Bret Michaels bares all for Billboard

(Image courtesy Billboard.com)

I love me some Bret Micheals. There's the whole guilty pleasure factor: treacly Poison power ballads, the utter camp of “Rock of Love.” And his odds-defying recovery from a freak brain hemorrhage. You kind of have to admire the guy for hanging on to at least C-list celeb status while many of his contemporaries (where's Enuff Z'nuff now, I ask?) have faded into the dustbin of hair band history.

But glam rock's man of steel may have taken things a bit too far with his buff-save-for-a-bandanna cover shot on the latest issue of Billboard magazine. Although Michaels appears to have abs that would totally crush Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino's, the pic comes off looking way too air-brushed. I dunno. Maybe it's the fake-bake tan. Or the body oil. Or, you know, the air-brushing.

Michaels does get points, though, for graciously explaining how Aerosmith's Steven Tyler ended up with what we all assumed would be his slot on the “American Idol” judges' panel.

“I made it to what they called the 'top four.' We also talked a little about Simon Cowell's new show, 'X Factor,' and they asked me about being the host of a dating show they're doing. But if there's someone else that would give great career advice and be a lot of fun on TV, it's Steven Tyler.”

Source: Billboard.com