These Musicians Have Spent Their Careers Battling Illness
Staring up at our rock star idols from the audience, shouting along to every word from every song, it's easy to forget they're not invincible. Elevated above us on a stage reaching heights that make them God-like figures, the truth is they're much more human than we think. While many have battled debilitating illnesses behind the scenes in an effort to keep their stature alive, others like Elvis Costello, Demi Lovato, Bono, and Selena Gomez, have all come out publicly with their struggles, hoping to create awareness and help those in need feel supported. These are their stories.
Will.i.am Uses Music To Drown Out The Ringing In His Ears
Will.i.am rose to fame as a member of the Black Eyes Peas. As a solo artist he's kept busy, too, releasing four albums. Never seeming to sleep, Will.i.am admitted years ago that the reason for his constant productivity is his tinnitus. Tinnitus, which is common among musicians, is a constant ringing in the ears.
To battle the unstoppable ringing, Will.i.am never stops making music. Staying in the studio and working on his craft helps drown out the noise. In one way, by working on his music, Will.i.am is living in his own noise-canceling headphones.
Mike McCready Almost Retired When He Was Diagnosed With Crohn's Disease
Mike McCready, the guitarist for Pearl Jam, was 21 years old when he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The news sent him into a downward spiral of depression that nearly ended his career. The musician even said, "It took me six months before I could pick up a guitar again."
Two years after learning about his Crohn's disease, McCready formed Pearl Jam with Eddie Vedder. Since becoming a member of one of the biggest rock bands of all-time, McCready has performed annually at a benefit for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America to help raise awareness.
Pink Has Battled Asthma Since Childhood
Since she was a young girl, Pink has fought asthma.To make sure she maintains the lung capacity to perform on stage, Pink has become a cardio workout junkie, making sure her lungs are strong enough for whatever curveballs her asthma tries to throw her way while performing live.
The disease causes airway inflammation which can make it difficult to speak and breathe. While not always debilitating, asthma can make maintaining a musical career difficult when belting out hits at the top of your lungs every night.
Bono Wears His Sunglasses Indoors Because Of Glaucoma
In 2014, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Bono was cornered by the host about why he always wears his sunglasses, even when indoors. The legendary singer of U2 came clean, "This is a good place to explain to people that I’ve had glaucoma for the last 20 years. I have good treatments and I am going to be fine.”
Glaucoma is a condition in a person's eyes caused by built-up pressure that causes nerve damage. In Bono's case, the condition has made his eyes incredibly sensitive to light. And you thought he was just trying be cool!
Watsky Has Rapped About His Struggles With Epilepsy
San Francisco based rapped Watsky has had epilepsy since childhood. Instead of hiding the condition, which he has under control thanks to medication, Watsky has opened up about it in his music, "You ever had a Grand Mal seizure in gym class?"
A Grand Mal seizure causes a loss of consciousness as well as violent tremors. Watsky hasn't had a seizure in years, but has become one of the faces of epilepsy awareness, often giving shout outs to kids with chronic conditions on his albums.
Jeff Tweedy Has Chronic Migraine Disorder
Jeff Tweedy, best known as the lead singer of Wilco, is one of 30 million Americans with chronic migraine disorder. The condition causes extreme headaches that can force a person to miss days of work at a time.
Tweedy refuses to miss any time because of his migraines, "I've never missed a show because of a migraine. But I've played some really horrible shows and cut them short because there was very little I could do to keep going." He credits his love for music and his job as the reason he is able to overcome his disorder.
At the same time The Jonas Brothers became the music industry's next big thing, 13-year-old Nick Jonas was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. With the support of his brothers, the band formed the Change for the Children Foundation. Nick uses he foundation for diabetes outreach and awareness.
Now 25 years old, Nick says, "I've heard stories about kids who were in depression because after they got diagnosed... I wanted to be able to do something about it. I hope that I can be that positive light."
Seal's Lupus Manifests As A Skin Condition
The origins of the scars on Seal's face have always caused debate among his fans. The truth is the scars were caused by discoid lupus, a version of the disease that causes skin disorders and hair loss. He first showed signs of lupus at 23 years old when his facial scars began to form.
Unlike other musicians on this list, Seal hasn't been as outspoken about his condition, although he has talked about using art to channel his feelings about it saying, "It’s not something you outlive: once you experience it, it’s always with you.”
Elvis Costello Fought Cancer In 2018
In 2018, Elvis Costello underwent surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed. Before the surgery his doctor told him, "you should start playing the lotto." After the surgery, Costello planned to go on with a number of concerts he had scheduled as if nothing had happened.
Doctors advised against performing and Costello canceled the summer shows. Calling of the shows wasn't easy, but he knew it was best for him, saying, "The spirit has been more than willing but I have to now accept that it is going to take longer than I would have wished for me to recover my full strength."
Selena Gomez's Lupus Nearly Killed Her
Selena Gomez found out she had lupus in 2015, and the complications from her condition almost killed her. After releasing a new album, fans noticed the star was staying out of the public eye, and doing very little to promote her work.
