Watch George Michael Impress David Bowie With A Stunning Rehearsal Performance

We’ve lost too many amazing people in 2016, in the music world and beyond. David Bowie was a particularly rough blow early in the year and George Michael passing away on Christmas of all days isn’t exactly the kicker to 2016 that many people were looking for. So many legends leaving us is a tragedy by any measure, but fortunately these titans of the industry have left beyond bodies of work that are impressive and can ease the pain of no longer having such talents around.

It seems that in the hours after his unexpected death more old videos, performances, and anecdotes about George Michael are resurfacing than might be expected. Friends and fans are sharing amazing stories about Michael’s career and capacity for kindness, and a particularly impressive video started making the rounds online late Sunday night. In it, George Michael is rehearsing for a 1992 tribute performance for Freddie Mercury, the Queen frontman who had died in late 1991. This live and unfiltered performance of “Somebody to Love” would be impressive all on its own, as Michael hits the high notes and shows off his vocal range in a seemingly uninhibited show.

But in the background, as a bonus moment in an already amazing video, there is David Bowie and Seal standing next to each other looking as pleased as can be. Bowie especially, a monolith of emotional control when he needed to be, is smoking a cigarette and looking like he knows something that nobody else does in that very moment. Probably that George Michael had the voice of an angel and was about to blow the rest of the world away the same as he was doing for people in the room in that instant.

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