Yungblud has responded to criticism that was levelled against his Ozzy tribute at the MTV VMAs, saying that he “welcomes” those challenging his authenticity.
At the event, the Epiphone signature artist had teamed up with Nuno Bettencourt, Aerosmith duo Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, and Black Sabbath keyboardist Adam Wakeman for a three-song medley that paid homage to the Prince of Darkness.
However, the Darkness’ Dan and Justin Hawkins posted unfiltered criticism at the spot on social media. Dan had kicked off first, deeming it “cynical, nauseating, and more importantly; shit,” while suggesting that Yungblud was using Ozzy's legacy for his own gain.
During the event, Yungblud had worn a necklace gifted to him by Ozzy, who was a fervent supporter of the singer, and Justin Hawkins picked up on that as he posted on YouTube to support his brother’s comments.
“Yungblud seems to have positioned himself as a natural heir to the Ozzy legacy,” he posited. “Then you kind of think, ‘What the fuck does all those decades of having this incredible legacy have to do with Yungblud?’”
Speaking on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, Yungblud was happy to address the fallout from the performance and field questions about those who don’t see his rockstar schtick as authentic. He sees a generational divide at play.
“Sometimes people don’t believe me, and I welcome that challenge,” he says. “It was so interesting when I spoke to Ozzy about this. He said that you cannot take that on. It's hard to understand someone who is trying to do rock music in a new way because, of course, I'm referencing the past; we all were.
“Yungblud as a name, it almost has a negative connotation around it like, ‘Oh, I can't like that, it's for the kids,’” he says. “It was segregating the demographic. But what was beautiful about Back to the Beginning was that it was the first time an older generation of rock fans and I shared something in common, and that was our mutual adoration for our genre.”
Yungblud’s cover of Changes on the day received plaudits from a score of metalheads and showed just why Ozzy had been so passionately supportive of him. Months later, he wanted the VMAs show to embody his love for the singer.
“Amongst all the bubblegum and pizzazz, we were probably one of the only acts singing live there,” he believes.
“To have us just play live and it be the most viewed video on the internet the day afterwards, you can feel that rock music is all about truth, passion, and humanity,” he expands. “Pop music is the caricatured version of life; rock is about being in the mud.”
Yungblud adds that he was practically raised in his dad's guitar shop, with bands like “T-Rex, Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Clash truly in my blood,” in a bid to shoot down those who see his actions as solely performative.
The fact he has a collaborative EP with Aerosmith on the way – which he says was in motion long before Back to the Beginning raised his stock and cemented his ties with Ozzy – furthers his case.
“This guy’s got the juice,” Perry recently said of Yungblud's talents. “[After] four days in the studio, I called Steven and told him, ‘You have to hear this guy Yungblud, he’s the real deal.’ Fast forward to May, and we’re in the studio with Steven recording new music. Let the music do the talking.”
