Mickey Callisto is no stranger to the spotlight, but his recent run of successes has pushed him into an entirely new orbit.
The Sunderland-born artist, who first turned heads on Britain’s Got Talent, has gone viral twice this year — once with his soaring performances on the ITV stage, and again with a jaw-dropping “Bohemian Rhapsody” flashmob in Paris that has now racked up more than 300 million views worldwide.
The Paris performance, masterminded by pianist Julien Cohen, saw Callisto lead 30 musicians through Queen’s 1975 classic in the middle of Place de la Contrescarpe. Cohen revealed he chose the song to mark 50 years of “arguably the greatest track of all time,” and described the project as “the most insane flashmob you will ever see.” In less than 48 hours, the video gathered over 70 million views, with fans flooding social media to declare the performance “a once-in-a-lifetime concert.”
But while the attention has catapulted Callisto into international headlines, it has also reignited a divisive debate: his uncanny vocal similarity to the late Freddie Mercury.
“If you close your eyes, you’d swear Freddie was singing,” one fan wrote. Another added, “He should be Queen’s new frontman — his voice is incredible.” Others, however, accused the singer of “using Freddie to gain popularity,” with one critic dismissing his sound as “lip sync from the ’70s.”
Callisto, however, isn’t dwelling on the controversy. Instead, he’s riding the momentum with his latest single, “Supernova”, which arrived alongside a playful, sweat-drenched music video filmed inside Sunderland’s Rotunda Boxing Club. “I had so much fun shooting this video,” Callisto said. “It was some workout — thanks to Chris for putting me through the motions to make me look even slightly good at boxing.”