Ozzy Osbourne is finally set to make his long-awaited return to the stage this weekend, appearing alongside Post Malone at the American Music Awards.
If you’ve been following the recent happenings in the world of Ozzy Osbourne, then you would be aware that the metal pioneer has had something of a rough year.
Last year, Osbourne was forced to cancel shows after he contracted what turned out to be a potentially-deadly staph infection. Sadly, the bad news kept on coming, with the rocker contracting the flu, and then pneumonia, and eventually being forced to not only cancel his Australian appearances, but also the entirety of his 2019 tour following a fall.
Now, having announced a 2020 tour alongside Marilyn Manson, the rock icon is set to make his live return this weekend, performing at the American Music Awards, alongside Post Malone and Travis Scott.
While some might be thinking this is a rather strange combination for Ozzy to perform with, it all relates back to his appearance on ‘Take What You Want’, a track featured on Post Malone’s chart-topping Hollywood’s Bleeding album.
Check out ‘Take What You Want’ by Post Malone:
Discussing how the collaboration came about, producers Andrew Watt and Louis Bell explained to Billboard just how the seeds were sown for such an unexpected recording.
“Post has been a huge Ozzy fan since he was a kid,” shared Bell. “This was definitely a dream come true for him.”
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Watt helped instigate the meeting of minds after he crossed paths with Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly Osbourne, at a party and intuitively pitched the idea of the collaboration. According to Watt, there was immediate interest, but the execution lagged on.
“Kelly played him the tape and he loved it, but then I didn’t hear anything for a while,” Watt shared. “I kept texting Kelly over and over again, and all of a sudden, we got the text from her that said, ‘Dad’s going to do the song. He loves it.’”
Whilst the monolithic collaboration certainly surprised us, Watt has mused that the meeting of the metal and rap worlds was a natural marriage.
“The culture of metal music and hip-hop are very related,” says Watt. “You see kids going fucking crazy at a Travis [Scott] show, moshing, losing their minds — the same thing they were doing at Ozzy shows. This record in a weird way connects the culture of a kid at a hip-hop show wearing a Metallica shirt.”
This year’s American Music Awards will also feature performances from Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Green Day, who will perform a special 25th anniversary tribute to their Dookie album.
Check out ‘Crazy Train’ by Ozzy Osbourne:
