Ahead of concert film’s release, the Prince of Darkness’ wife and manager opens up about Ozzy’s historic farewell

Last summer, Ozzy Osbourne played his final concert, a supersized stadium show to 44,000 fans in his hometown of Birmingham, England with a stacked lineup that rivaled only his own Ozzfest festivals. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Mastodon, and supergroups arranged by Tom Morello that included Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar, and estranged members of Osbourne’s solo bands performed his hits.

The 10-hour event, dubbed Back to the Beginning, ended with Osbourne singing a handful of his solo hits and a reunion of Osbourne with Black Sabbath’s founding members. It made for an emotional and stunning farewell for the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness, who had been suffering from multiple health setbacks and died 17 days later.

The event was livestreamed and proceeds from ticket sales to the concert and stream went to charity. Now footage from the concert is coming out as the two-and-a-half–hour Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning concert film featuring performances by every artist who performed that day. Osbourne’s family is hosting a “purple carpet” world premiere of the film at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre on Wednesday. (Half of the proceeds from ticket sales to the premiere will benefit homeless charities.) The film will then open in movie theaters around the world on Oct. 28.

Osbourne’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, has spent the last year grieving the loss of her best friend. “It’s been very, very tough,” she tells Rolling Stone. “But you know what? I had 46 years of marriage with an amazing guy, so I was blessed.”

She has yet to watch the two documentaries she and Ozzy participated in, in the months prior to his death: Paramount+’s Ozzy: No Escape from Now and the BBC’s Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home. “I can’t,” she says, “I’m just not ready mentally.” But she has watched Back to the Beginning, which filmmaker Ben Wainwright-Pearce (Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour) directed and mixed in 5.1 surround sound.

In a rare interview about Ozzy ahead of the film’s release, Sharon tells Rolling Stone how Ozzy saw the whole day as a great achievement. “It’s just something that will stand the test of time,” she says. “It was groundbreaking for what it was. Like everything with Ozzy, he’s the first.”

How have you been holding up in the past year?It’s been very, very tough. It’s something in life that everyone has to go through, grief, but I’ve had a lot of other things going on — not just grief — but things that have come out about bad advice being handled by people that were not what I thought. It’s amazing that when somebody passes, you see all the bad things that were going on around that person. I’m in a lot of litigation right now with a lot of businesspeople, and it’s just ugly. Ugly.

This film has been in the works for months. How has the process been for you?It was very hard to watch a lot of this film. I had to, but it was very, very hard.

It’s bittersweet. It’s amazing. Everything about the show was amazing and just a joyous occasion and one that will go down in music history. I’m proud of that and that it was for my husband, and I’m so thankful to everyone that took part in it, for their time, their effort, their giving.

The most precious thing we all have is time, and I keep telling my children this. For people to give up days of their lives for us for free, for charity is an amazing thing. Then to see where that money went and what it meant to so many different people, it’s all just overwhelming, but in a great, positive way.

What did it take to get Ozzy to that show?He was in hospital in America before he left. We moved back to England, and we had a whole new team of doctors. His new doctors didn’t want to take doctor’s notes from America. They wanted to make their own assessment on him. He was in hospital for a week in England.

After he came out of hospital, they asked for a meeting, and they came to our house. We had six different doctors and, like, a quarterback, because there were all of these specialists for the heart, for Parkinson’s, for his lungs, because of all the different things that were wrong with him.

They advised us not to do the show. They said it would kill him. We were all together and Ozzy said, “It’s not an option. It’s what I want.” He said, “I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want.” It was his wishes and we went through it. He said to me, “Another six months, what’s it going to do for me?”

For him to make that decision and perform must have been emotional.He was very, very emotional. But you know what? It was beautiful too. It was amazing. How lucky was he to go out that way? I say he went out like a Viking. It was the way he wanted.

Ozzy always used to say, “I’m one lucky motherfucker. Who else has had my life? I got everything I dreamed about.” He had no regrets about anything. He knew what his destiny was. He chose it.

