British songwriter Rod Stewart caused a sensation during his concert on August 1, when he projected IA images from the late Ozzy Osbourne posing next to musicians who died in paradise.
Since Osbourne’s death on July 22, Stewart has devoted his successful song “Forever Young” to the leader of Black Sabbath during shows along his tour “One Last Time”. Conventionally, Stewart would sing the sentimental ballad with images of Osbourne projected behind him in an affectionate tribute.
According to NME, the Stewart concert on August 1 at the Amphitheater of Ameris Bank outside Atlanta, in Georgia, took the tribute in a different direction. While the accompaniment images of the song began as standard Osbourne plans, they finally evolved into visuals generated by the Rocker AI posing with people like Prince, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, George Michael and Amy Winehouse, all standing on cloudy and celestial distress to suggest a paradise life.
The show also presented AI videos from Osbourne next to late controversial figures such as Michael Jackson and XXXTentacion. According to Rolling Stone, during a show in Charlotte, in North Carolina, a few days before, Stewart put an end to the song, saying: “Very sad. Many of these people died of drugs … I’m still there, however!”
Stewart’s audience seemed naturally perplexed to performance, several of the spectators sharing their disconcerted reactions on social networks.
Representatives of Stewart and the Osbourne family did not immediately respond to VarietyComment requests.
The day of Osbourne’s death, Stewart posted on Instagram, declaring: “Goodbye, goodbye Ozzy. I will see you up there – later rather than earlier.” The singer has not yet made a statement concerning the controversial images, while his tour continues in the United States until the beginning of October, then heads for Europe.
