Queen's Brian May Is Releasing His First Single In Decades

Nearly two months ago, Bohemian Rhapsody made its way into theaters. It helped reintroduce Queen to the general public, big time. The movie boosted sales and interest to the band's hit singles, and while the bipoc hasn't received universally warm reviews, it has benefitted the remaining members of the hit rock band, who also produced the film and helped shape its image. That includes Brian May, who is planning a return to the music scene with his first original single in decades. It's unclear if the film's box office success played a part in that decision or if it's just a coincidence. Most likely, the former.

Brian May is unveiling his first new song in two whole decades, according to BlabberMouth.net. Titled "Black Horizons," the guitarist's first single in the new millennium was recorded and completely just this month, after the biopic's financially successful release. And it will hit listeners' ears on New Year's Day. More specifically, however, it is going to premiere worldwide from NASA control headquarters, based in Maryland. Talk about a big launch.

"New Horizons" will be the musician's first original song since "Why Don't We Try Again," which was released on his 1998 album, Another World. Since then, Brian May has focused his attention on his pre-existing music or other projects, including the newly-released Queen biopic. But now, May is ready to unveil his latest song onto the world (and space!) and it might be starting a new career resurgence for the famous, well-recognized guitarist.

Written by Brian May and Don Black, "New Horizons" is May's musical tribute to NASA -- specifically the New Horizons mission, as the title doth suggest. On New Year's Day, the New Horizons mission will honor a historical achievement. It will have the most distant spacecraft flyby in history. It is something that May evidently wanted to honor, and NASA made a point of reaching out to May to record and release this new song on New Year's Day.

But it should be noted that Brian May isn't merely a musician; he is also a student of astrophysics, in which he received his doctorate degree. He has a history with NASA, dating back to the past couple of years, at least. So, the decision to have Brian May make this tribute song for the space-based science division isn't completely out of left field. He clearly goes back with them, and it's evident, based on his studies, that he has an interest.

Here's what Brian May said about making "New Horizons" and providing his musical celebration to NASA.

The new song's release comes shortly after the hit song "Bohemian Rhapsody" became the most streamed song from the 20th century. Brian May is flying high, and now he's taking his music to space.