Ozzy Osbourne to be resurrected as an AI Hologram
Ozzy Osbourne is set to return, but not as you might have imagined him.
The Black Sabbath singer died on 22 July 2025, and was known for his chaotic rock and roll personality, not to mention his pioneering influence on heavy metal.
Now the man styled as the 'Prince of Darkness' is set to make a return in a new project, as a hologram.
It's not the first time that deceased musicians have returned from beyond the grave in hologram form, like pop icons ABBA who were manifested in the hugely popular ABBA Voyage.
Advert
But there's one crucial difference with the upcoming Ozzy hologram - it will also be powered by AI.
Ozzy's widow Sharon Osbourne and son Jack announced the news at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas on 20 May.
In reporting by NME, Jack said that the digital version of Ozzy will have 'the digital DNA of Ozzy Osbourne, voice, image [and] movement'.
“You can ask Ozzy anything, and he will answer you in his own voice — and the answers will be what Ozzy would have said," Sharon explained.
“We’re going to take it all around the world. People can talk to him and he will talk back."
Sharon and Jack have teamed up with company Hyperreal, who have made holograms of Stan Lee, Lionel Messi, and The Notorious B.I.G.
Jack went on to say that it is 'kind of scary how it’s really very accurate'.
“He will exist digitally as himself for as long as we have computers," Jack added.
"Technology has come such a long way to where it’s almost drag-and-drop. You could shoot a template for a commercial … literally prompt what you want Digital Ozzy to do in that commercial and you just drop it in. It’s that simple now.”
Hyperreal CEO Remington Scott told Billboard that the AI model used to recreate Ozzy will be 'exclusively from authenticated, approved source material: curated, consented, and controlled by the people who love him most'.
He added: "This is a living performance, not a rendering; and it draws from nothing that wasn’t given willingly. We have the enthusiastic participation of Ozzy’s family, and that changes everything about what this can be.”
David Nussbaum is the founder of Proto Hologram, and added: “It’s an honour to be trusted to bring one of true gods of rock back to the world to continue to connect with fans — thank you Sharon and Jack!
“We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t know both of our company’s technologies will create an experience that truly extends Ozzy’s presence, his heart and soul, into the future.”
Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Celebrity, UK News
Kit Roberts