Is this really MTV?

VMA Ozzy tribute gives us the best 7 1/2 minutes on MTV in possibly 30-plus years

It will come as no surprise to anyone that I didn’t tune in for the MTV VMAs on Sunday night. In fact, I think it’s pretty ironic that a channel that hasn’t focused on music videos since the mid-90s still hosts something called the Video Music Awards.

But on Monday morning, I did head over to YouTube to check out the segment of the show honoring Ozzy Osbourne, and for a few minutes anyway, it felt like old times.

The tribute started with Yungblud, who stole the show at Ozzy’s final concert in Birmingham back in July with his fantastic performance of the Black Sabbath ballad “Changes.” Here, he’s standing in a heavily controlled area of the crowd as he screams the familiar “All aboard!” that opens “Crazy Train.” From there, he makes his way to the stage to join a band that includes Ozzy keyboardist Adam Wakeman and Extreme guitarist extraordinaire Nuno Bettencourt as they rip through a shortened version of the signature song of the Prince of Bleeping Darkness.

That led into a brief reprise of Yungblud’s version of “Changes.” While this version lacks the power of the thousands of hardcore Ozzy fans singing along with him in favor of a crowd that often looks like it’s being paid to pretend to be into the show, it was still a strong performance.

I really wish that I liked Yungblud’s original music more because the kid has great presence, and he can sing his ass off. His performances at these two tributes to Ozzy have been phenomenal.

From there, Bettencourt switches to an acoustic and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry come walking out from either side of the stage. Those who knew me back in high school and college will understand just how much it pains me to see Tyler in an obviously uncomfortable situation. Aerosmith was my band back then. It’s pretty clear that the health issues that forced the cancellation of Aerosmith’s farewell tour are not completely resolved despite the strong performance Tyler gave in Birmingham a few months back. He looked out of sorts, and as he began to sing “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” it was pretty rough. I was worried for a second, but when Yungblud came down front to join him in a duet, things got much more comfortable. They brought it home in an ending full of fireworks that found the younger singer shining once again on some very Tyler-esque high notes and runs.

I’m sure that the success of this moment will have no impact on MTV, and they’ll continue to lean into trashy reality shows or whatever it is that they’re showing these days (and, yes, I realize that Ozzy was part of one of those reality shows). But for just a moment, we got a glimpse of what it could be and what it used to be. While I would have liked to see a few more artists involved — some metal guys, perhaps — it was a rousing tribute, nonetheless. And, for me, it’s easily the best 7 1/2 minutes MTV has aired in 30-plus years.