He sounded good at the concert, too.We’re talking about a guy that had hardly any lungs left. He had emphysema. I don’t know how he did it. But he did it, and it’s what he wanted.

And in that way it’s glorious. It’s not sad. If we all have a chance to pick the way we go out … Do you know what I’m saying? It was a triumph to be surrounded by your friends, your family, your fans that adore you and what you are doing that day. It’s just amazing. It’s not sad. He was blessed to be able to choose the way you die.

What was Ozzy doing in the hours before his performance?He was in his dressing room the whole day watching everybody on the screens in his dressing room, and he just was like a fan. He was a fan of everybody that was there onstage. He was like, “Oh, my God. I can’t believe they’ve just done that number and this and that,” commenting the whole way. He saw everybody. He was just elated with it.

What struck you about the performances when you watched it all again?The love and the respect that was there. It was old friends seeing other friends. It was just amazing for everyone that was there, for all the guys, and everyone. It was just a great day.

Well, it was more than a great day; basically, it was Ozzy’s goodbye, and he knew it was his goodbye. My kids didn’t know. We didn’t tell the children. We didn’t tell anyone. But we knew what was going on. Sabbath didn’t know, nothing. But again, it’s not sad. Look at him, a Viking to the end.

What did it mean to him for that final performance to be with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward — the original Black Sabbath bandmates?It had to end with Black Sabbath. That’s where it had begun. He desperately, desperately wanted to play with Bill. No matter what had gone on with Bill, there was never a week that Ozzy didn’t speak to him.

I think Ozzy was the one that spoke to everyone, because I know Geezer doesn’t like talking on the phone too much, and Tony likes his privacy, and so Ozzy really was the one that spoke to everyone. I’m not saying this to sound bad, it’s just that they’re not the guys that check in weekly with each other. There’s a love, there’s always that invisible thread that holds them all together, but Ozzy was the chatty one.

There was a handful of guys that he would talk to regularly … Jonathan [Davis] from Korn and Slash and Zakk [Wylde], absolutely weekly, always. Tony, too. He would text Tony all the time. They would send each other silly things from online shit, and they’d giggle about it.

Watching Black Sabbath’s set that day, you could see the camaraderie between the four of them.They don’t need to say anything to each other. They just look at each other and know.

What did he say after he performed?He just kept saying, “I did it. I did it.” The next 17 days, he was so, so happy. He was just elated. He just couldn’t believe how everybody turned out for him. It was glorious to see how happy he was, because he’d been so depressed, so down. Last night, I read a letter from a fan who was at the show, and this fan said, “I saw a young man trapped in an old man’s body.” That’s so true.

How did you feel when you saw the final cut, in 5.1 surround sound?I was in awe of it all. In awe. Did it really happen? Am I going to fucking wake up in a minute? It was so immense, the whole thing. But as I keep saying, gloriously so.

I feel that I never, ever thank these guys enough for making it a reality: Every single person, every crew member, the caterers, the crew, the truck drivers, everybody was just fucking awesome. The musicians, come on, look who was there: Sammy Hagar, Steven Tyler, just the greatest guys that are good, good guys, everyone. It was great to see [former Ozzy band members] Jake E. Lee, Rudy [Sarzo]. It was just unbelievable.

How involved were you in which performances made the cut?Everybody that performed is seen on the film. Everybody. It’s so hard to say, “I’m not going to put them in and them in.” No, because every single person helped make money for charity that day and was there out of love for my husband and Sabbath. So no, I couldn’t do that. But of course, we couldn’t show the whole day [since] it’s 10 hours.

Which tribute performances impressed you?Oh my God, there so many great, great performances. It was just overwhelming. Even down to when the drummers were up there, Travis [Barker] and Chad [Smith] and Danny [Carey]. Everything was just great that day. Without Tom Morello, without [Live Nation promoter] Andy Copping, it would never have happened.

