Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath Spotify Streams Spike Following Osbourne's Death
Since Osbourne's death was announced Tuesday, he's gained over 6 million monthly listeners on the platform as a solo artist, jumping from about 12.4 million to 18.7 million. Black Sabbath, meanwhile, went from 19.8 million to 24.6 million.
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On the songs side, 'Crazy Train' gained about 8 million Spotify streams since Tuesday, now up to 809 million; 'No More Tears' rose by 7 million to just over 266 million all time; and his power ballad 'Mama, I'm Coming Home' jumped by about 7.2 million, now up to almost 245 million streams.
For Black Sabbath, 'Paranoid' has been streamed 9.3 million times on Spotify since Tuesday and now has 1.38 billion all time. 'Iron Man' is up to over 587 million streams from about 581 million, and 'War Pigs' jumped by about 5 million streams to nearly 385 million all time.
Osbourne died on Tuesday at age 76, just weeks after he and Black Sabbath performed the farewell Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham, U.K. earlier in July. One of the most influential figures in music history, he and Black Sabbath were instrumental in the creation of heavy metal as a genre. Osbourne's passing inspired an outpouring of tributes from icons across the music and entertainment world, including from Elton John, Metallica, Alice Cooper and Judas Priest, among many others.
'He was a dear friend and a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods – a true legend,' Elton John wrote on Instagram.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Billy Idol said that Osbourne 'opened musical doorways for people like me.'
'Ozzy was just so alive, he had so much personality… being in the moment and enjoying it,' Idol said. 'His music was like that as well.'
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