Ozzy

John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which he adopted the nickname the “Prince of Darkness”. Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems, but he went on to have a successful solo career, releasing 12 studio albums, the first seven of which were awarded multi-platinum certifications in the US. Osbourne has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group’s final studio album 13 (2013), before they embarked on a farewell tour which culminated in a final performance in their home city, Birmingham, England, in February 2017. His longevity and success have earned him the informal title of “Godfather of Heavy Metal”.

Osbourne’s total album sales from his years in Black Sabbath, combined with his solo work, is over 100 million. As a member of Black Sabbath, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist and as a member of the band. Possessing a distinctive singing voice, Osbourne, as a native of Birmingham, is known for his strong Brummie accent – he has a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars in his hometown as well as the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the Global Icon Award. In 2015, Osbourne received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a reality television star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality show The Osbournes, alongside wife and manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. He currently co-stars with Jack and Kelly in the television series Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour. The show’s third season debuted in June 2018.

Ordinary Man (stylised as ØRD†NARY MAN) is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 21 February 2020 through Epic Records. It was produced by Andrew Watt and Louis Bell. This is the longest gap between two albums from Osbourne to date, spanning almost ten years since Scream. The first single of the album, “Under the Graveyard”, was released on 8 November 2019. The second single, “Straight to Hell”, was released on 22 November 2019. The third single and title track featuring singer Elton John was released on 10 January 2020. The fourth single “It’s a Raid” featuring Post Malone was released on 20 February 2020, a day before the release of the album.

Ordinary Man is Osbourne’s first studio album as a solo artist in ten years following Scream (2010). It is also his first album overall since he reunited with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for their final album 13 (2013), with him as lead singer. After the release of 13, they went on a farewell tour titled The End Tour, which ended in Birmingham, England on 4 February 2017. After Black Sabbath concluded their farewell tour, Osbourne kept working on new material. In September 2019, he was featured alongside American rapper Travis Scott on American rapper Post Malone’s “Take What You Want”, from Malone’s third studio album Hollywood’s Bleeding, which went on to become Osbourne’s first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 in over 30 years, thus making it the longest gap between top 10 appearances in the chart’s history.

On 8 November 2019, it was revealed that Osbourne had worked with Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith on the album. Speaking about the recording, he commented that the entire album process is done “in just a short time”, adding “Duff and Chad came in and we would go in and jam during the day and I would go work out the songs in the evenings. I previously had said to Sharon I should be doing an album, but in the back of my mind I was going, ‘I haven’t got the fucking strength.’ But Andrew pulled it out of me. I really hope people listen to it and enjoy it, because I put my heart and soul into this album.”

AllMusic: “The production is huge but the energy is spontaneous, sounding like it was as fun to make as it is to listen to. 71 years old at the time Ordinary Man was released, Osbourne’s voice is in great shape, sounding more or less like he always has. How he’s making music this strong after riding the crazy train for more than half-a-century is anyone’s guess, but the better songs here rank among his best.”

NME writer Jordan Bassett gave Ordinary Man a perfect score, writing that several songs on the album were reminiscent of Osbourne’s old band, Black Sabbath, and that he was having “an absolute ball” on the record. Conversely, writing for Rolling Stone, Kory Grow gave the album a positive review, saying that “Some of the songs are elegiac, some are packed with comic-book laughs, but throughout the album he [Osbourne] sings with a youthful vivacity that seems at odds with his 70-something years. His goofball songs are more lighthearted than ever, and his more serious songs sound even more thoughtful.” Grow also mentions that Osbourne’s “voice aches is incredibly moving” and that the tender moments of the album makes it a “keeper”. Furthermore, writing for The Guardian, Michael Hann gave the album an overall mixed review, implying that “Ordinary Man may have its lachrymose moments lyrically”, although stating that the album “perhaps” has “too few memorable songs”. A.D. Amorosi of Variety gave the album a positive review, saying that it contains “More hard rock than rough metal, and more lavishly produced (by Andrew Watt, of Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, and Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys fame) than Ozzy’s sludge-glam sound of his past”. Furthermore he believe that Ordinary Man “is like driving a clown car through a wake. It’s great, fast fun even when it’s sad”.

Ozzy Osbourne is wasting no time as he recovers from a recent surgery: On Friday, June 24, the Prince of Darkness released his single “Patient Number 9,” and its video is accompanied by work by comic book hero Todd McFarlane.

The video features an institutionalized Osbourne, the titular Patient Number 9, as well as an illustrated version of the singer courtesy of McFarlane’s pen. In both reality and animation, Osbourne attempts to fight off his demons in the visual. The single is the first from Osbourne’s upcoming album – also titled Patient Number 9 – which arrives, fittingly, on September 9, or 9/9. The all-star, Andrew Watt-produced LP features contributions from Jeff Beck (who plays on the title track), Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Zakk Wylde, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Duff McKagan, Eric Clapton and the late Taylor Hawkins. Osbourne’s longtime Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi also makes his first-ever appearance on an Ozzy solo album.

“The song is about a mental institution,” Osbourne said of the title track in a statement. “Having someone like Jeff Beck play on my album is just incredible, a total honor. There’s no other guitar player that plays like him and his solo on ‘Patient Number 9’ is just jaw-dropping.”

“Having worked with Ozzy in the past, I jumped at another opportunity to do so again…especially on the music side this time,” McFarlane said in a statement. “In the harsh business called the music industry, any creative person who’s sustained a multi-decades career has shown the skill, talent and tenacity that will always garner my admiration. Ozzy has shown many of us creative folks that it’s indeed possible to make a living doing what you love for nearly an entire lifetime. Go, Ozzy!”

The new track comes about a week and a half after Osbourne shared an update to fans that he was “home from the hospital recuperating comfortably” from a surgery that his wife Sharon had said would “determine the rest of his life.”  Ozzy has been battling Parkinson’s disease for several years now and has opened up in the past about his trouble with mobility, partly due to a 2003 ATV accident.

On the music front, Osbourne released a 30th anniversary edition of his song “Hellraiser” featuring the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister and also dropped a 40th-anniversary edition of Diary of a Madman, both in 2021. He also appeared on Post Malone’s “Take What You Want” in 2019.   – REF: Rolling Stone