8 Rockstars Who Went to Reality TV

Reality TV and rock music are not the most likely pairing, but they have collided numerous times over the years.

Rockstars of all eras have popped up everywhere on reality TV, from showing off their pads on MTV Cribs to judging vocalists on competitions like American Idol.

However, some rock legends took the plunge full-on and got their own reality shows that solely focus on their everyday lives. No matter how unlikely the pairings seemed, they (mostly) worked and gave us some revealing looks at the lives of some of rock music’s most prominent figures.

Scroll through to see which rockstars went to reality TV.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne was one of the first rockers to turn into a reality TV star.

For four seasons, Osbourne and his family were the subjects of the MTV reality show The Osbournes. Fans got to see 52 episodes of the legendary Black Sabbath frontman interact with wife Sharon and his children Kelly and Jack.

Running from 2002 to 2005, it was the most watched MTV show ever (at the time) and helped make the reality genre a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Gene Simmons

One of the most successful rockstar forays into reality TV was Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

As the title suggests, the A&E show followed the adventures of KISS bassist Gene Simmons, his partner Shannon Tweed and their kids Nick and Sophie.

While it always seemed a bit more “staged” than a lot of the other rockstar reality shows, fans were able to see Simmons deal with being a businessman/rockstar/dad and face the always daunting possibility of marrying his longtime partner.

Bret Michaels

Just like the Flavor Flav dating competition Flavor of Love, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels was one of VH1’s most popular reality offerings.

Poison frontman Bret Michaels tried for three seasons to find the woman he wanted to spend his life with.

While he was not successful, he introduced himself to plenty of new fans and got another reality show in the process, entitled Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It.

Travis Barker

One of the most often overlooked rockstar reality shows was the short-lived MTV series Meet the Barkers.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker was married to model Shanna Moakler from 2004 to 2008, and for two seasons fans got to see what it was like inside the family’s household.

While only 16 episodes were produced, it made for interesting reality TV moments that gave us glimpse inside the life of a rockstar off-stage.

Dee Snider

While Gene Simmons Family Jewels was a smash hit on A&E, Dee Snider’s entrance into reality TV was much less fruitful.

The Twisted Sister frontman and his family appeared on Growing Up Twisted, which only ran for seven episodes in 2010.

Snider later appeared on two seasons of the reality competition Celebrity Apprentice.

Tommy Lee

Another forgotten reality show is Tommy Lee Goes to College.

Just as you can take from the title, it’s all about Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee enrolling in college.

It wasn’t very successful, as it only ran for six episodes. Plus, Lee wasn’t actually enrolled at the university; he just attended classes and staged a ton of scenes on campus.

Lee dipped back into the reality TV market as the co-host of the environmentally friendly reality show Battleground Earth.

Ted Nugent

While Ted Nugent did not have the most high-profile reality TV career, he had several shows over the years.

Some of the titles included Versus’ Wanted: Ted or Alive, The Outdoor Channel’s Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild and VH1’s Surviving Nugent.

He was also one of several rockstars to appear on the VH1 series Supergroup.

Eddie Money

Eddie Money is the latest rockstar to try out reality TV.

The “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Two Tickets to Paradise” singer and his family star in the AXS TV series Real Money, which follows their day-to-day adventures .

Its 10-episode freshman season led to the network picking them up for a second season consisting of an increased 12-episode count.