MTV honored the late Ozzy Osbourne, a musician who helped revitalize the network with The Osbournes, with an all-star tribute on Sunday night at the Video Music Awards. Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud, and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt were among the performers who participated in a medley of Osbourne’s songs, including “Crazy Train,” Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Keyboardist Adam Wakeman, who accompanied Osbourne with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, led the homage.
The segment began with a video tribute from Osbourne’s son, Jack, and grandchildren. “I know for sure it would make him incredibly happy to see these great musicians carry on his legacy,” Jack said. And then the family shouted a phrase Osbourne made famous in unison, “Let’s go crazy!”
Onstage at the UBS Arena, in Elmont, New York, Yungblud then shouted, “All aboard,” signaling the intro to “Crazy Train,” which Bettencourt nimbly handled on the guitar, right down to Randy Rhoads’ classically ornamented guitar solo. At the conclusion, Wakeman took the reins on piano and played “Changes,” and Yungblud gave a throat-shredding performance of the single. The tribute concluded with Bettencourt playing the country-tinged intro to “Mama” on an acoustic guitar, while Tyler and Perry emerged to bring it home with a stirring performance that featured Yungblud on vocals at the end.
Yungblud, Bettencourt, and Tyler were all among the artists who took part in Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert just weeks before Ozzy’s July 22 death; Yungblud performed the Black Sabbath ballad “Changes,” while Bettencourt was featured in the backing band dubbed Tom Morello’s All-Stars. Tyler, meanwhile, sang lead vocals of songs by Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, but no Ozzy-fronted tracks at the Birmingham gig.
The tribute also marks a now-rare reunion between Aerosmith’s Tyler and Perry, as that band hasn’t officially performed together since their farewell tour was canceled due to Tyler’s vocal issues in 2023. While Aerosmith did reunite for a California wildfire benefit show earlier this year, the group has not announced plans for a makeup farewell tour.
