Over-The-Top Musician Contract Demands
There's no denying that famous musicians live some of the most lavish lives out there. While on tour, they can make requests and demands that outline their specific needs in their contracts with producers, record labels, music venues, and more. However, some musicians are pickier than others and have been known to make some pretty outrageous demands. These ones will blow your mind!
Madonna Doesn't Appreciate Used Toilets
Being the Queen of Pop, Madonna can get just about anything she wants. Being on the road so often, it appears that the performer has developed an issue regarding her bathroom hygiene.
In her contract, it's stated that each toilet seat in her dressing room is replaced with a new one at every venue that she performs at. Although she could ask for the seats to be thoroughly cleaned, that simply isn't enough to keep her happy.
David Hasselhoff Needed A Life-Sized Cutout Of Himself
Although David Hasselhoff is best known as an actor on the television shows Knight Rider and Baywatch, he also had a strange period as a pop star. Even stranger, although his music career wasn't exactly successful in the United States, he turned out to be a major star in Germany.
During his time in the musical limelight, Hasselhoff would request that he had a life-sized cutout of himself placed in his dressing rooms. Although nobody is sure why, it's assumed he used it to pump himself up before a show.
Mariah Carey Needs Furry Animals To Calm Her Down
One of the most successful musicians of all time, in her heyday, Mariah Carey wasn't shy when it came to requesting what was on her rider. In the past, she typically required that all of her dressing rooms be 75 degrees with a lamp, two dozen roses, and a full bottle of Cristal champagne with bendy straws.
At one point, she was even known to request that her dressing rooms be filled with puppies, rabbits, kittens, and other small animals to help calm her down before a show.
Justin Timberlake Is Cautious About His Doorknobs
Being on tour so much in his earlier years, Justin Timberlake became aware of the number of germs he was exposed to and wanted to try and mitigate it. So, he had the doorknobs on all of his hotels, other places he stayed, and backstage disinfected every two hours.
Furthermore, he requested that he never had to share an elevator with anyone he didn't personally know and that he and his friends on tour would have an entire floor of a hotel all to themselves.
All-White For Jennifer Lopez
For actress/singer Jennifer Lopez, she needs everything around her to be white before she goes on to perform. Specifically, she demands that her dressing rooms are all painted white with white carpet, furniture, and even white flowers and candles that are burning upon her entrance.
To top it off, the white candles must be scentless, with her claiming that the white aesthetic helps to relax her before she goes on stage. Rumor has it that her contract is also very firm in stating what she wants.
Prince Was An Extreme Germaphobe
If you knew Prince, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that he definitely liked things exactly how he wanted them. This especially included dressing rooms, down to the smallest detail. In 2004, one of his contract requests was that everything in his dressing room was bought brand new with the plastic and packaging still on.
Prince also demanded that the workers touched everything as little as possible. Supposedly this was because Prince was an extreme germaphobe.
Beyonce Needs Her Ice Hand Carved
Beyonce is undoubtedly one of the most successful and powerful women in the music and entertainment industry these days. And although she is known for being incredibly down-to-earth, she does take advantage of her position.
Backstage, she requires that all of the crew wear cotton clothing, she has titanium straws to drink her alkaline water, and needs the walls to be freshly painted white. However, one of her most bizarre requests is that she has hand-carved ice balls to suck on to aid her throat and vocals. Why they need to be hand-carved remains unclear.
Iggy & The Stooges Wanted The Real-Life Seven Dwarves
Iggy & The Stooges certainly knew how to make an appearance and were well known for their out-of-control behavior and antics both on and off stage. At one point, the band had an 18-page list of requirements for a tour, which had requests that shouldn't even be mentioned.
Yet, one of the ones that stand out requests is to have "seven dwarves dressed up as those dwarves out of that marvelous Walt Disney film." of course, these demands could not be met.
Van Halen Was Picky About Their M&Ms
Besides their tasty guitar licks, rock band Van Halen was known for a tour demand that they always ensured was met during their 1982 tour. This was that there was always a bowl of M&Ms available, but that had all of the brown ones had been picked out.
Yet, apparently, this served a purpose. The band explained to the editor of The Smoking Gun that it was a way to see if the promoters were paying attention to what the band wanted. They figured if they couldn't pick out the brown M&Ms, there must be something with the sound, lighting, or more.
Slayer Had An Over-The-Top Request Involving Live Bees And Goats
The heavy metal band Slayer take their craft seriously and not so seriously at the same time. So, it's not uncommon for them to have some rather strange requests on their rider list.
