Kelly & Jack Osbourne: Ozzy gave birth to heavy metal. But his other offspring gave MTV its biggest hit ever—and new life to his career

America's mast talked-about TV show, The Osbournes, is reality television flipped on its ear. Where shows like Survivor make ordinary people into celebrities, The Osbournes has turned a celebrity family into ordinary people. When the patriarch is best known for biting off the head of a live bat, that's quite a feat. And great television.

Ozzy Osbourne--former front man for the band Black Sabbath and heavy metal icon--his wife and business manager Sharon, and two of their kids, Kelly, 17, and Jack, 16, are trailed by MTV's cameras day and night. (The eldest sibling, Aimee, 18, lives a few blocks away and world apart, off camera.) For all the devil-themed artwork decorating their Beverly Hills home, and the British accents and profanity that decorate their language, the Osbournes fascinate because for most of us, in a crazy way, watching them is like looking in the mirror. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams? Try hangovers and dog droppings.

While Ozzy is the legend of the household and Sharon its undisputed head, Kelly and Jack are the stars and the future. Jack is already a talent scout for Epic Records, and bets are this isn't the last we're going to hear from Kelly. We caught up with the two of them in New York at the height of the show's flush, where a trip packed with shopping sprees, parties and well-wishers felt like a victory tour. Scott Lyle Cohen ELVIS MITCHELL: Hi, guys. How are you doing?

JACK OSBOURNE: Good. How are you, Elvis?

EM: I don't know. I'm in Spain and it's 1:30 in the morning. So you guys are in New York--tell me what it's been like for you, now that you're TV stars.

KELLY OSBOURNE: There are so many people on the streets here, it's almost like I don't want to leave the hotel until nighttime because it takes us 15 minutes to walk half a block because of how many people come up to us.

EM: What are they saying to you?

KO: That they love the show and stuff like that. It's so weird.

EM: Weird how?

KO: I never thought I would be famous. I never thought people would be coming up to me.

EM: How much of each episode do you guys get to see before they actually go to air?

JO: Everything.

EM: Is there anything you wanted in the show that didn't end up in there?

JO: There were some real funny times when me and Kelly came home kind of drunk.

KO: But they can't show us being drunk.

JO: Once I was sitting in the kitchen, and I was pretty drunk, and it was kind of funny because they showed me the videotape the next day.

KO: I love that my brother thinks he's funny.

JO: It was! I'm not just saying it.

EM: What was it like when you saw the episode and that stuff wasn't in there?

KO: It happens sometimes. They MTVify it.

JO: It's like they splice certain conversations together sometimes. Episode nine is about my friend [Jason Dill] moving in for a month-

KO: --and they made it look like we didn't want him there.

JO: But he's one of my best friends.

EM: So are you going to do another season?

KO: They're talking about it, but nothing is definite. To be honest, I really think we need a year off, because this is too much. You can't just do all this press and shit and then go straight into it again. I'm working on a music career--I'm in talks about getting signed, maybe to Epic.

EM: Jack, you're working for Epic as a talent scout--are you responsible for that?

KO: No.

JO: Well, actually, I am.

KO: No, he is not. That was the one thing I told them--"l do not want to work with my brother."

JO: I'm not going to work with you. I just get a finder's fee. And I get a point on your album.

KO: I don't think that's true.

JO: It is!

KO: OK. This is what happened: I did a demo--it was supposed to be my sister, Aimee, but she didn't want do it, so Jack and Aimee said, "Kelly, why don't you do it?" so I ended up doing it, and then they sent me to New York to rerecord it.

EM: What was the song?

KO: "Papa Don't Preach."

EM: That was with Incubus, right? You recorded it with them for The Osbournes soundtrack that's coming out soon?

KO: I did the demo with them and then there were problems with their managers and record company, and they didn't want to be involved in the drama. I had to rerecord it [for the soundtrack] with different musicians.

EM: When's the soundtrack coming out?

JO: I'm not sure. I think maybe the 21st [of May].

EM: Who else is on the CD?

JO: I can't say. I don't want to get a phone call from my boss.

EM: No, I don't want to cost you your point.

JO: You know, I think Aimee was kind of upset because of this.

KO: Yeah. Even though Aimee said, "I'm not doing it," after everything happened she said to my mom, "How could you do this to me, you traitor?" I've never had a singing lesson, never been in the studio before and I had basically six hours to record this song, and it actually ended up pretty good. Everyone really liked it at the record company, and now they're talking about giving me this deal. It's what Aimee really wants to do and it kind of fell into my lap. It must suck for her. If I was her, I would feel like shit.