Tobias Forge Admits Covering “Bohemian Rhapsody” for Queen Was Intimidating

When Tobias Forge, the visionary force behind Ghost, stepped onto the stage at the 2025 Polar Music Prize, he knew he was taking on one of rock music’s most intimidating challenges. Performing “Bohemian Rhapsody”—and doing so in front of members of Queen themselves—was not a task he took lightly.

Speaking with Tom Power on Q, CBC Radio One’s long-running interview program, Forge summed up the experience succinctly. “[Chuckles] Hard, hard, hard. Now we’ve done a few of the [songs] that you shouldn’t do. [Laughs]”

The Polar Music Prize ceremony, held in May 2025 at Stockholm’s Grand Hôtel and broadcast live on Sweden’s TV4, honored Queen alongside jazz icon Herbie Hancock and Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. Forge was joined onstage by Fredrik Åkesson of Opeth, as well as the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, adding both musical weight and emotional gravity to the performance.

“Songs You Don’t Want to Touch”

Forge’s relationship with the Polar Music Prize dates back several years. Ghost previously performed at the ceremony in 2018, when Metallica received the award. That invitation came from Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize and daughter of its founder, Stig Anderson.

At the time, Forge was asked to perform Metallica’s Enter Sandman—a request that initially gave him pause. “It’s just one of those songs that you don’t wanna play,” he explained. “Because it’s [like Motörhead’s] ‘Ace of Spades’, it’s like [Deep Purple’s] ‘Smoke on the Water’. It’s the one song that you don’t wanna do.”

Rather than shy away, Forge chose reinvention, reworking the song into a version that ultimately resonated far beyond the ceremony itself. When Ledin later approached him again—this time with Queen’s induction and a request for “the big one”—Forge had the same instinctive reaction.

“I was, like, ‘Goddamn, I don’t wanna do that. I don’t wanna play that song out of all,’” he said. Acknowledging the shadow cast by Freddie Mercury’s legendary vocal performance, Forge added, “I’m a good singer in my band. But I’m not Freddie Mercury, obviously… I’m a great singer in Ghost. That’s what I can do.”

Inside the Performance, Under the Spotlight

Preparation for the performance was constrained by timing. Forge had been on tour in the days leading up to the ceremony, leaving little opportunity for full rehearsals. He invited Åkesson not only for his musical ability, but for a deeper personal reason. “I wanted to have someone there just to be part of where I come from and who’s my friend,” Forge said, noting that Åkesson would take on a role similar to Brian May’s.

Complicating matters further, the musicians had never played the song together in full. Forge explained that while individual sections of “Bohemian Rhapsody” are manageable, performing the entire piece seamlessly is another matter altogether. “It’s stitching it all together and playing it in one whole—that is when it becomes hard,” he said, describing the process as almost acrobatic in its precision.

Despite the pressure, Forge credited the professionalism of the choir and band for carrying the performance. Still, even familiarity offered no guarantees. “Funnily enough, I don’t know how many times I’ve sung along with that song,” he admitted. “There’s always things that you’re, like, ‘What does the lyrics say there? I did not know that.’”

The Polar Music Prize gala also featured performances by Adam Lambert, who continues to tour with Queen’s surviving members Brian May and Roger Taylor, as well as appearances by Miriam Bryant, former Skid Row vocalist Erik Grönwall, and jazz artists Esperanza Spalding, Robert Glasper, and Leo Genovese.

As Ghost continues its global “Skeletour” and builds on the chart-topping success of Skeletá, Forge’s Polar Music Prize appearance stands as a reminder of his willingness to confront rock history head-on—even when the song is one “you don’t want to touch.”