On her Instagram, Gomez revealed that her lupus has caused one of her kidneys to fail. She was was hanging out with The Weeknd in Chicago when she had to be rushed to the hospital. Her friend Francia Raisa, gave Gomez one of her kidneys and the singer has since bounced back to full strength.
Bret Michaels Lives With Heart Disease
Poison lead singer Bret Michaels found out he had heart disease in 2010 after suffering what was called a "mini-stroke." The "transient ischemic attack" was caused by a blood clot that formed because of a hole in Michaels' heart.
To fix the hole, doctors surgically placed a device inside Michaels to prevent irregular blood flow from the chambers of his heart. The device is now permanently a part of the heavy metal singer's life. The stroke made Michaels one of 800,000 Americans a year who suffer from one.
Sheryl Crow Has Had A Brain Tumor Since 2012
Sheryl Crow revealed to her fans in 2012 that she had a brain tumor, saying, "Please don't worry about my 'brain tumor', it's a non-cancerous growth." The news of the tumor came shortly after the singer was cleared of breast cancer.
After going through her rigorous breast cancer treatments, it's understandable Crow wouldn't want to go through the pain again. She did humorously say in 2014 that she was hoping to blame the tumor for her memory loss. Her doctor assured her, however, her short-term memory issues were caused by her lack of sleep and age.
Avril Lavigne Was Bedridden For Five Months Recovering From Lyme Disease
Not only did it take Avril Lavigne five months to recover from Lyme disease when she was diagnosed with it in 2015, the actual diagnosis took eight months! When the singer noticed she was constantly fatigued and short of breath, she said, "a lot of doctors that told me I was crazy and that my problems didn't exist."
Lavigne says she opened up about her struggle to help those dealing with the same problems. It took eight months of frustrated searching to find a doctor with the knowledge and expertise to treat her; an ordeal she doesn't want anyone else to have to go through.
Demi Lovato has not an easy life in spotlight in her 20s. The former Disney actress and current pop-star has been in and out of rehab for awhile. Amazingly, instead of running from her problems, she uses her platform to talk about them, including her battle with bipolar disorder.
The most important thing Lovato wants people to realize is that being bipolar (a condition that will swing her moods from wildly depressed to manically energized) doesn't define her, "I don’t like people to use it as a label. ... It’s something that I have, it’s not who I am."
Missy Elliott Spoke Passionately About Her Life With Graves Disease In 2018
While being honored in 2018 at the 9th annual Black Women in Music event, Missy Elliott gave an impassioned speech about her life with Grave's disease. She said, "I was sick and I couldn't even lift a pen. My nervous system had broken all the way down. I didn't come up in here in a wheelchair. Nobody helped me get up here. I'm walking...by the grace of God."
Elliott originally revealed her diagnosis in 2011, three years after doctors told her she was being affected by the autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid.
Few things are as constant in this world as Cher. The "Believe" singer has been a global icon since her initial breakthrough in 1963. Seemingly unstoppable, everything very quickly came to a halt in 1991 when doctors told her she had chronic fatigue syndrome.
The songstress went to Brussels for treatment, where she reportedly had a full recovery. Speaking of the condition later, she said, "My experience was that it was really a physical illness but it does make you depressed as well... it was devastating for me."
Pattie LaBelle Turned Her Life Around After Finding Out She Had Diabetes
Pattie LaBelle first found out she had diabetes over two decades ago. According to the legendary singer, the diagnosis "was a wake-up call to stop frying the chicken." These days LeBelle's diet consists of salads and she does all her own cooking on the road to control what goes into her body.
LaBelle also says she'll go to the doctor even if she feels slightly sick. To add some pizzazz to her life, LaBelle calls herself a "divabetic," and has published several healthy cookbooks to promote her diva-tastic lifestyle to others struggling with diabetes.
Morissey Was Very Morissey About His Cancer Treatments
Morissey couldn't have acted more like himself in 2014 when he told the world that he had multiple procedures to remove cancerous tissues from his body. At the time he said, "they have scraped cancerous tissues four times already, but whatever. If I die, then I die. And if I don’t, then I don’t.”
One-year-later, the former Smiths frontman was more upfront about the affects the treatments had on his life. He had to cancel several shows and admitted the whole ordeal was physically and emotionally exhausting, saying, "if I’m asked to give any more blood I think I’ll crack."
In a span of four weeks in 2016, rapper Lil Wayne had three seizures. The cause of the seizures has been debated, with his representatives saying it was epilepsy related and he had forgotten to take his medication. Others say it was his addiction to codeine syrup, which the artist has bragged about to his fans for years.
Lil Wayne's manager publicly said in 2017 that his client's epilepsy wouldn't force him to take a break when he was rushed to the hospital again for more seizures. The statement came after doctors told Wayne he was overworked and needed to take a break.
Just before The Who was scheduled to go on its 50th anniversary tour, lead singer Roger Daltry was told he had viral meningitis and the tour had to be put on hold. The condition causes an inflammation of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord.
To recover, Daltry was forced to rest and let his body do the hard work. Of the battle he said, "If death would have come, I would have welcomed it. It was weird. I was in such agony." Once he recovered, the tour was able to begin, and Daltry now uses the experience to reflect on how lucky he is.
