I’ve been playing with AI tools for years, and I thought I’d seen it all. I’ve witnessed AI create photorealistic images from nonsense text, write entire fantasy novels, and even generate code that actually works. But every once in a while, something comes along that is so mind-bendingly weird, so profoundly misguided, that it makes you stop and just ask, “…what were they thinking?”
This is one of those times. It involves two rock legends, Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne, and a use of AI so spectacularly cringe-worthy it’s already becoming a legend for all the wrong reasons.
Here’s the scene: Rod Stewart is on tour. He decides, quite admirably, to dedicate his classic song Forever Young to Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away recently. A beautiful gesture, right? He puts a photo of Ozzy on the big screen. Classy, standard, respectful.
But then, for reasons that defy all logic, it gets supercharged with the worst kind of AI imaginable. The tribute now features a full-blown animated video. It’s an AI-generated Ozzy Osbourne… in heaven… taking selfies with a selfie stick. Yes, you read that right. A selfie stick. In heaven.
And who is he taking selfies with? A bizarrely random assortment of other deceased music icons. We’re talking Janis Joplin, Prince, Freddie Mercury, 2Pac, Kurt Cobain, and even XXXTentacion, all smiling for Ozzy’s celestial selfie cam. It is, without a doubt, one of the most audacious and tonally deaf pieces of “AI slop” I have ever seen.
To make it even weirder, after one show, Stewart reportedly told the crowd:
“Very sad, a lot of those people died ’cause of drugs. I’m still here, though!”
It’s an absolute masterclass in how not to use this powerful technology.
⚙️ Let’s Break Down This AI Train Wreck
This whole thing isn’t just “a bit weird”; it’s a perfect case study in the pitfalls of low-effort AI creation. It fails on almost every artistic and ethical level, and it’s worth dissecting so we can learn from it.
First, there’s the deep dive into the uncanny valley. The AI-generated figures don’t look like loving homages; they look like creepy, soulless digital puppets. Their eyes are lifeless, their smiles are frozen, and their movements are stilted. It doesn’t evoke feelings of a joyful afterlife; it evokes the feeling you get watching a horror movie about haunted dolls. This is what happens when you prioritize novelty over artistry.
Second, it’s an ethical and legal nightmare. Using the likeness of a deceased celebrity is an incredibly sensitive issue. Estates like Prince’s are famously protective of his image. Was any permission sought for this? Almost certainly not. It reduces these complex, brilliant artists to stock characters in a bizarre digital play. It’s a violation of their legacy, treating them like public domain clip art to be mashed together without thought or respect.
Finally, the tonal dissonance is off the charts. The selfie stick is the most obvious offender. It’s a cheap, modern gag that completely trivializes the solemnity of a tribute. It’s not clever; it’s tacky. Then there’s the curation, or lack thereof. Lumping a controversial modern figure like XXXTentacion in with legends from completely different eras and genres like David Bowie and Tina Turner feels incredibly random. It suggests the prompt was literally just “famous dead musicians in heaven,” with no consideration for context, legacy, or taste.
This is a symptom of a bigger problem: treating AI as a magic button instead of a powerful tool that requires skill and vision.
✨ Beyond the Slop: AI as a Creative Partner
Okay, so the Rod Stewart video is a disaster. Does that mean AI is bad for art? Absolutely not. That’s like saying synthesizers are bad because of one terrible synth-pop song from the 80s.
The problem here isn’t the AI; it’s the intent and the execution. This is what I call “prompt-and-pray” creation. You type in the most basic idea you can think of, take the first thing the machine spits out, and put it on a stadium screen. There’s no artistry, no iteration, no curation, and no respect for the subject matter.
AI is a creative partner. It’s a supercharged paintbrush, a tireless collaborator, an idea generator that never gets bored. But it needs a human director with taste, vision, and a deep understanding of the story they want to tell. You are the artist; the AI is your instrument. To get a masterpiece, you have to know how to play it.
✍️ How to Create a Tasteful AI Tribute (The Right Way)
So, how could this have been done better? How can you use AI to create something meaningful, beautiful, and respectful? It all comes down to a process that blends human creativity with machine capability.
