It looked like something lifted straight from a movie: an ordinary afternoon in Paris suddenly transformed into a breathtaking spectacle as 30 musicians filled the Place de la Contrescarpe with the unmistakable sound of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Since its release in July, the flashmob has become a global sensation. The video — featuring Sunderland’s Mickey Callisto on lead vocals and 11-year-old guitar prodigy Olly Pearson — has amassed hundreds of millions of views across social platforms, even drawing praise from Queen’s official account.

Now, pianist and YouTuber Julien Cohen, the mastermind behind the viral stunt, has spoken publicly for the first time about how it all came together.

“I could have never imagined such a reaction,” Cohen admitted in a TV interview following the performance. “I thought the video was good, but this is beyond anything I ever expected.”

The French musician explained that he had been nurturing the idea of a full Bohemian Rhapsody flashmob for more than two years. “I was waiting for the right moment, the right people,” he revealed. “Especially Mickey Callisto — the singer who took on the lead vocal part. When I first saw his BGT audition, I knew he was the one. Everything was built around that.”

Cohen’s vision wasn’t just about gathering singers in a square. He persuaded residents to lend their windows for performers and camera crews, ensuring the spectacle would be captured from every angle. The result was a cinematic piece of street theatre that felt as much like a music video as it did a live event.

Alongside Callisto’s soaring vocals came the undeniable presence of Olly Pearson, the Britain’s Got Talent finalist whose red electric guitar carried the song’s iconic solo. At just 11 years old, Pearson’s talent stunned audiences on both sides of the Channel. “He’s a prodigy,” Cohen said simply, after introducing him live on air.

For Callisto, the viral success has already begun to open doors. “This video has been huge,” the 28-year-old singer said in an interview. “I’ve had people messaging me from all over the world, and I’ve even been asked to perform in Singapore and Amsterdam. It’s mental.”

And for Pearson, the performance marks another milestone in what is shaping up to be a remarkable early career. Having already secured two Golden Buzzers on Britain’s Got Talent and finished fourth in the final, his Paris flashmob appearance only reinforced his reputation as one of the UK’s brightest young musicians.

Cohen, who has built a career staging musical stunts across Europe, admits the project took months of planning, but the payoff was more than worth it. “You have this crazy idea and think it’s impossible,” he said. “But then you ask, ‘What if?’ and somehow, little by little, it becomes reality.”

That reality has now resonated across the globe — a reminder that even on an ordinary Paris street, extraordinary music can still stop the world in its tracks.

And for Cohen, the response has been overwhelming on a personal level too: the viral success has flooded his inbox with fans, to the point where he now receives more than 10,000 messages a day from people moved by the performance.