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On Sunday evening, MTV honored the late Ozzy Osbourne, the musician who once breathed new life to the broadcaster with the reality show “The Osbournes” on Sunday evening. Aerosmiths Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud and extreme Nuno Bettencourt were among the artists who played a medley from ozzy classics. Including “Crazy Train”, Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home”. Keyboarder Adam Wakeman, long -time companion of Ozzy at Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, led the homage.
Yungblud, Tyler and Perry rock the stage
The tribute began with a video message from Ozzy’s son Jack and his children. “I know exactly that it would have made him incredibly happy to see these great musicians on his legacy,” said Jack. Then the family called together one of Ozzy’s most famous sayings: “Let’s go crazy!”
On the stage of UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, Yungblud opened with the iconic reputation “All Aboard”, the intro of “Crazy Train”. Bettencourt took over the guitar part to Randy Rhoads’ classically decorated solo. Wakeman then played the Piano Intro from “Changes”, while Yungblud interpreted the song with a hoarse, emotional singing. Finally, Bettencourt used the acoustic guitar for the “Mama” country intro. Tyler and Perry joined and provided a moving final point together with Yungblud on the vocals.
Yungblud, Bettencourt and Tyler took part in his farewell concert “Back to the Beginning” a few weeks before Ozzy’s death on July 22nd. There Yungblud sang the Black Sabbath ballad “Changes”, while Bettencourt was part of Tom Morello All-Star-Band. Tyler interpreted pieces by Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, but no ozzy songs.
Aerosmith duo combined for the first time
The VMA tribute also marked a rare reunion of Aerosmiths Tyler and Perry. The band has not officially played together since Tyler’s voice problems have been officially played together since the demolition of their farewell tour in 2023. At the beginning of the year there was a joint appearance at a benefit show for the victims of the forest fires in California, but a new Farewell tour has not yet been announced.