YUNGBLUD Dedicates his First GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance to the Late Ozzy Osbourne, Describing it as a “David and Goliath” moment

Los Angeles, CA – February 1st, 2026 – On one of music’s most important nights, the GRAMMY Awards once again honored artists whose work has shaped culture beyond the charts. Among them was Yungblud, who earned his first-ever GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance, which doubled as both a personal milestone and a tribute to the genre that raised him. Rather than centering the moment solely on himself, Yungblud used the stage to honor the rock legends and legacies who paved the way before him. 

Accepting the award for his live performance of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Changes” (Live From Villa Park), Yungblud stood alongside Sharon Osbourne to dedicate the moment to the late Ozzy Osbourne, whose influence shaped his artistry, and to every aspiring guitarist daring to dream. Honoring Ozzy Osbourne through “Changes” carried its own gravity.

In his post-win interview, Yungblud highlighted that winning for a live performance was essential to rock’s raw, real, in-the-moment nature. He called the opportunity a “David and Goliath moment” and a “life changing career changing moment.” one where the stakes felt impossibly high and failure wasn’t an option. Ozzy remains his greatest influence, and stepping into that legacy was both daunting and transformative. The overwhelming reception, he shared, made the experience career-defining. To see such a personal tribute resonate on a global stage and be recognized with a GRAMMY felt surreal.

Yungblud emphasized that rock is meant to be raw, an unpolished, immediate, and undeniable being. That authenticity is what made the moment feel especially powerful. Winning on the GRAMMY stage with a performance captured in real time, he noted, underscored everything rock music is meant to represent: presence, truth, and emotion you can’t manufacture.

Beyond the win itself, Yungblud spoke passionately about the state of rock music today. Collaborating with artists from earlier generations in his view, reignited something essential within the genre. For the first time in decades, rock feels truly cross-generational, with artists and audiences coming together rather than pushing against one another. That unity, sparked by shared stages and mutual respect, has given rock new meaning, new fire, and renewed relevance. Reflecting on his own journey which started him first playing guitar at either years old to standing on the GRAMMY stage, Yungblud returned to the principle that guides everything he does: truth. For rising artists, his advice was simple and unwavering, be completely, even painfully, honest. Yungblud believes that authenticity is what builds community, fuels individuality, and ultimately turns dreams into moments like this one and it should be pursued no matter if it can get you in trouble.  

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Cynthia Hernandez

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