Tom Morello was an absolute saint and he is incredible. His sense of music and of what’s right and what’s not right, he’s just an incredible person. He needs a sainthood. He is the saint of metal. He’s so wise and knows what he’s talking about on so many different levels.

Andy Copping, who has been in our lives forever too, from Live Nation, he is just an incredible music man. There’s not one band on that show that wasn’t a friend of Andy’s. Even though he works for Live Nation, a huge corporation, everybody adores Andy Copping. He’s one of the most famous promoters in the world. He’s just the best.

They put together a great lineup. I was impressed with each new band added.We really, really wanted Megadeth. There was no time, we couldn’t fit everybody in on one day. There were so many bands that were due to play that we just couldn’t because there was not enough time.

The artists who did perform seem almost like a “This is your life” moment for Ozzy.Exactly, and it was for a great cause.

When you watched the film, did it feel like Ozzy was still with you?He ain’t left me for a minute. I go to sleep wearing his T-shirts. I wake up wearing his glasses. I’m surrounded by him always. That’s why there’s nothing to be sad. I was blessed to have him in my life, and nothing is forever. It’ll be my time soon, and it’s the circle. That’s what happens with everyone. It was just my time to lose the love of my life, but you go on.

But look at what I had, what I still have. Look at what he left everyone, a great body of work, that fucking smile of his. I always say you didn’t have to like Ozzy’s music to like Ozzy. You just liked him. Look at the amount of musicians that he has worked with; there’s three guys that never liked him, and that’s a fucking great record to have. When you think of everybody’s life who he touched as a musician, and only three of them didn’t like him, it’s like, fucking hell, when I go, there’s going to be fucking thousands. But three guys? I can fucking live with that.

What would Ozzy say if he saw this film?He would say, “How lucky am I?” He goes, “I’m one lucky son of a bitch.” And he knew it. He never took anything for granted, ever.

He’d say, “Look at me. Look at my life. Look at my family that I have, my friends that I have, my fans. I have nothing to complain about. Not one fucking thing.” Even when he was in agony with his health, his last six years, there was so much pain in his body. He suffered greatly. But he was still like, “Hey, I can’t fucking complain. This is it.”

I said to him, “If you could do it all again, if you could have not done the drugs and the drink, would you?” He goes, “Fuck it. I loved it.”

Slayyyter in "I Think He's Got a Girl" video.

It looks like Slayyyter’s Wor$t Man in America is a cheater, as the musician conveys in the accompanying video for the upcoming album’s latest single, “I Think He’s Got a Girl.”

In her self-directed new visual for the ballad, Slayyyter is seen in a luxe home, appearing in an array of vintage outfits, striking gorgeous pinup poses, all alone. From lounging in the pool, to barbecuing and hanging out in different rooms, she laments a relationship that’s unraveling as she comes to the realization that the object of her affection has moved on with another.

“You’re too quick on the draw, lie every time you talk/It makes me feel so crazy, like I got everything wrong,” she sings. “You’re quiet on the phone, what time you coming home?/I hope it doesn’t mean what I know it means” before coming to the realization on the belted chorus: “I think he’s got a girl.”

The counterpart album to Wor$t Girl in America, Wor$t Man in America arrives on Dec. 4 via Columbia, and includes nine tracks. In addition to “I Think He’s Got a Girl,” which appears to be the inverse of Wor$t Girl’s “Unknown Loverz,” she’s also already released LP tracks “Crank 2” and “Beat Up Chanel$,” which offered fresh takes on Wor$t Girl tracks “Crank” and “Brand New Chanel$,” respectively.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Slayyyter explained the impetus for Wor$t Man in America, saying, “I want to live here for a little longer, so I’m kind of making an inverse album, if you will. I just want the core of everything to feel like me, because it finally feels that.”

Alanis Morissette is bringing an unexpected collection of collaborators to Good Weather for Immaculate Conception, her first full-length holiday album. Arriving on Nov. 6, it features Brandi Carlile, Steve Martin, Martin Short and several other guests across 14 tracks.

