Four decades later, the music of Queen hasn’t just survived, it’s thrived. The band, who recently received the “Global Icon Award” at the MTV European Music Awards, has sold more than 300 million albums, 16 of which were No. 1 chart-toppers.

They’ve written and recorded 18 No. 1 singles, played over 700 live concerts in every part of the world, have amassed a planet-wide fanbase whose members number in the hundreds of millions, and remain one of the most influential groups of all time. And to hear Queen drummer Roger Taylor tell it, they’re just getting started.  The last thing they are doing is standing still.

2012 will see the launch of “The Queen Extravaganza Tour,” a grand touring production booked by powerhouse agency CAA that will celebrate the music of Queen. Coming on board to ensure the touring show will match the design and excitement of Queen at its best will be such rock tour heavyweights as stage designer Mark Fisher (U2, AC/DC, Muse, The Rolling Stones, Cirque de Soleil) and lighting designer Rob Sinclair (Adele, Vampire Weekend, Goldfrapp, Peter Gabriel).

Taylor will oversee this royal road show, taking the role of producer and music director, with Brian May involved later in the production, but Taylor’s most important role, however, was leading the judges, Spike Edney (Queen’s keyboard player since the mid 80′s and Trip Khalaf (Queen’s eternal sound engineer) in hand picking the musicians that will be featured on the tour. And after 11 weeks of reviewing online auditions and weighing votes from Queen fans around the world, Taylor is ready to announce the line-up.

“As the audition videos began posting, we could see right away that the caliber of talent was very high,” says Taylor. “But when I got into the studio with the final 25 musicians, I realized that these guys are seriously good players. They went way beyond my expectations. It was an incredibly difficult decision to choose the final line-up. I wish I could’ve kept them all, but in the end, I’m very happy with this group of exceptional musicians.”

“The Queen Extravaganza” band line-up will be:

VOCALISTS
Jennifer Espinoza
San Antonio, TX
2nd audition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_zs-FIJus&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kINOlAAO-Xc&feature=player_embedded

Marc Martel 
(Montreal, QC / Nashville,TN)
2nd audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qmFEh5zsBY&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I&feature=player_embedded
Ellen DeGeneres Show: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2011/10/marc_martel_performs_somebody_to_love_1003.php  

GUITARISTS
Tristan Avakian
Toronto, ON
2nd audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBxAvY2hISI&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4-JrlwSqPU&feature=player_embedded

Brian Gresh
Tulsa, OK
2nd audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjQLlXl-J3I&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxbZELeFOKA&feature=player_embedded

DRUMS

Tyler Warren
Camden, TN
2nd audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfNszLK9GJk&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WKNV7VTSic&feature=player_embedded

BASS
Francois-Olivier Doyon
Quebec City, QC
2nd audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT_zCnHAZII&feature=player_embedded
1st audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K8rCOdbgos&feature=player_embedded

“What an amazing and unexpected opportunity to come our way – not to mention the timing of it all for me,” said Marc Martel, whose audition video for “Somebody to Love” earned him an MTV O Award and an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.  “Having gotten to know the other contest winners a bit in LA, I’m confident we have what it takes to gel as a unit and give our best to do justice to some of the best rock music ever recorded.  I am so thankful for the chance to do this.  Gonna be Fun!”

THE QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA AUDITIONS & TOUR
As part of this year’s celebration of Queen’s 40th anniversary, Queen drummer/songwriter/singer Roger Taylor launched a North American talent search that offered “s**t hot vocalists and musicians” the opportunity to star in the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour. Taylor endeavoured to assemble the most talented band to perform Queen’s music, outside of Queen themselves, of course, to carry on the celebration.  Auditions began online September 19th .  Final auditions took place on December 5 in Los Angeles, in front of Taylor, at the Foo Fighters’ Studio 606. The tour, booked by powerhouse agency CAA, launches in 2012.

“The Queen Extravaganza will not be a traditional tribute show,” says Taylor. “It’s a brand-new show specially designed to enable fans to celebrate the music of Queen in a heart-stopping event.”

The Queen Extravaganza will bring the glorious music and live experience of Queen to a new generation of fans in cities across the US in 2012.

“It’s going to be spectacular” says Taylor. “It’s going to be very visual, there are going to be some shocks and some tremendous surprises. It will be a rock celebration in the royal tradition. “It began on September 19, when Taylor launched a North American talent search via www.queenextravaganza.com to find players for a full band and several vocalists who could carry the tour.  The audition process involved two video audition rounds: the first round judged by Roger Taylor and a panel of appointed judges, the second round judged by public vote.  Taylor was present to judge the final audition round, which was held live in Los Angeles December 5.

