The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins Doubles Down on His Brother’s Criticism of MTV VMA Ozzy Tribute

Justin Hawkins has addressed his brother and the “mischief he’s got himself into”, after his The Darkness bandmate blasted an Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the MTV VMAs performed by Yungblud, Nuno Bettencourt, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.

Yungblud was part of a Prince of Darkness medley that also featured Bettencourt, Perry and Tyler, as well as Black Sabbath keyboardist Adam Wakeman. The performance put Yungblud – lauded by Ozzy fans for his Changes cover at Back to the Beginning – front and center, and it’s “triggered” the Hawkins brothers.

Dan Hawkins posted a clip of the medley on his Instagram, emblazoned with the words, “What a bunch of bellends,” seemingly aiming his criticisms at Yungblud specifically.

Now his YouTuber and bandmate brother has weighed in. He feels that rock music wasn’t conveyed in a positive light during the spot, at an awards ceremony that has seen guitars serve a starring role in recent years.

“For seven minutes, the world is looking at rock and this is what we’ve given them,” he says, before honing in on Yungblud. “The tribute to Ozzy extends to what he was doing on the red carpet [where he stripped his jacket off and posed for the cameras].

“I suppose one of the things that irks musicians of a certain age is to watch Ozzy invent heavy metal, then turn into this household name with the television series and his decades of being brilliant. Then you kind of think, ‘What the fuck does all those decades of having this incredible legacy have to do with Yungblud?’”

It’s worth noting that the MTV VMAs are generally targeted at teenage and young adult viewers. It makes sense that a 28-year-old Yungblud was the poster boy for the performance.

“Yungblud seems to have positioned himself as a natural heir to the Ozzy legacy,” Hawkins continues, “[despite] having nothing to do with the really important stuff. All of this posturing is Jim Morrison meets the bloke from Stone Temple Pilots [Scott Weiland]. It’s 101 School of Rock stuff.

“It doesn’t ring authentic. It kind of has this Disney veneer over the top of it. That’s what makes it galling to the people who have tweeted their disdain.”

There’s likely a generational divide here. Yungblud’s performance has clearly divided opinion, and Hawkins has stood by his brother on this one.

Elsewhere, the ceremony gave Bettencort chance to reflect on Ozzy’s impact on his life, and the gig he turned down.