On one occasion, the band demanded that they have "50,000 live bees for Dave" along with "100 snow-white goats for slaughter." As if that wasn't enough, they required a Halal butcher to dispose of the goats. of course, these demands were never met for obvious reasons.
Christina Aguilera Wanted An Escort
Being as famous as Christina Aguilera is, there's undoubtedly traffic surrounding any area where she is expected to perform. Of course, Aguilera doesn't have any time for this, so her contract demands that she always have a police escort, so she never has to sit in traffic or be late for a show because of it.
Today, however, she is known to be less flashy, although her common requests of healthy snacks and Flinstone vitamins are always present in her dressing rooms.
Cher Has No Shortage Of Rooms On Tour
Although Cher isn't necessarily known to be overdramatic, she does have her fair share of requests while on tour. For example, she insists that she has a private room for her physician, so she's never far from medical attention, as well as a separate room for all of her wigs that she frequently changes during her performances.
She also has a standard regiment of snacks and drinks that she prefers and enforces that nobody on her team has to wear a backstage pass.
Lady Gaga Once Felt Like Having A Naked Mannequin In Her Dressing Room
Lady Gaga certainly isn't afraid to make a statement, even when it comes to what's on her tour rider. She's very particular about the different flavors of tea are available to her along with the colors of the straws so that they don't smudge her lipstick.
However, one of her more out-of-the-ordinary requests included a naked mannequin be placed in her dressing room with pink hair in some of the more private areas. An explanation was never given.
Joe Jonas Jokingly Asks For Furry Friends
Joe Jonas isn't one to lash out at people for not meeting his demands, which is why he has some outlandish requests at times, just to see if someone follows through. While on tour, he would regularly request that twelve puppies be waiting for him in his room when he gets there.
Unsurprisingly, he doesn't always get his wish, which he is fine with, but on occasion, the puppies are actually there waiting for him upon arrival! Oftentimes, it's just crew members' dogs that they hope will suffice.
The Foo Fighters Definitely Fool Around
Back during their 2011 world tour, the rock band Foo Fighters tried the best to annoy everyone they encountered by drawing up a 52-page list of demands.
The "manifesto" included requests such as a sandwich with a side of rocks and the correct way to have their ice made. To top it all off, the whole thing was printed out in the form of a coloring book, so venues would have to color it in to decipher the messages.
Kanye West Had His Hotel Room Carpet Ironed
Arguably one of the most unique and eccentric musical artists in the industry, it's not surprising that he has some unusual backstage demands. One of the more minor of West's requests is that Versace towels are always available, as well that the whole backstage crew wears 100% cotton.
Nevertheless, one of his weirder requests was that his assistant iron the carpet of the hotel room, refusing to step foot on it until it was. People can only guess why Kanye asked this.
Paul McCartney Takes Being Vegan Seriously
Considered one of the greatest and most successful musicians ever to take the stage, Paul McCartney can essentially have whatever he wants. However, he doesn't ask for anything too outlandish.
Instead, he demands that everyone on his tour eats a strictly vegan diet. On top of banning any non-vegan food from backstage, even if people bring their own, he also makes sure that there's no leather, wool, or animal print clothing or materials in his dressing room.
Don't Mess With Rhianna's Curtains
A musical and cultural phenomenon, Rhianna is one of the most well-respected artists alive, meaning she can get away with just about anything. She takes advantage of this when it comes to her dressing rooms, specifically the curtains.
Not only are they required to be removed and replaced with new ones, but they also must be overlayed with an icy blue chiffon curtain. In addition, all brick walls and water pipes must be covered by satin, and specific candles need to be burned before she arrives.
Mary J. Blige Cares About Her Toilet Paper
Supposedly, R&B star Mary J. Blige is extra picky regarding the toilet paper used backstage. Before she arrives, her personal bathroom must be fitted with brand-new toilet paper that no one else is allowed to use.
Also, the toilet must have a new seat that is sealed in plastic, so she knows it hasn't been touched. Finally, she refuses to stay in dressing rooms that have a bed that's any smaller than a king-sized room, and anything smaller is unacceptable.
Jay-Z Has An Affinity For PB&Js
Being as rich and famous as Jay-Z certainly comes with a lot of perks. However, it appears that he doesn't ask for all that much, although what he might ask for might be a little odd.
On one tour, Jay-Z insisted that he had seven dressing rooms in the venue he was performing so that he could have a different room for each night that he was on stage. Furthermore, a usual request of his is to have jars of high-quality peanut butter and jelly, presumably to make sandwiches.