Formed in 1971, Queen (Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon) signed their first recording contract with EMI in late 1972. In July 1973, Queen released their first single ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, followed closely by their debut album, Queen. 1974 saw the release of the band’s second album, Queen II, containing their first hit single ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ which charted in the UK at number 10. This was followed by a second hit single (their first US hit), ‘Killer Queen’, taken from the Sheer Heart Attack album, followed later in the year by a major UK tour.

1975 saw the release of the epic single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, taken from A Night at the Opera. At 5′ 55″ it should have been too long for successful radio play, but even so it went to No. 1 in the UK chart and stayed there for an unprecedented nine consecutive weeks, becoming one of the greatest singles of all time. In 1977, Queen issued the single ‘We Are The Champions’ coupled with ‘We Will Rock You’. Both songs would soon become among the band’s most popular and best loved of their career – and long after. ‘The Champions/Rock You’ pairing is one of the most famous and most played in the world. The single was followed by the release of Queen’s sixth album, News of the World, from which they come, in October 1977. From then on, the band released album after album, and toured all over Europe, Japan, the U.S. and South America. At the end of 1981 the band teamed up with David Bowie for the single that was to become one of their biggest worldwide hits, and one of the most covered and sampled of all Queen songs, ‘Under Pressure’. 1984 saw the single ‘Radio Ga Ga’ from The Works become a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries.

1986 saw the 12th album, A Kind Of Magic, effectively the soundtrack to the Russell Mulcahy film, ‘Highlander’. The album returned the band to No.1 on the charts in many territories. Queen toured Europe throughout the year, culminating with two legendary concerts at Wembley Stadium, and their biggest ever in the UK, an open air show at Knebworth Park, in August. Unbeknown at the time, this was to be Queen’s last ever concert with Freddie Mercury.

In 1991, Queen’s last true studio album with Freddie, Innuendo, was released in February. Both the title track single and the album entered the charts at No.1 on their first week of release in the UK. The last track released as a single, ‘The Show Must Go On’ came in November 1991, just weeks before Freddie Mercury would lose his struggle with HIV AIDS.

On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home. He remains the most high profile loss from the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the world. As a tribute ‘Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ was released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks, raising over £1,000,000 for the charity, and Queen became the first band to have the same single top the UK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10 albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and ‘Days Of Our Lives’ won Best Single. In April, many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.

In 1995 the unreleased tracks Queen had begun in 1991 with Freddie were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited Made in Heaven was released worldwide, to huge acclaim and success. It was the last Queen album ever to feature Freddie, and it was the end of an era.

In May 2002 the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West End. The show has seen local productions staged throughout the world, including Spain, Australia, Germany, Russia, Italy, Japan, South Asia, Las Vegas, Canada and across Europe. To date more than 12 million people have seen the show.

In October 2002, Queen received their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joining The Beatles as one of only a handful of non-US bands to receive this much coveted honor. In 2004 Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and was also voted by the UK public into the first UK Music Hall of Fame. From 2005 to 2008, Brian and Roger took Queen onto the touring circuit again, for the first time since 1986, joined by former Free/Bad Company singer, songwriter and musical Paul Rodgers, playing concerts across the UK, Europe, North and South America and Japan. For more information about Queen, please visit www.queenonline.com.

The legendary rock band will also take the stage for a special performance.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Queen’s formation in 1971; since then, these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have garnered a long list of accomplishments and accolades, including career sales of more than 300 million albums, 16 No. 1 albums, 18 No. 1 singles and the UK’s top-selling album of all time (their Greatest Hits compilation has sold a staggering 5.7 million copies). Hosted by Selena Gomez, the “2011 MTV EMA” will take place Sunday, 6th November at 9PM CET* from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is sponsored by Dell, Replay, Hyundai and Swatch.

In the U.S., the show will premiere on Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas on Sunday, November 6th at 6:00PM ET/PT, and on mtvU on Monday, November 7th at 12:00PM ET/PT.

“We are honoured to be designated a Global Icon.  We will do our best to be worthy!” said Queen’s Brian May .

“Over the past four decades, Queen has made an indelible impact on the pop music landscape. They are passionately revered by generations of fans and musicians across the globe,” said Bruce Gillmer, Executive Vice President of Talent and Music Programming/ Events for Viacom International Media Networks. “We are absolutely thrilled that they will be joining us at this year’s MTV EMA, and we look forward to a very special performance.”

