Hearing Carrie Underwood’s emotional cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home” is heartbreaking after the passing of the legendary rocker. Carrie gave an intimate acoustic rendition of the classic power ballad on the Howard Stern Show in 2023. Carrie said that her mum didn’t approve of her listening to Ozzy as a child, but she connected to romantic moments in Ozzy’s music like “Mama, I’m Coming Home”, which addressed his tumultuous relationship with his wife Sharon.


Carrie’s take on “Mama, I’m Coming Home” was a hit with viewers, who tuned in three million times on YouTube. Viewers added comments such as “My favorite part was the a cappella at the end… gave me chills!” and “I have goosebumps! This is awesome! I’m a HUGE Ozzy fan. Carrie did a great job.”
The official Ozzy Osbourne YouTube channel uploaded a cracking HD cut of Ozzy’s live rendition of “Mama, I’m Coming Home” in 2021. It’s not clear exactly when the video is from, but judging by the presence of Mike Inez on bass, it must be from 1991 to 1993. It’s such a classic Ozzy anthem, and seeing the crowd singing along in the hook is a really sweet moment. The band, which features drummer Randy Castillo and guitar icon Zakk Wylde, was also in really fine form in this era.
Ozzy released “Mama, I’m Coming Home” as the second single from his sixth solo album No More Tears. The power ballad was written by Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, Ozzy, and Wylde. Lemmy wrote five songs for Ozzy in the ‘90s, four of which were on No More Tears. You might be interested to hear that Lemmy noted in interviews that the handful of songs he wrote for Ozzy made him more money than his entire career in Motörhead. “Mama, I’m Coming Home” was indeed a hit for Ozzy, hitting the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going Platinum in Canada and New Zealand. No More Tears enjoyed even greater success, going four times Platinum in the US. The lyrics of “Mama, I’m Coming Home” address Ozzy’s relationship with his wife and manager Sharon. Ozzy credited Sharon with saving his life by cleaning him up during a particularly dark period in his life following his firing from Black Sabbath and putting him on the path to a successful solo career.