Album is No. 1 on Rock Albums chart and around the world
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Ozzy Osbourne has bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 with his first new solo album in ten years, the critically acclaimed Ordinary Man (Epic Records). This marks his fifth consecutive Top 5 entry and sixth Top 10 entry on the respective chart. It also places ahead of his most recent offering, Scream, which arrived at No. 4 in 2010. Ordinary Man has also captured No. 1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart, making it the No. 1 rock album in the world. Additionally, it ascends to No. 2 on the Billboard Albums Chart (Pure Album Sales), making for his highest entry. Overseas, he shattered various records. It became his highest solo debut ever in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Italy and Austria in addition to being his second No. 1 in Sweden.
Right out of the gate, this opus earned some of the best reviews of Osbourne’s five-decade career. Variety called it, “an almost Bowie-‘Blackstar’-like farewell to friends and fans” and concluded, “With a really good — even at times great — album, Ozzy Osbourne shows off, at the very least, that he’ll never be ordinary.” Forbes dubbed it, “a truly impressive one that deepens Osbourne’s sentimental place in rock and metal music.” Rolling Stone wrote, “Decades after he howled out ‘Oh, please, God, help me’ on ‘Black Sabbath,’ Ozzy is still bravely confronting the dark side as only he can.” Consequence of Sound put it best, “There’s light still shining on the Prince of Darkness.”
Next up, Osbourne shares the music video for “Scary Little Green Men” starring none other than Jason Momoa [Aquaman].
To celebrate the album’s birth, Osbourne made history by launching the largest global tattoo sale and album listening event ever across 50 cities worldwide. Fans heard the record before anyone and were the first to choose from a collection of exclusive Ozzy-inspired tattoo designs. He also returned to the world famous Amoeba Records (where he last hosted an in-store in June 2010) in Hollywood, CA on release day for a packed singing. Plus, he unveiled the Golden Ticket Sweepstakes. In the U.S. only, all physical copies of the album (CD, vinyl, cassette, and pre-saves) are bundled with a unique code. Fans may now enter their codes at ordinarymansweepstakes.com to redeem for once-in-a-lifetime Osbourne prizes. The prizes range from a trip for two to Los Angeles to have dinner with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, a signed guitar, a Blizzard of Ozz platinum plaque, See You on the Other Side box set, and more.
Ordinary Man was preceded by a trio of new Osbourne classics. Epic rocker and first single “Under The Graveyard” tallied over 15 million streams and 5.3 million YouTube views on the music video. Premiered just last month, the title track and cinematic ballad “Ordinary Man” [feat. Elton John] eclipsed seven million streams. Meanwhile, the metallic burner “Straight To Hell” [feat. Slash] scored 6.9 million streams and 4.2 million YouTube views on the music video.
The album reunited Osbourne with Post Malone on the thrashed-out ripper “It’s A Raid.” From the harmonica-driven devilish blues metal stomper “Eat Me” to the ominous and otherworldly trip “Scary Little Green Men” and the poetic choir-backed confessional “Holy For Tonight,” Ordinary Man represents every side of one of the most influential, insurgent, and impactful icons of all-time.
Ordinary Man marks Osbourne’s first new solo music in almost ten years. Recorded in Los Angeles, the album features producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) on bass and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on drums. Beyond the core band, Ordinary Man, features a who’s-who of Osbourne friends and collaborators including Elton John, Slash, Post Malone, and Tom Morello.
