Rod Stewart‘s new AI-generated onstage tribute to Ozzy Osbourne is raising some eyebrows.
The night Osbourne died (July 22), Stewart began dedicating his cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Forever Young” to the heavy metal legend during his concerts. As you can see below, that performance simply featured photographs of the Black Sabbath and solo star on the big screen behind the stage.
However, the presentation has been given a questionable AI glow-up. A fan recorded the new tribute during Stewart’s Friday night concert outside Atlanta. Instead of photos there’s now video of Osbourne in heaven, taking selfies with a variety of other dead music legends, including Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson.
“Very sad. A lot of those people died ’cause of drugs,” Stewart said to the crowd as the video played during his July 29 show in Charlotte (as reported by the Charlotte Observer), “I’m still here, though!”
Read More: A Look Inside Ozzy Osbourne’s Private Funeral
As sincere and well-meaning as Stewart’s tribute clearly is, it’s also undeniably weird. The AI images themselves still have that off-putting digital sheen, for one thing. The inclusion of Jackson, who was repeatedly accused (though never convicted) of child molestation is certainly questionable.
Lastly and least importantly, why do you need a selfie stick in heaven? And shouldn’t they all be jamming with John Bonham and Jimi Hendrix instead of taking pictures? Fans seem bewildered by the video in the comments, with responses including “hell nah” and “soooo weird.”
The 80-year-old Stewart will be touring all over the world throughout 2025, from Brandon, Mississippi on Tuesday night to Abu Dhabi on Dec. 17. You can get complete details at his official website.
Watch Rod Stewart’s Current, AI-Assisted ‘Forever Young’ Tribute to Ozzy
Watch Rod Stewart’s Earlier, Non-AI ‘Forever Young’ Tribute to Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne’s Funeral Procession
Ozzy’s wife and children lead the funeral procession through his childhood hometown.