Queen will be named BMI Icons at the organization’s annual London Awards. The ceremony is slated for Tuesday, October 4 at London’s Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane.

BMI honors songwriters who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers” as Icons. Queen’s Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon join a list of past honorees that includes 2010 recipient Don Black, Van Morrison, Donovan, the Bee Gees, James Brown, Willie Nelson, and more.

Queen delivered drama, precision and, perhaps most of all, timeless songs. There are numerous BMI Awards between the four members, who are all songwriters with contributions to the band’s deep repertoire. Mercury penned “We Are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”; May composed “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls”; Deacon wrote “Another One Bites the Dust”; and along with friend David Bowie, they all came together to write “Under Pressure.” Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, they became the first band ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a group rather than as individuals.

BMI represents the songs mentioned above and many others from Queen’s legendary catalog in the U.S. The quartet are all members of British performing right society PRS for Music.

Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant; Phil Graham, BMI Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations; and Brandon Bakshi, Executive Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, Europe & Asia, the BMI London Awards recognize the U.K. and European songwriters and publishers of the past year’s most-performed songs on radio and television in the United States.

It was in March 1971 that bassist John Deacon joined May and Taylor’s buzzed-about London group, which had changed its name from Smile to Queen nine months earlier, following the addition of multitalented singer/pianist Freddie Mercury, thus completing the classic lineup. The four simpatico musicians proceeded to take the world by storm. The band has released a total of 18 chart-topping albums and 18 #1 singles, while selling more than 300 million albums worldwide, making them one of the biggest rock acts of all time. They’ve received seven Ivor Novello awards in the U.K., were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and even received their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in October 2002.

As live artists, Queen literally conquered the world. Acknowledged as one of the greatest stadium bands of all time, Queen performed over 700 concerts, reaching into every corner of the world. They achieved rock history by being the first band to open up South America and the Eastern Bloc, with world record-breaking concerts in Argentina, Brazil and Hungary.

This is a timeless band whose music retains such immediacy and undiminished power that new fans continue to discover and embrace it, along the way inspiring a host of diverse artists from Lady Gaga (who took her name from Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga”), and Katy Perry, through to the Foo Fighters. It’s worth noting that Queen’s videos have collectively generated well north of 300 million views online—a remarkable figure that figures to expand exponentially with the launch of a dedicated Vevo channel this spring, in yet another iteration of the anniversary rollout.

As the centerpiece in the 40th anniversary celebration, Queen‘s entire 15-album studio catalog is being reissued in a series of deluxe editions. Every note is being tweaked, every piece of artwork is being cleaned, freshened up and resourced, wherever necessary, with the legendary Bob Ludwig doing the remastering, working from the original source material. The albums will be released in three waves, staggered over the next year, with the first wave—comprising the first five LPs—coming this spring.

Each studio album will be released in a new two-CD edition, the first containing the updated, remastered original LP, the second disc packed with rarities—and we don’t use the term lightly. Some of these gems have never before seen the light of day, even in crappy bootleg form. To cite a particularly fascinating example, five first-album demos recorded at London’s De Lane Lea Studios in December 1971 were pulled from the only existing copy on the planet—an acetate from May’s personal archives. Not even his bandmates had a copy.

“A huge amount of work has already been put in behind the scenes to unleash a completely newly mastered set of the original Queen LPs and CDs,” May noted. “I know our fans will appreciate the attention to detail, bringing the early albums closer than ever to the magic of the vinyl originals, but with the benefit of up-to-the-minute quality technology.”

In other anniversary activity, the gallery exhibition “Stormtroopers in Stilettos” opens in London on Feb. 25, with plans in place to tour the exhibit around the world. According to May, this unprecedented event “will highlight in some innovative ways the growth of the ‘Early Queen.’” On April 12, Hollywood will reissue Queen’s debut single, “Keep Yourself Alive” b/w “Son and Daughter,” on seven-inch vinyl in a limited edition coinciding with Record Store Day. And on April 19, the label will issue the band’s Greatest Hits II for the first time in North America. This classic collection includes the rock standards “Under Pressure” and “Radio Ga Ga,” plus  many other classics from the second half of Queen’s run, including the worldwide smashes “I Want It All” & “Innuendo.” Additionally, the “Queen on Vinyl” reissue program will be completed this year with the release of the final five studio albums.

In the UK, Queen’s Greatest Hits 1 holds the record of being the biggest selling album of all time ahead of albums by The Beatles, Oasis, Dire Straits, and Abba.

This is just the beginning of what promises to be a treasure trove of must-have pieces for Queen fans. More will be revealed in the coming months, so stay tuned.

