Queen and Adam Lambert Will Rock the Oscars with Bohemian Rhapsody Up for Awards

Nigel Smith
Updated
Queen and Adam Lambert Will Rock the Oscars

Queen fans will have a reason to rock out during the upcoming 91st Academy Awards.

The Academy announced on Monday that Queen and Adam Lambert will be performing during the telecast as the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is up for five Oscars including Best Picture. Its star Rami Malek is considered a front-runner for the Best Actor trophy for his portrayal of the late singer.

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” the Academy teased on Twitter, quoting the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “We welcome @QueenWillRock and @adamlambert to this year’s #Oscars!”

The former American Idol runner-up has collaborated with Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, culminating in a successful world tour from 2014 to 2018.

In September, Lambert admitted to PEOPLE he was “really nervous” about filling in for Mercury after the band hired him.

RELATED: Why Bohemian Rhapsody Almost Bit the Dust: Inside the Controversial Freddie Mercury Movie

“Not only did I have to make sure my voice held up and I know all the words… but it was also the perception of fans; I definitely had some concerns,” he said. “This is not my music that I wrote: This is me, as a guest, with one of the greatest rock bands of all time, singing the songs that one of the greatest rock singers of all time brought to life.”

Lambert added, “Freddie is irreplaceable.”

“There’s no way to compare to him. It was always my hope that audiences would understand that I’m up there just excited to sing great music that everyone knows,” he said.

RELATED: Adam Lambert: ‘I Definitely Had Some Concerns’ Filling in for Freddie Mercury in Queen

Lambert also had a cameo role in Bohemian Rhapsody, which centers around Mercury’s rise to fame with fellow Queen band members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, as well as his death from complications of AIDS in 1991.

Bohemian Rhapsody has received plenty of buzz in the last few months and Malek, 37, won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a drama motion picture as well as the SAG Award for best actor. The film also won the Golden Globe for best drama motion picture, beating out Bradley Cooper‘s A Star Is Born.

The 91st Academy Awards take place on Feb. 24 and air live on ABC at 8 p.m.