In Touch has details of the performer’s backstage riders at the VMAs and they’re really not all the demanding - except for Christina Aguilera, who is said to have had 41 items on her list, and LL Cool J, whose list is particularly expensive and detailed. I think that In Touch distilled this list down to just a few things for each musician. The Jonas Brothers prefer both regular and sugar free Red Bull, Vitamin Water and vegetarian sushi while Kid Rock wants socks and ChapStick.

Christina Aguilera
- 1 large boom box that plays CDs, no alarm clock stereos
- 1 full length mirror
- 1 space heater
- 1 table just for makeup and dressing
- 2 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne
- 3 L’Occitane vanilla-scented candles with matches
- 1 cozy blanket
- 4 black bath towels
- 1 case of Arrowhead water

LL Cool J
- 1 black super stretch limo
- 14 airline tickets
- 14 hotel rooms
- 3 dressings (ranch, thousand island, honey mustard)
- 24 long-stem roses with no thorns, with individual water reservoir tips

Rihanna
- 1 lighted professional makeup mirror
- 2 Trish McEvoy blueberry candles
- 1 large, comfy sofa
- 24 Buffalo wings, hot sauce on the side
- 1 whole roasted chicken, spiced with jerk seasoning and cut into parts

Kid Rock
- 1 toaster
- 1 tube of ChapStick
- 1 pack of white crew socks
- 2 bottles of Grey Goose or Ketel One vodka
- 2 low fat yogurts (raspberry)
- 1 package of baby wipes

Jonas Brothers
- 8 Red Bull Sugarfree beverages, plus 6 regular Red Bulls
- 2 plastic bottles of room-temperature apple juice
- 12 bath-size towels (must be freshly laundered)
- 24 pieces of California sushi rolls
- 1 package of Oreo Double Stuff
- 6 bottles Vitaminwater (yellow, red, orange)
- 3 packages of Listerine Pocket-packs breath strips

[From In Touch, print edition, September 22, 2008]

I like setting up the guest room when people stay over and putting out towels, water, bath gel and hand cream and stuff. Sometimes I tie a little ribbon around the towel set, which I learned how to do in a Martha Stewart book. I think I would enjoy outfitting the celebrities’ dressing rooms and making them all special with baskets filled with their favorite things. Of course unlike the guests at my house no one would be thanking me for it and it would get tedious after a day or two. The people who do that job must chewed out regularly for forgetting small little details and/or not being able to read the privileged folks’ minds.

According Snopes.com, Van Halen added the seemingly strange request “no brown M&Ms” to their concert riders to make sure that all the more important requests about their technical and sound requirements were followed precisely. If there were brown M&Ms - they could be sure that the other details were skipped over too.

It’s about comfort for these stars rather than technical precision. The Jonas Brothers probably just want to get a nice caffeine buzz before they go on while Kid Rock has sweaty feet and needs new socks. I wonder what was in Britney’s rider. (Here’s what she asked for during her 2000 tour.) What would be on your list if you could get a bunch of stuff put in a room for you at work?

I was watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, (not that I recommend it as I find him kind of hoaky) and LL Cool J was on. He has a new workout book called “LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout” that he says is about being the best that you can be. People assume there’s some trick to getting buff or that celebrities are fit because they have so many advantages, but LL said that it just takes work. I was impressed with how genuinely enthused he is about fitness, and all of the positive things he said. He said working out helps you think better, makes you feel more confident, and helps you do better at any job. It gives you energy that you can tap into to achive your goals in life.

LL is really ripped, and he doesn’t take steriods and that’s what his book is about. In another interview that I found online, LL says the book is not about quick fixes, and tries to help people make lifestyle changes that last:

It’s about correct form. It’s about meal plans as opposed to diets. It’s a lifestyle book. I think that’s what separates it from all these quick fixes. You have all of these books that promise great abs in 30 seconds, that promise that you’ll be in shape in three easy weeks. You see the results when you see me. I’m a walking billboard and a living witness to the fact that everything in this book is real; it’s really been done.

It’s aimed at people who want to be in shape or people who want to change their lives. There is no age, there is no demographic for fitness — fitness is for everyone…

Once you have a roaring flame, it doesn’t take as many logs to keep it going. At this point, I’ll sit down and eat ice cream and have some apple pie. But I’m also working out all week, and I’m in shape and still burning fat. It’s a little different from someone who maybe feels like they are 15 or 30 pounds overweight. They can’t cheat yet. Once you get to a certain point, you can kind of live a little bit, and that’s a good thing. My focus is on getting this book out there and benefiting as many people as I can with it. I’m so excited about my book that I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t think of anything else.

LL has one more album coming out with Def Jam, and was the first artist signed to the label when Russell Simmons started it. He has the last album under his current contract due in April of this year.

Although he didn’t talk about it on the show, he recently gave a generous gift of custom made cribs to P. Diddy’s twins. Diddy had the $2,250 cribs on his baby registry.

Marc Anthony hightailed it out of there when he saw his poorly made-up wife getting it on with healthy hottie LL Cool J for a video shoot.

Hey, at least he didn’t freak out, flip anyone off or shove and shout at LL for getting too close to his woman. Marc probably realizes he would lose any fight with buff LL. in about two minutes. Hell, LL is so confident about it he’s telling the story to the papers.

Here are Marc and J.Lo leaving their hotel in Santander, Spain on 10/12. Man I would love to be able to take a private jet to travel. [via]