Bret Michaels gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the United States alone.
55 Facts About Bret Michaels
2.
Besides his career as frontman, he has several solo albums to his credit, including the soundtrack album to the 1998 film A Letter from Death Row in which Michaels starred, wrote and directed, and a rock album, Songs of Life, in 2003.
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Bret Michaels has appeared in several films and TV shows, including as a judge on the talent show Nashville Star which led to his country influenced rock album Freedom of Sound in 2005.
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Bret Michaels starred in the hit VH1 reality show Rock of Love with Bret Michaels and its sequels, which inspired his successful solo album Rock My World.
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Bret Michaels was the winning contestant on NBC's reality show Celebrity Apprentice 3 and featured in his own reality docuseries Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It, which inspired his highest-charting album as a solo artist, Custom Built, reaching No 1 on Billboards Hard Rock chart.
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Bret Michaels is known for hosting on the Travel Channel.
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Bret Michaels is of Carpatho-Rusyn, Irish, English, German, and Swiss descent.
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At the age of 6, Bret Michaels fell ill, and during a three-week stay in the hospital, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
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Bret Michaels began playing the guitar as a teenager, forming a band with drummer Rikki Rockett, bass player Bobby Dall and guitarist David Besselman.
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That same year, Bret Michaels met 16-year-old Tracy Lewis, who would become both his girlfriend and the muse for one of his most memorable songs.
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The album was not a great success until 1987, when Bret Michaels convinced the band to film a video for their song, "Talk Dirty to Me".
12.
Bret Michaels took his insulin injection before the show but was so nervous about performing that he neglected to eat.
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Several songs into Poison's set, Bret Michaels went into insulin shock and collapsed onstage.
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When subsequent media reports alleged that Bret Michaels collapsed due to a drug overdose, Bret Michaels publicly announced that he was a diabetic.
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Bret Michaels was inspired by the breakup to write "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", explaining that the rose represented his fame and success, whereas the loss of his relationship represented the thorn.
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Bret Michaels incurred serious injury, including broken ribs, a disfigured nose, and lost teeth.
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Bret Michaels recorded his soundtrack album in 1998 titled A Letter from Death Row which was the soundtrack to the same-titled movie he directed, wrote, and starred in.
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In 2000 Bret Michaels released a country demos ep and released the album "Show Me Your Hits" which featured re-recorded Poison classics.
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The album featured Bret Michaels performing Poison hits in a new way and featured other artists with Bret Michaels on selected tracks.
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In 2003, Bret Michaels released a brand new studio album Songs of Life which featured the singles "Raine" and "Bittersweet".
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Bret Michaels released his first solo music video for the single "Raine" which was directed by award-winning director Shane Stanley.
22.
Bret Michaels served as a judge on the 2005 season of the reality television singing competition Nashville Star and released a country rock album in the same year called Freedom of Sound.
23.
In December 2008, Bret Michaels released a single version of "Driven" which featured a music video with preview clips for the third season of Rock of Love, titled Rock of Love Bus.
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Bret Michaels re released the "Fallen" single with acoustic, piano and demo versions included.
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In 2010, Bret Michaels released a new single called "Nothing to Lose" from his upcoming new studio album, Custom Built.
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Bret Michaels performed a duet of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Miley Cyrus on the June 18,2010 episode Good Morning America.
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On July 6,2010, Bret Michaels released his new album Custom Built.
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Bret Michaels released a music video for the cover of Sublime's song "What I Got", which is the fourth single from "Custom Built".
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In early 2011 Bret Michaels recorded a new song "Hit and Roll" for Top Gear which included a music video featured on the series and the promo commercials.
30.
On December 31,2011, Bret Michaels celebrated the new year with a New Year's Eve concert from the "Get Your Rock On" solo tour.
31.
In conjunction with his new single Bret Michaels released an alternate version titled "Get Your Ride On " on January 10,2012.
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Bret Michaels toured with Def Leppard and Lita Ford in 2012.
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In January 2013, Bret Michaels released a new single "You Know You Want It " from his upcoming new album titled "Jammin' With Friends".
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The compilation was released digitally May 5,2015 and Bret Michaels released the video for the new single Girls On Bars on May 12.
35.
In May 2017, Bret Michaels released a brand-new single which is a heartfelt tribute to his youngest daughter, Jorja Bleu, in honor of her 12th birthday.
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The song titled "Jorja Bleu" features a music video which was posted at Bret Michaels' official YouTube channel and is a sequel to his 2003 single "Raine" which is titled after his oldest daughter.
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In 2019, Bret Michaels released an official music video for his new single "Unbroken", which was co written with his 13-year-old daughter, Jorja Bleu.
38.
In December, 2022, Bret Michaels announced the 2023 Parti-Gras Tour which will perform between July 13 and August 6,2023.
39.
In January 2023, Bret Michaels released his new solo single, "Back in the Day", a throwback road-trip anthem featuring the exclusive world premiere of the video for the song on January 18.
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However, she announced during the October 2007 reunion show that she and Bret Michaels were not right for each other and told runner-up Heather he was all hers and that he should have chosen Heather.
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Bret Michaels appeared in the CBS sitcom Yes, Dear, Season 1, Episode 6, titled Greg's Big Day, first aired November 6,2000.
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Bret Michaels appeared as himself in three episodes of The Chris Isaak Show from 2001 to 2004.
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In 2010, Bret Michaels was the winning contestant on the NBC reality television series Celebrity Apprentice 3 on NBC.
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Bret Michaels hosted the Miss Universe 2010 pageant along with Natalie Morales on August 23,2010.
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In 2020, Bret Michaels competed on the third season of The Masked Singer as "Banana".
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Bret Michaels ended up in seventh place on April 22,2020.
47.
In 2023, Bret Michaels appeared as a guest on the tenth season of Impractical Jokers.
48.
Bret Michaels was portrayed as a guest singer in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which features him singing "Go That Far" from his solo career, and Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me".
49.
Bret Michaels has done extensive work for Operation Homefront- a charity that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.
50.
Bret Michaels earned $640,000 for the American Diabetes Association for competing in and ultimately winning Celebrity Apprentice 3.
51.
In June, 2014, while on a national tour date in Omaha, Nebraska, Bret Michaels became aware of a series of tornadoes that hit the Nebraska town of Pilger.
52.
Bret Michaels has a line of pet clothing and accessories called Pets Rock, sold at PetSmart.
53.
On May 20,2010, it was reported on his official website that Bret Michaels had been "readmitted to the hospital the week after suffering numbness on the left side of his body".
54.
Bret Michaels was injured during his opening performance at the 63rd Tony Awards on June 7,2009.
55.
Bret Michaels thanked the Barrow Neurological Institute at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix for saving his life and career.