It Takes a Team: Queen’s “Face It Alone” Comes To Life Through Legendary ESPN, Disney-wide Effort

It’s not every day you encounter the opportunity to work with an unheard, undiscovered – yet recently teased – song by the legendary rock group Queen.

But that’s exactly what happened for Disney Music Group and ESPN, with “Face It Alone,” featuring the late Freddie Mercury on vocals. As part of the song’s release, Thursday’s 7 a.m. ET SportsCenter used part of the soundtrack for the star-studded video above, which ends with the graphic: Legends Live On.

Already known for stadium anthems like “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions,” Queen has become the soundtrack to some of the greatest moments in sports history. “Face It Alone” sure has the feel and energy of those masterpieces.

“Queen is such a cornerstone artist in the world of sports music, and we’ve been lucky that they are in the Disney family,” said Coordinating Director of ESPN Music, Claude Mitchell. “We have a tremendous relationship with Disney Music Group as well as Queen. When the project was brought to us, we took this as an opportunity to help tell the story of sports through music rather than using music to enhance a story we’re already telling.”

Thanks to the collaboration between Disney Music Group, ESPN’s Creative Studio Team, and the band, the result is a memorable 90 seconds filled with athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Serena Williams to Derek Jeter and Sue Bird.

Thanks to sports fans Queen has become the soundtrack to some of the greatest moments in sports history. The legacy will continue tomorrow when @espn reveals our new track Face it Alone to the sports world. Tune-in all day on SportsCenter starting at 7aET #LegendsLiveOn pic.twitter.com/iS2saQfcxP

— Queen (@QueenWillRock) October 12, 2022

“Queen is a legendary band; the lyrics are powerful, and it all made sense to feature the song alongside legends in sports,” said Mitchell, who has been at ESPN since 2000. “[The challenge] was the song has a lot of emotion. How do we take such an emotional piece and make it work for what we do?”

The answer is the perfect accompaniment for a nearly forgotten song that will have lasting impact – much like the collaboration among the Disney groups.

“It’s all in the family,” Mitchell said. “The idea started with the music team, but it’s the entire Creative Studio that has come together. This would not be possible without the tools that we have. Thanks to the edit team, the production team, and the great writing and direction we’ve received from our creative development and design teams, it has been great to see how we’ve all been able to pull this together.”