- Over
30 million CD’s sold & 15-Top 40 Hits as both Poison front man
and solo artist for over 22 years
- Three record breaking seasons on VH1’s Bret Michaels
"Rock of Love"
- Judge on USA/NBC’s Nashville Star
- People Magazine’s “Best of the Decade & Hottest
Bachelors” ‘08/’09
- Maxim’s Top 100 Hottest People
- Voted as Metal Edge “Must See” Live Front Man/Vocalist
- Won a 2008 BMI Award for “Go That Far”
- Also an Actor, Director, Screen Writer, Producer
- Winner of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice
- Hit Single “Nothing to Lose” featuring Miley Cyrus
- New CD "Custom Built" released July 6, 2010
- Co-Host of 2011 Miss Universe Pageant
- New VH1 reality series "Life As I Know It" |
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As
front man for the infamous rock band Poison, Bret Michaels has had
quite a career over the past two decades - from fifteen Top 40 singles
to reality television to a solo career.
Michaels began playing the guitar as a
teenager and formed the group "Paris" with friends Rikki Rockett,
Bobby Dall, and Matt Smith.
The group moved from Michaels’ home state
of Pennsylvania to Los Angeles in the mid-’80s to pursue their rock
‘n’ roll dreams.
Local publicity about the
band eventually led to a record deal with Enigma Records and their
first album, “Look What the Cat Dragged In.”
The music video for the song “Talk
Dirty to Me” helped propel the group into the spotlight during a
period when music videos were still considered unconventional
marketing tools.
The band subsequently decided to change
their name to Poison for an “edgier” feel.
Throughout the ’80s and
early ’90s, Poison became one of the biggest glam metal bands in the
world, recording their second album, the multi-platinum selling
“Open Up and Say…Ahh!” and their third album, the popular “Flesh &
Blood.”
One of the most successful songs
released during this time was the 1988 single, “Every Rose Has its
Thorn,” a heartfelt ballad about the struggle to find balance
between success and personal relationships.
In the mid-’90s, Michaels
formed a film production company with actor Charlie Sheen.
The partnership ultimately led to
Michaels writing, directing, and starring in several films,
including “A Letter From Death Row,” which he executive co-produced.
As an actor, Michaels has made regular
appearances on television shows, including “Yes, Dear,” “Martial
Law,” and “The Chris Isaak Show.”
He has also
co-hosted “Access Hollywood” and was a
judge on “Nashville Star” in 2005.
Michaels has starred in several
incarnations of the top-rated VH1 reality dating show “Rock of Love
with Bret Michaels.”
This year has been eventful
for Michaels, winning “Celebrity Apprentice 3” on NBC; filming
another reality show for VH1 to air in the fall, “Bret Michaels:
Life As I Know It;” and releasing a
third solo studio album, “Custom Built.”
In the midst of all these projects,
Michaels was rushed to the hospital in April, where an emergency
appendectomy was performed.
Less than two weeks later, he suffered
a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of the
brain stem, but was expected to make a complete recovery.
In May, it was discovered that Michaels
had a hole in his heart, an “operable and treatable” condition.
After a brief hospitalization, he
resumed his “Roses & Thorns World Tour 2010,” touring
throughout the country. Today he continues performing to sell out
audiences on his "Custom Built" tour, hosting the Miss Universe
Pageant, and entertaining fans all over the world.
Michaels is an active supporter of the American
Diabetes Association, having been diagnosed at age six, as well as
Armed Forces Entertainment, visiting soldiers at U.S. bases in Iraq.
