Tributes to Ozzy Osbourne came swiftly following the news of his death on Tuesday, with fellow rockers including Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and Motley Crue paying their respects to the Prince of Darkness.
Osbourne’s friends in music extended well beyond the realm of heavy metal and rock, though, with artists from across several genres sharing their memories of the Black Sabbath singer — including Donny Osmond.
Donny Osmond remembers Ozzy Osbourne
One tribute to Osbourne that has gained some traction online — over 1 million views on X — comes from “Puppy Love” singer Osmond, who shared a commercial he and his sister, Marie, did with Osbourne more than two decades ago.
In the commercial — which was a 2003 Super Bowl ad for the lemon-flavored drink Pepsi Twist — Osbourne is stunned when his kids, Jack and Kelly, reveal that their Pepsis are actually Pepsi Twists.
But that plot twist pales in comparison to Osbourne’s next surprise.
“We’re not the Osbournes,” Jack and Kelly tell their father.
“You’re not?” he responds.
“We’re the Osmonds!” the kids say, before transforming into Donny and Marie and performing a snippet of “I’m A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll.”
“Sharon!” Osbourne shouts to his wife, waking himself up from the nightmare. “I dreamt the kids turned into the Osmonds!”
But when he rolls over, he instead finds Florence Henderson, who played mom Carol Brady on “The Brady Bunch,” comforting him.
“Oh, there, there, dear,” she says as Osbourne looks at the camera in shock.
“I’ve always looked back at this commercial we shot in ’03 so fondly,” Osmond shared in a post on Tuesday. “The last time we spoke was backstage of Dancing with The Stars season 9, when he told me how much he loved the Osmond song, ‘Crazy Horses’...talk about crazy! Thank you for always bringing your authentic personality to everything you’ve touched. From Crazy Horses to Crazy Trains, Rest In Peace.”
On Wednesday, Osmond shared a photo of him embracing Osbourne after winning “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009. Osbourne’s daughter, Kelly, placed third that season.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about this photo of Ozzy and I hugging,” Osmond wrote in a post on X. “It was 2009 and he was congratulating me on winning DWTS. His daughter, Kelly, was in the finals with me and she also did absolutely amazing. A memory that will be kept forever.”
Ozzy Osbourne, ‘The Winston Churchill of Rock’
Osbourne’s death at 76 came just 17 days after his farewell show in England.
The all-star concert featured the final live performances from Black Sabbath and Ozzy, per Billboard, and guest artists including Metallica, Slayer and Guns N’ Roses.
Osbourne sat on a black throne and performed nine songs during the show, Billboard reported. The set included “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Crazy Train,” “War Pigs,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid,” per Rolling Stone.
In a 2018 interview with the Deseret News — shortly before Osbourne’s last show in Utah — Zakk Wylde, a longtime guitarist for Osbourne, praised the singer for his perseverance in the music industry.
“Even down to the setback of (Osbourne) getting kicked out of Black Sabbath, he was truly down then. It was just like, ‘The dream’s over.’ And then he finds (guitarist) St. (Randy) Rhoads. Randy gets in the band and (Osbourne’s) back on top again and he’s like, ‘I never thought I’d have a second chance. This is the greatest thing ever.’ And then all of a sudden Randy passes away, and now he’s down again,” Wylde said.
“And here he is now, he’s going to be 70 in December and he’s still killing it every night onstage,” the guitarist continued. “That’s why he’s my hero; there’s no quitting. He’s like the Winston Churchill of rock.”