tenor shared material connected to May and Queen.

For “Who Wants to Live Forever,” the order of the vocals was central to the presentation described in the source. May sang first, remaining close to his guitar, and Bocelli followed him. Rather than presenting the tenor alone on a Queen track, the anniversary performance was structured as a live vocal exchange between Bocelli and a member of the band.

The two videos were offered as evidence that a celebrated rock group and major figures from Italian opera could form a successful combination in suitable circumstances. May and Bocelli’s performance supplied the newer example, while the Pavarotti appearance showed that Queen had explored a comparable meeting of musical backgrounds more than 20 years earlier.

By September 2025, the online video featuring Queen and Pavarotti had surpassed 24 million views. That total established a significant benchmark for the newer collaboration. The source ended by predicting that May and Bocelli’s rendition would build a similarly large online audience over the next few years.