The 2025 MTV VMAs honoured Ozzy Osbourne with a star-studded tribute featuring Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Yungblud.
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with an all-star performance of his most iconic songs. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud, and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt led the medley, joined by keyboardist Adam Wakeman, who had long played with Osbourne both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath.
The segment began with a video from Osbourne’s son Jack and his grandchildren. “I know for sure it would make him incredibly happy to see these great musicians carry on his legacy,” Jack said, before the family shouted together the phrase Ozzy made famous: “Let’s go crazy!”
The stage at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York then erupted as Yungblud shouted “All aboard,” kicking off a fiery version of ‘Crazy Train.’ Bettencourt delivered Randy Rhoads’ legendary guitar parts note for note, while Yungblud handled vocals with raw energy. From there, Wakeman shifted the spotlight to piano for ‘Changes,’ with Yungblud delivering a throat-shredding take on the Black Sabbath ballad.
The tribute closed with Bettencourt strumming the acoustic intro to ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home.’ Tyler and Perry emerged together, bringing the song to life in a powerful performance, joined by Yungblud for its emotional final chorus.
Check out some of the footage and photos from the tribute performance below:
The VMAs tribute reunited several artists who had taken part in Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert earlier this year, just weeks before his death in July. Yungblud had performed ‘Changes’ at that show, Bettencourt played as part of Tom Morello’s All-Stars backing band, and Tyler fronted covers of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith tracks during the Birmingham concert.
For Tyler and Perry, the night also marked a rare joint appearance. Aerosmith has been mostly inactive since their farewell tour was cut short in 2023 due to Tyler’s vocal issues. Aside from a one-off benefit performance earlier this year, the band has yet to announce any plans to return to the road.
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