The Canadian singer today shared its first single, “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem,” featuring Carlile and Martin. The album's tracklist includes traditional Christmas standards, previously released covers and two original songs.

Among the other guests, Short appears on the album’s closing track, “Merry Christmas.” Joy Oladokun joins Morissette for “Silent Night,” while Amythyst Kiah contributes to “Momma Mary.” The record also features Trans Voices, the U.K.’s first professional vocal ensemble of trans and nonbinary singers, on “O Tannenbaum.”

Speaking to Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast in September, before officially announcing the album, she described the record as “this labor of Christmas love for me.”

The release brings several of Morissette’s seasonal recordings together on one album. She has previously released “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” her take on the John Lennon and Yoko Ono classic, in 2020, followed by “Little Drummer Boy” in 2022, “Last Christmas” in 2023 and “O Holy Night” in 2024.

Those recordings join selections including “What Child Is This?,” “Ave Maria” and Joni Mitchell’s “River” on the new album.

Troye Sivan at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards held at Peacock Theater on September 27, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Troye Sivan makes a sultry request to his lover on a house track, Dawn Richard pivots to 2-step garage on a hypnotic banger, and Remi Wolf turns up the heat on a jangly highlight from her new album. Plus new tunes from Cameron Winter, Daddy Yankee, Joyce Wrice, Grimes, and Star Moles.

Troye Sivan, “Canada Dry” (YouTube)

Remi Wolf, “Burn Me Blue” (YouTube)

Dawn Richard, “Only Fans” (YouTube)

Cameron Winter, “It All Fell In the River” (YouTube)

Slayyyter, “I Think He’s Got a Girl” (YouTube)

Offset, Don Toliver, “Every Night” (YouTube)

Daddy Yankee, “BOTZ (Besame Otra Vez)” (YouTube)

Gunna, “Pop It” (YouTube)

Joyce Wrice, “Dangerous” (YouTube)

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Yes” (YouTube)

Sheryl Crow, “I’ve Got Your Number” (YouTube)

Judeline, “La Falda” (YouTube)

Grimes, Vadakin, “Accelerando” (YouTube)

Pitbull, “In the Bahamas” (YouTube)

Ralphie Choo, “Amarillo Nena” (YouTube)

David Byrne, Daniel Pemberton, “Let Me Sell You a Dream” (YouTube)

Ovrkast, “Home” (YouTube)

Star Moles, “Born Again” (YouTube)

Jess Williamson, “Hum of the City” (YouTube)

Greta Van Fleet, “Into the Beginning” (YouTube)

Baby Wave, “The Scene Is Changing” (YouTube)

Cece Natalie, “Flood Whole Towns” (YouTube)

Zo Trapalot, “You Betta” (YouTube)

Twentythree, “Crack” (YouTube)

Earthsignchels, “Crazy?” (YouTube)

John Glacier, “Lights” (YouTube)

Marina Herlop, “Flor De Los Precipicios” (YouTube)

Thao feat. Adrian Quesada, “Nguyen Nguyen Lose Lose” (YouTube)

Anish Kumar, DJ GTi, Sofia Kourtesis, “Radio Nacional” (YouTube)

Unflirt, “Air Turns Blue” (YouTube)

Zsela, “Kinda Guy” (YouTube)

Bankrollmaiya, “Pull Up Stunnin” (YouTube)

Argentine musician Piero sings during a show at Newell's Olds Boys Stadium on April, 1983 in Rosario, Argentina.

Piero, the artist who defined a generation of Latin American songwriting with classics like “Mi Viejo” and “Soy Pan, Soy Paz, Soy Más,” died on Oct. 7 at Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires. He was 81.

His family confirmed the news via their Instagram account: “It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Piero at the age of 81. His voice, his songs, and his message of peace will remain with us forever. His light will continue to shine in every corner where his music is heard. His family and friends thank you for your condolences. Farewell, dear Piero,” they wrote.

