Earlier this week, Sharon Osbourne, longtime manager and wife of Ozzy Osbourne, revealed that the Prince of Darkness would soon release music with Elton John.
Well, the day has come. On Friday morning, the heavy-metal icon released the title track from his upcoming studio album, Ordinary Man, which features the beloved Rocket Man singer.
John, 72, contributes piano work and vocals on the single. The song even features a ripping guitar solo from Guns N’ Roses‘ Slash.
In the slowed-paced, piano-heavy rock ballad, Ozzy Osbourne reflects on his marriage and former rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle while struggling to come to terms with his mortality.
In an official statement, however, Osbourne, 71, looked past that fear with a joke.
“There’s a line in Ordinary Man where I sing, ‘I don’t want to die an ordinary man,’ which I don’t think I will,” he said with a laugh.
On the making of the song and how he managed to reel in both John and Slash, Osbourne made it sound quite simple.
“It all just came together,” he said in the statement. “Slash is a dear friend of mine, as is Elton.
“When I was writing Ordinary Man it reminded me of an old Elton song and I said to Sharon, ‘I wonder if he would sing on it?’ We asked and lo and behold, he agreed.”
In addition to releasing his latest single, Osbourne made his solo record available for pre-order, shared its artwork and announced the official release date: Feb. 21.
Osbourne has released two additional singles and music videos from the upcoming album: the No. 1-charting anthem Under the Graveyard and Straight to Hell, which also features Slash.
The album — Osbourne’s first in a decade and 12th solo effort overall — was produced by Andrew Watt. Watt, who also serves as the record’s primary guitarist, was introduced to the headbanging legend after he collaborated with Post Malone last year.
The unlikely duo partnered up again once again after Watt, 29, invited Malone, 24, to Osbourne’s Los Angeles studio to record vocals on a track for Ordinary Man. It wasn’t just the Rockstar rapper who helped, however, as Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello provided contributions for a song on the album, too.
Osbourne and Watt enlisted Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan as the album’s full-time bassist, as well as Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers as its drummer.
Osbourne said the album was “a lot of fun to do, though it’s a lot different from my other albums.”
“We recorded it quickly, which I haven’t done since the first Black Sabbath album,” he said in the statement.
“This made it a different process, which I actually enjoyed.”
Those interested in pre-ordering Ordinary Man can do so through the official Ozzy Osbourne website.
Straight to Hell and Under the Graveyard are now available through all major streaming platforms.
The highly anticipated Ordinary Man single can be heard through either Spotify or Apple Music.
As of this writing, John is in the midst of the Oceanic leg of his extensive Farewell Yellow Brick Road final tour.
The Rocket Man singer will return to Canada this spring with four additional dates.
Canadian Farewell Yellow Brick Road 2020 tour dates:
March 28 — Toronto, Ont. @ Scotiabank Arena
March 29 — Toronto, Ont. @ Scotiabank Arena
April 2 — Montreal, Que. @ Bell Centre
April 3 — Montreal, Que. @ Bell Centre
After rescheduling his North American tour last year, Osbourne will finally return to Canada this summer with four concerts scheduled alongside Marilyn Manson.
Canadian No More Tours 2 2020 tour dates:
June 18 — Montreal, Que. @ Bell Centre
June 20 — Hamilton, Ont. @ FirstOntario Centre
July 9 — Edmonton, Alta. @ Rogers Place
July 11 — Vancouver, B.C. @ Rogers Arena