Ozzy Osbourne has shared his excitement after being elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a second time.
In a conversation with Billboard, the Prince of Darkness admitted earning a second induction “feels big. I’m more than honored.”
“With every new music venture there’s always a certain amount of surprise that comes when you see the fans embrace it, because no one wants to make a record and have it flop,” Ozzy continued, reflecting upon his solo career. “I feel like I was invited to a party in 1980, and it hasn’t stopped. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band.”
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Ozzy Changed His Tune Regarding the Hall
Osbourne wasn’t always so positive regarding the Hall. When Black Sabbath was nominated for enshrinement in 1999, the singer infamously wrote an open letter slamming the institution, saying: “Just take our name off the list. Save the ink. Forget about us. The nomination is meaningless, because it’s not voted on by the fans. It’s voted on by the supposed elite for the industry and the media, who’ve never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is irrelevant to me. Let’s face it, Black Sabbath has never been media darlings. We’re a people’s band and that suits us just fine.”
Still, when Sabbath was inducted in 2006, Ozzy seemed to have a change of heart. Years later, the Prince of Darkness expressed excitement when his former guitarist, the late Randy Rhoads, received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Musical Excellence Award in 2021.
More recently, Osbourne admitted he was nervously hoping to be inducted as a solo artist.
“It’s been driving me mad,” Ozzy confessed in March. “It’s an honor that I’m nominated, but I’m not expecting to get in. There’s Mariah Carey, there’s Cher, Lenny Kravitz. I’m up against some serious people. If I get in, I get in. If I don’t, I don’t.”
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Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita
