GN’R Among Acts to Honor Ozzy Osbourne at Grammy Awards
Metal great Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22, 2025, leaving a hole in the heavy metal world that won’t be filled. Now, the Recording Academy has announced that the 2026…
Metal great Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22, 2025, leaving a hole in the heavy metal world that won't be filled. Now, the Recording Academy has announced that the 2026 Grammy Awards will feature a performance paying tribute to the late Osbourne.
The performance will bring a varied range of acts, including Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan, Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and producer Andrew Watt, the latter who produced the final two Ozzy albums.
The Grammy Awards will also feature their regular "In Memoriam," which will see Lauryn Hill honoring Roberta Flack and D'Angelo, as well as Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson.
The 2026 Grammys are set to air live at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 1.
What Ozzy Osbourne Gave to Metal
Ozzy Osbourne didn’t just help invent heavy metal, he gave it a personality. Before him, rock was loud, sure, but Ozzy made it darker, stranger and more confrontational without losing its sense of fun. His voice wasn't polished or pretty, and that was the point. It sounded human, haunted and unhinged, which made it perfect for the weight of the music behind it.
With Black Sabbath, Ozzy helped drag rock into a heavier place, slowing things down, thickening the riffs, and letting darkness sit front and center. Those early songs didn’t chase trends, they created them. And when he went solo, instead of retreating into nostalgia, he doubled down, surrounding himself with musicians who pushed metal forward and kept it dangerous.
Ozzy's real legacy isn't just the records, it's the love he gave metal to be weird, theatrical and emotional all at once. He proved heaviness didn't have to be macho or sterile. It could be vulnerable and unforgettable. Heavy metal wouldn't exist in the form we know without Ozzy Osbourne, and that's not exaggeration, it's history.
