Ozzy Osbourne photographed at the Rosemont Horizon on March 4, 1984 in Rosemont, Illinois.
The Prince of Darkness will have another moment in the light on Sunday (Sept. 7) when some of Ozzy Osbourne‘s musical compatriots and biggest fans will take the stage to honor the late metal legend at the 2025 MTV VMAs. According to a release announcing the special tribute, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry will join Yungblud and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt during this year’s awards broadcast, which will air live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The rockers will take the stage to honor the Prince of Darkness with a medley of his greatest hits on the program that will be hosted by LL Cool J. In addition to being one of the most beloved figures in hard rock, Osbourne also had a storied history with MTV, from appearing on Headbanger’s Ball in the 1980s to sharing his private life with the world on the wildly popular family reality show The Osbournes, which aired on the network from 2002-2005.
Osbourne died on July 22 at age 76, just weeks after taking the stage for the final time at the all-star Back to the Beginning show in his native Birmingham, U.K. that featured sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Mastodon, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Alice in Chains and many more. Yungblud and Bettencourt teamed up with Sleep Token II at the show in Birmingham, U.K. for a moving cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” with guitarist Bettencourt also sitting in with Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and Quiet Riot/Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo for a cover of Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe” and a half dozen other Sabbath and Ozzy solo songs during a supergroup section of the show overseen by Morello.
In addition to the Ozzy tribute, Sunday’s VMAs will feature performances from Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Tate McRae, Alex Warren and Sabrina Carpenter. Busta Rhymes will receive the MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award and Ricky Martin will be honored with the inaugural Latin Icon Award.
Check out MTV’s promo for the special Ozzy tribute below.
