Music Times reported earlier today that a man in Sweden had gotten disability benefits for his addiction to, and we are not making this up, heavy metal. He attended more than 300 concerts last year, struggles to go anywhere without his metal tee, and gets frustrated if he goes for any length of time without hearing his genre of choice. Thanks to the backing of several psychologists, no one can hold it against Robert Tullgren when he wears an Iron Maiden shirt to a job interview. Or if he needs time off to go see Kvelertak. Or if he wants to play Venom on the radio while he washes dishes at work.
We're not sure if we can clinically refer to any of the examples below as "addictions," but we do find these musicians' needs/habits rather curious, even obsessive compulsive.
Anna Kendrick
We're going to get the least hardcore examples out of the way first: Anna Kendrick, the biggest name in musical cinema at the moment, is apparently engulfed in an addiction to online gaming, particularly "Angry Birds." The actress has claimed to play for hours every day, and has gotten the vaunted "three star" ranking on almost every level. Again, this is probably the least odd addiction on this list, as we know plenty of people who can't get their noses out of their phones. Just as long as she's not actually spending money on freemiums, she shouldn't have a problem.
Ozzy Osbourne
Admit it: As soon as you saw "Ozzy Osbourne," your mind went to the worst possibilities. Tought to blame you...the Ozz has certainly weathered a fair few addictions and done some bizarre things therein. He's onto something much healthier now, although perhaps not so healthy for his teeth. Osbourne is a huge fan of Sugar Puffs cereal, or Honey Monster Puffs. It seems to us that Sugar Puffs are just the British term for American Sugar Smacks or Golden Crisp...but Osbourne disagrees obviously. He has the brand imported in from the UK and even has an account with the Honey Monster Food Company so he can place orders directly. We feel him: Breakfast cereal is a serious business.
Cheryl Cole
Other folks on this list have food-based addictions but ones a tad healthier than Osbourne's sugary snack. Vocalist Cheryl Cole apparently began drinking carrot juice as a part of a health fad and kept going strong. Reports indicate that she has two glasses with breakfast and then sometimes will drink as many as six more throughout the day. What's the story? She claims it helps her skin "glow" and aids her finger nails in growing long and strong. We're not nutritionists so we can't disagree but at least she's indulging in something healthy. Better than the Diet Coke we drink every day, that's for sure.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry probably can't stand the idea of either Osbourne or Cole's cravings. In fact, her obsession is one that's the opposite of eating: brushing her teeth. Apparently the performer had upward of 13 cavities when she was a child and now she's scared to death of getting fillings, so she keeps up to 20 new toothbrushes with her when she travels on tour so that she can keep her teeth white, and more importantly, clean. Again, another habit that's far from unhealthy and it's nice to see that she's doing it for honest, health-based reasons versus vanity.
Avril Lavigne
So how about an addiction that's 100 percent vanity? If you're anything like us, you've muttered to yourself at some point over the years that Avril Lavigne needs to quit it with the eyeliner (you're out of high school now!). Turns out it's not that simple. As probably guessed based on the entire premise of this list, Lavigne is actually somewhat addicted to her makeup-of-choice, feeling naked or exposed without it. As much as we like to laugh at Tobias in Arrested Development, there are legitimately people who feel exposed when nude, even alone...and some who feel exposed when without eyeliner.
Lady Gaga
During an interview with Vogue during 2011, Lady Gaga explained that she had stayed in bed for the entirety of the day following a big concert. She explained to the interviewer that "I do this strange thing with my foot when I am feeling lonely. I rub my left foot with my right foot." After the person asking the questions assures her that this is a form of self-soothing, Gaga clarifies that she had been self-soothing all day. Rubbing feet together is one thing but for an entire day in bed? Your correspondent has a cuticle picking problem but that doesn't mean I oh God I'm bleeding all over my keyboard. Be right back!
Kristin Chenoweth
Many obsessions, as we saw with Perry, are inspired by some sort of childhood trauma or dramatic event. Kristin Chenoweth collects, even hoards quarters, and has only started since she became a successful actress. She told Ellen DeGeneres that she's got jars of the coin at home and she believes that the habit began when she was a struggling actress and needed to hold onto change whenever possible for doing laundry. You would think however that after appearing in successful Broadway musicals, television and film, that she could probably indulge and go to the arcade or something.