Bonus Tracks on the First Five Studio Albums:
QUEEN (1973)
1. Keep Yourself Alive (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
2. Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
3. Jesus (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
4. Liar (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
5. The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
6. Mad The Swine (June 1972)

QUEEN II (1974)
1. White Queen (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
2. See What A Fool I’ve Been (BBC Session, July 1973 – 2011 Remix)
3. Seven Seas Of Rhye (Instrumental)
4. See What A Fool I’ve Been (B-side Version, February 1974)
5. Nevermore (BBC Session, April 1974)

SHEER HEART ATTACK (1974)
1. Now I’m Here (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
2. Flick Of The Wrist (BBC Session, October 1974)
3. Tenement Funster (BBC Session, October 1974)
4. Bring Back That Leroy Brown (A Cappella Plus)
5. In The Lap Of The Gods… Revisited (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 1986)

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1975)
1. Keep Yourself Alive (Long-Lost Retake, June 1975)
2. Bohemian Rhapsody (Operatic Section A Cappella)
3. I’m In Love With My Car (Guitar & Vocal Version)
4. You’re My Best Friend (Backing Track)
5. ’39 (Live at Earl’s Court, June 1977) TBC
6. Love Of My Life (Live Single Version, June 1979)

A DAY AT THE RACES (1976)
1. Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track)
2. Somebody To Love (Live at Milton Keynes, June 1982)
3. You Take My Breath Away (Live in Hyde Park, September 1976)
4. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Top Of The Pops, July 1977)
5. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD mix)

Harmonix and MTV Games  announced that two packs of songs from legendary rock band Queen, featuring both songs new to the Rock Band platform as well as harmonies, keys and Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades to previously released songs, will be available Dec. 7 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3  and Wii.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 800 artists and more than 2,000* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. To date, more than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii
Queen, composed of Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor and quintessential frontman Freddie Mercury, formed in England in 1970. The group has released 15 studio albums and was known for their epic live concerts. Queen was featured in LEGO Rock Band and as DLC for Rock Band 2. Their quintessential rock anthem, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was featured on the on-disc soundtrack for Rock Band 3, and beginning next week, fans can download even more Queen for Rock Band gameplay. Queen released The Singles Collection: Volume 4 on Oct. 19, featuring a box set of remastered originals spanning 1989 to 1999.

Beginning next week, fans will be able to play their Queen songs in a variety of ways on Rock Band. Fans who purchased Queen DLC previously will have the option to purchase Pro Guitar/Pro Bass additions for those tracks, as well as the option to purchase Rock Band 3 versions that include harmonies and keys where applicable. Additionally, five songs new to Rock Band will also be available as Rock Band 3 downloadable content, featuring Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrades as well.

These two packs are broken into “Queen RB3 Enhanced Pack,” which features updated Rock Band 3 versions of “I Want It All,” “I Want to Break Free,” “Killer Queen,” “One Vision,” “Somebody to Love” and “Under Pressure;” and “Queen Extravaganza Pack 01,” which features Rock Band 3 versions of “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You,” which originally appeared in LEGO Rock Band, as well as “Hammer to Fall,” “Keep Yourself Alive,” “Now I’m Here,” “Tenement Funster” and “Play the Game,” which are new to Rock Band.

As always, songs available as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 feature five-button guitar and bass parts, drums, Pro Drums, and keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable. Some songs also feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades available for an additional $0.99 upgrade download.

Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 system (Dec. 7):

Queen Extravaganza Pack 01

• “Hammer to Fall” X
• “Keep Yourself Alive” X
• “Now I’m Here” X
• “Play the Game” X
• “Tenement Funster” X
• “We Are the Champions” (RB3 version)
• “We Will Rock You” (RB3 version)

Queen RB3 Enhanced Pack

• “I Want It All” (RB3 version) X
• “I Want To Break Free” (RB3 version) X
• “Killer Queen” (RB3 version) X
• “One Vision” (RB3 version) X
• “Somebody To Love” (RB3 version) X
• “Under Pressure” (RB3 version) X

(All tracks are original master recordings)
(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation 3 system Dec.

These tracks will be available for purchase as individual tracks, as well as “Queen RB3 Enhanced Pack” and “Queen Extravaganza Pack 01” on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.

Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song
$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points^TM) per song
$0.99 USD (100 Wii Points/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade
$9.99, £4.99 UK, €7.99 EU (800 Microsoft Points, 1,000 Wii Points) for Queen RB3 Enhanced Pack
$10.99, £5.99 UK, €8.99 EU (800 Microsoft Points, 1,100 Wii Points) for Queen Extravaganza Pack 01

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

*Available on-disc, via download and disc export. Internet connection and export key purchase required. Wii has more than 1,500 song tracks available for purchase on the Rock Band platform on-disc, via song import, and download. Not applicable to Nintendo DS

Harmonix and MTV Games announced that legendary rockers Queen will be added to the Rock Band platform, with a 10-pack of songs available next week in the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and Wii™. Tracks from Blink-182 and The Offspring will also be available for download next week for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
Queen, composed of Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor and quintessential frontman Freddie Mercury, formed in England in 1970. The group has released 15 studio albums and was known for their epic live concerts. Queen will release Absolute Greatest Nov. 17, featuring 20 of the band’s biggest hits. The Queen pack for Rock Band features 10 of the band’s most loved songs, including “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and the Queen/David Bowie collaboration, “Under Pressure.”

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Oct. 20) and PlayStation 3 system (Oct. 22):

• “Another One Bites the Dust”
• “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
• “Fat Bottomed Girls”
• “I Want It All”
• “I Want to Break Free”
• “Killer Queen”
• “One Vision”
• “Somebody to Love”
• “Tie Your Mother Down”
• “Under Pressure”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Queen Pack” and as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks on Wii.

Rock Band Unplugged Tracks for PSP®System
Rock Band Unplugged fans will enjoy the addition of Blink-182’s “The Rock Show” and The Offspring’s “All I Want” to the 49 tracks already available via the Rock Band Unplugged in-game music store for the PSP system.

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (Oct. 22):

• Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
• The Offspring – “All I Want”

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced the release of SingStar Queen, the latest installment in the multimillion-selling SingStar franchise, available for both PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3(TM)) and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems. SingStar Queen sets the stage for the ultimate rock star experience, challenging players to perform popular tracks from global rock legend Queen.

Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe London Studio in collaboration with the band and Hollywood Records, SingStar Queen for PS3 features over 20 of the most memorable Queen songs and music videos including ‘We Are The Champions,’ ‘Another One Bites The Dust,’ ‘We Will Rock You,’ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Under Pressure’ and many more.

“Queen and SingStar both have a wide and diverse global fan base,” said Charlie D’Atri, marketing director, Hollywood Records. “We are thrilled to collaborate with SCEA on SingStar Queen to offer PlayStation fans the unique opportunity to become a part of rock history with the best interactive singing experience available set to the legendary music of Queen.”

In addition to SingStar Queen, this September, community and customization once again take center stage with two new features coming to SingStar titles for PS3. First, players will be able to express their creative talents by using the new video editing feature. Players can take their performances to the next level by turning their best 30 second clips into their own mini music videos using a selection of special editing effects. These music videos can then be posted on My SingStar Online for the entire SingStar community to enjoy.

The SingStar community features also will be enhanced this fall as players across the country will be able to connect like never before with the franchise’s latest social element, SingStar Clubs. Players will be able to join unique new clubs created by fellow SingStar fans or launch their own. With the SingStar Clubs feature, players can network with the national SingStar community as they share their latest videos, check out online charts from their club and relive their favorite SingStar experiences.

SingStar Queen is the second artist-specific disc to join the catalog of SingStar titles for PS3, which includes SingStar ABBA, SingStar Vol. 2 and SingStar. Players can also add to their song libraries by visiting SingStore(TM), which currently offers over 700 new tracks to download and perform through PlayStation Network. SingStore is updated frequently so players will never run out of new content to enjoy. All SingStar titles for PS3 currently support the recently released voice control feature that allows players to take complete control of the song carousel, track selection and song purchasing through SingStore all by just speaking into the microphone.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has rated SingStar Queen for both PS3 and PlayStation 2 systems “T” for Teen. For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.

The HDNet Concert Series presents the premiere of “Queen + Paul Rodgers – Super Live In Japan Highlights,” Sunday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET. These two music powerhouses started in the seventies and never stopped. The origins of this collaboration began when Brian May played at the Fender Strat Pack concert in 2004. He had done this many times before but this time he joined Paul Rodgers for a rendition of Free’s classic, “All Right Now” – and the rest is history.

This concert features the best of their second night at Saitama Arena on October 27th, 2005. After a globetrotting tour across Europe and North America from March 2005, Queen and vocalist Paul Rodgers were on top of their game in Japan putting on a magnificent show. Highlights of this concert include “We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions” and “All Right Now.”

WHEN: Sunday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET on HDNet.

Source: HDNet www.hd.net