Piero Antonio Franco De Benedictis was born in Gallipoli, Apulia, Italy, in 1945. His family emigrated to Argentina when he was three. By the early 1970s, Piero was already a celebrity. He co-starred in the film El Profesor Patagónico alongside Luis Sandrini, directed by Fernando Ayala.

As he released albums — especially the trilogy Pedro Nadie (1970), Coplas De Mi País (1972), and Para El Pueblo Lo Que Es Del Pueblo (1974) — he became a political figure. A committed singer-songwriter who spoke out on social issues, he found an inseparable songwriting partner in José Tcherkasky, the Argentine journalist and poet.

Associated with protest songs, Piero and Tcherkasky painted social portraits and crafted short stories with universal appeal, often accompanied by the great Jorge López Ruiz orchestrations. Songs such as “Valdemar, El Brasilero” and “Los Americanos,” featuring the musical group Cuarteto Zupay, were part of that seminal repertoire that influenced, for example, the Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades.

Para El Pueblo Lo Que Es Del Pueblo, he collaborated with Marilina Ross (“Canción De Una Para Despertar Un Hijo”), depicted the hardships of urban life (“Así Es La Ciudad”), and covered “Te Recuerdo, Amanda” by the Chilean Víctor Jara, who was assassinated by Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile in September of the previous year.

Following the coup d’état of March 24, he went into exile in 1976 and lived in Italy and Spain, where he settled near Madrid, and worked on a farm. He maintained strong ties to Colombia. His children’s album, Sinfonía Inconclusa En La Mar (1975), is an iconic album for several generations of Colombians.

In 1981, with the end of the civil-military dictatorship on the near horizon, Piero planned his return to Argentina, stopping in Uruguay first. Alongside musicians he’d met during his exile in Spain — including guitarists Amadeo Álvarez and Daniel Manzini — he began to shape his new band, Prema. Over the next five years, Prema’s lineup included, among others, pianist Babu Cerviño (a member of the band Tantor), drummer Juan Carlos “El Negro” Tordó (who had played in the band Raíces with Uruguayan musician Beto Satragni and a very young Andrés Calamaro), and more.

Piero reached his peak of popularity during those years. He performed in several plays and formed a deep bond with Mercedes Sosa, participating in the legendary concerts at the Ópera Theater. These popularized her cry of gratitude, “¡Gracias, Piero!” He took part in the historic concerts by Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés in Buenos Aires. In the mid-1980s, he moved away from protest music. He founded an organic farm in Campana alongside teenagers from vulnerable families. From then on, during the mid-1990s, he built a network of 200 organic farms, and his social activism went hand in hand with an artistic career that included a collaborative album with Milanés.

Music became a family legacy. His son Juan led the band Mulan and currently plays guitar for the Uruguayan singer Ana Prada. In 2022, his daughter Fiorel released an EP featuring Piero himself, with covers of classic Argentine folk songs.

Nickelback will hit arenas across Canada next year on their newly announced global tour supporting the band's upcoming album, Everything Under the Sun.

The Everything Under the Sun 2027 Tour will span North America, Europe and Australia, with British rock band Don Broco joining the Canadian group as direct support. The North American leg begins February 6 in Pittsburgh and runs through May 1 in San Antonio, Texas, before the tour moves overseas.

The Canadian dates begin March 12 at Montréal's Centre Bell, before heading to Hamilton's TD Coliseum and Toronto's Scotiabank Arena the following week. The band will return to Canada in April for concerts in Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

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Nickelback's 11th studio album will mark the band's first full-length release since 2022's Get Rollin'. The band has released three singles so far, “Rattle the Cage,” featuring former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, “Leave Me Behind” and “Make Me Love You.” The Hana, Alberta band has described the record as being characterized by more experimental material and introspective songwriting.

Tickets go on sale to the general public October 16 at 10 a.m. local time, following presales beginning October 13.

Everything Under the Sun arrives October 30.