A powerhouse tribute of rock and roll royalty with AEROSMITH‘s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud and EXTREME‘s Nuno Bettencourt all came together Sunday night (September 7) for a once-in-a-lifetime performance honoring the legendary Ozzy Osbourne with a medley of his greatest hits at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
Ozzy‘s son Jack introduced the tribute, along with his four daughters, via a pretaped video, saying, “I wish we could be there with you all tonight as you celebrate my dad’s amazing musical journey. I know for sure it would make him incredibly happy to see these great musicians carry on his legacy and help inspire the next generation of rockers.” He also gave a “special shout-out” to the artists who took part in the tribute. To conclude the video, Ozzy‘s granddaughters signed off by shouting in unison, “In the words of our Papa, let’s go crazy!”
Yungblud kicked off the tribute with Osbourne‘s “Crazy Train” before slowing things down with a cover of BLACK SABBATH‘s “Changes”. Tyler then took the stage to sing Osbourne’s hit ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home”, accompanied by Perry on guitar. Yungblud returned to the mic to duet with Tyler on the tune, which ended with pyrotechnics and Yungblud shouting into the microphone, “Ozzy forever!”
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by LL Cool J, aired live coast to coast from New York’s UBS Arena on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Ozzy‘s long-standing and storied MTV history spans “Headbangers Ball” in the 1980s, “Battle For Ozzfest” and groundbreaking reality TV series “The Osbournes”, to name a few. He was honored with the prestigious MTV EMAs Global Icon Award in 2014. Later this year, Paramount+ will debut the feature-length documentary “Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now”.
With more than 120 million albums sold worldwide, the global rock icon, multiplatinum singer-songwriter and pop culture phenom was a five-time Grammy winner, two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, both with BLACK SABBATH in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024, with stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Birmingham Walk Of Stars, among a multitude of other top accolades.
Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease.
A private funeral service for Ozzy was held on July 31 on the 250-acre grounds of the house the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer and his wife and manager Sharon bought in 1993 in Buckinghamshire, England. Only 110 of the singer’s friends and family members attended the service, including his SABBATH bandmates, Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),Rob Zombie, Zakk Wylde, Marilyn Manson and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT).
Ozzy‘s final concert on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom saw him and his fellow original SABBATH bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward perform four songs for more than 40,000 people in the stadium and 5.8 million more on a livestream. The festival served as a tribute to the legendary heavy metal act, including additional performances from such other groups as METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, SLAYER, TOOL, PANTERA and ALICE IN CHAINS. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.
Osbourne leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimée, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, and grandchildren.
