A founding member of super group Queen, Brian May, has shared a video of Hawke's Bay student Shaqaila Uelese performing her impromptu version of the band's hit Bohemian Rhapsody on a public piano.
The clip, recorded by her younger brother in Napier's Emerson St, went viral after Hawke's Bay Today published a story about the popular rendition last month. Ms Uelese never expected it to reach, let alone be picked up by a member of Queen.
"It was Sunday morning, somebody commented on my video saying Brian May had shared it - I was really surprised. I was quite shocked by the views and comments ... my Mum's friends were stoked, they didn't believe me [at first] I had to do screen shots and print shots to show them."
May's Facebook post has now been shared 4299 times, garnered 9128 "likes" and 628 comments - he also posted about the performance on Twitter with the tag line, "this is lovely". May is regarded as one of the best rock guitarists ever and was a founding member of the band with frontman Freddie Mercury.
Ms Uelese, who has been playing piano for 10 years, loaded her four-and-a-half minute video to YouTube following its social media success, where last night it had been viewed 640,079 times. The unexpected publicity has opened doors for Uelese, a 20-year-old Massey University psychology student, who also volunteers her time to play piano in the main foyer of Wellington Hospital every week.