- Define Your Core Concept & Tone
Before you write a single word of a prompt, ask yourself: What is the core emotion I want to convey? Is it majesty? Solemn respect? Nostalgia? A celebration of raw energy? For a tribute to Ozzy, your keywords should be things like “mythic,” “powerful,” “rock and roll,” “legend,” “peace,” “energy.” Things to avoid: “goofy,” “silly,” “tacky.” Think symbolically. What represents Ozzy? A microphone stand, a swirling dark sky, bats, a mischievous glint in the eye. Start with the feeling, not the literal scene. - Choose a Deliberate Artistic Style
Don’t just accept the default, plasticky AI look. Give the AI specific artistic instructions. Reference real art movements, artists, or aesthetics. For example, instead of just “a picture of Ozzy,” try prompts that include phrases like: “In the grand, painterly style of Frank Frazetta,” or “A stark, black-and-white photograph in the style of Anton Corbijn,” or “Styled like a 1970s progressive rock album cover by Hipgnosis.” This gives the AI creative guardrails and elevates the output from a simple generation to a piece of art with a clear aesthetic. - Master the Art of the Prompt
This is where the real skill comes in. A good prompt is poetry. It describes the subject, the action, the composition, the lighting, and the mood. Be specific. Use adjectives. Describe the feeling of the image. Crucially, use negative prompts to tell the AI what to avoid. For example: `“–no selfie stick, no phone, no goofy smile, no text, no watermark.”` The difference between “Ozzy in heaven” and a detailed, emotional prompt is the difference between slop and art. - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate (and Curate!)
This is the step the creators of the concert video clearly skipped. Never use the first image the AI gives you. Generate dozens, or even hundreds, of variations. Tweak your prompt slightly each time. Look for the happy accidents, the subtle expressions, the compositions that just work. Curation is a uniquely human skill. Sifting through the options to find the one that perfectly captures your vision is a huge part of the creative process. Be a ruthless editor of the AI’s work. - Add the Final Human Touch
Once you have a generated image you love, the work isn’t necessarily done. The best AI-assisted artists use the generated image as a base. They bring it into tools like Photoshop, Affinity Photo, or Procreate to fine-tune it. They adjust colors, composite multiple generations together, paint over sections, and clean up weird artifacts. This final step puts you, the human, back in complete control and makes the final piece truly yours.
🚀 Prompt of the Day: Better Tributes for Ozzy
Talk is cheap. Let me show you the difference. Here are a few prompts that would have created a far more powerful and respectful tribute for the Prince of Darkness.
- Prompt 1 (The Epic Album Cover):
“cinematic portrait of a rock legend reminiscent of Ozzy Osbourne, standing on a misty, moonlit stage. In the background, a swirling cosmic nebula subtly forms the shape of bat wings. He looks towards a distant, bright star with a peaceful and powerful expression. The style is a rich oil painting, blending 70s fantasy rock art with classical portraiture. Moody, atmospheric, highly detailed, respectful. –ar 16:9 –style raw”
- Prompt 2 (The Abstract Legacy):
“A symbolic still life representing a rock and roll legacy. A single vintage microphone stand stands alone on an empty stage, entwined with dark roses and thorny vines. A single spotlight illuminates it from above. In the background, the faint silhouette of a bat flies towards a dark, stormy sky that is beginning to clear. The feeling is one of myth, legend, and peace after a long storm. Painterly, dramatic lighting, deep blacks and purples. –ar 4:5”
- Prompt 3 (The Quiet Moment):
“A gentle, hyper-realistic charcoal sketch of an older rock icon resembling Ozzy Osbourne, sitting alone in a quiet, empty theatre. He is looking towards the single spotlight on the stage with a faint, knowing, mischievous smile. The style is intimate, raw, and full of emotion, capturing a private moment of reflection. High contrast black and white. –no audience, –no text”
Notice the difference? These prompts are about evoking a feeling, using symbolism, and respecting a chosen artistic style. They are designed to create art, not a cheap gag.
The Ozzy-in-heaven-with-a-selfie-stick video is a perfect cautionary tale. It shows the massive chasm between what this technology is capable of and the low-effort, soulless way it is so often used. The future of art isn’t about letting AI replace human creativity; it’s about creators learning to wield it as the most powerful creative tool ever invented.
Let’s demand better from the media we consume, and more importantly, let’s get our hands dirty and create better ourselves.
- The controversial tribute features an AI-generated video showing Ozzy Osbourne in heaven, taking selfies with a host of deceased music icons. Critics have labeled the use of AI in this context as “disrespectful” and “cringe,” sparking a wider debate on the ethics of portraying the dead with artificial intelligence.
- The AI montage includes a wide array of celebrated musicians, such as Prince, Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, George Michael, and Janis Joplin. The inclusion of more controversial figures like Michael Jackson and 2Pac has also drawn comment.
- Following a screening of the video during one show, Rod Stewart addressed the audience, saying, “Very sad, a lot of those people died ’cause of drugs. I’m still here, though!” Stewart has not yet issued a formal statement responding to the mixed reactions.