Rihanna, Mariah's Over the Top Tour Requests

June 22, 2010 — -- $200 bottles of wine, candles opulent by the standards of Elizabethan England and flowers, flowers, everywhere.

A luxury hotel suite? A top of the line spa? No, these sorts of accoutrements are de rigueur for the dressing rooms of the music industry's most well known divas and stars.

As Rihanna readies for next month's "Last Girl on Earth" world tour she's making sure the prepping area of every concert venue feels like home -- which is, apparently, a leopard-print haven littered with Archipelago Black Forest candles that cost $29 a pop.

According to the pop star's tour rider, obtained by the Smoking Gun, Rihanna's tastes are pretty particular. The gramatically questionable document details a litany of requests made by her tour promoter, including:

"1 -- 6ft comfortable couch – White, Cloth, Plush (No leather) (wide enough for her to stretch out on and sometimes take a nap)"

"6 Floor Lamps with DIMMERS"

"1 – Large throw rug – plush and animal print (Cheetah, Leopard)…must be CLEAN, as she will walk on it barefoot."

"6-8 -- Throw Pillows for Couches – Animal Print (Cheetah, Leopard)(NO sequins)"

"6 -- Candles -- Archipelago Black Forest candles (if you can't get these, please let me know ASAP as we have a 2nd choice of candle for Ri.)"

"Pipe and Drape the room in Dark Blue or Black Drapes with Icy Blue Chiffon draped nicely on top/over"

"4 – Small, clear, square vases with White Tulips, if in season – No Foliage (2nd choice: White Casablanca Lilies no foliage, 3rd choice: White Freesia no foliage)"

The rider also gives specific instructions for the overall presentation of Rihanna's dressing room:

"The lighting in this room should be adequate for a relaxed atmosphere i.e. table and floor lamps rather than overhead fluorescent. This room should be carpeted and the walls draped to cover lockers and/or bricks. This drape needs to be white or cover the pipe & drape with a white chiffon cloth. Please replace any broken or cracked fittings -- door locks, taps etc."

The document ends with an all-caps, bold, underlined, weirdly-phrased declaration about Rihanna's sanitary standards:

"BATHROOMS MUST BE SPOTLESS. PLEASE DEEP CLEAN TOILET & SHOWER ONE"

Of course, Rihanna's not alone in exhibiting exacting standards while on the road. The quirks of dozens of artists have been revealed through their tour riders.

"In their 1982 rider, Van Halen infamously wanted a bowl of M&Ms -- with all the brown ones picked out," said Andrew Goldberg, managing editor of the Smoking Gun, which showcases hundreds of crazy celebrity riders.

"Clearly, it was a test," he said. "If you put in something really odd -- like no brown M&Ms -- and they catch it, it means the promoters are paying attention. If they miss that, what other, more important points are they missing? Lighting, security, microphones, amps? For musicians, that's a big deal. If you don't pay attention to the little things, you may be missing the bigger things."

Quirky Celebrity Requests on Tour

Another diva making news with her super-specific requests: Mariah Carey. For her 2010 events, Carey has requested such luxuries as a $200 bottle of cabernet sauvignon, two dozen white roses and vanilla aromatherapy candles in her dressing room, according to a tour rider obtained by the Smoking Gun.

Like Rihanna, Carey is also specific about how she lounges backstage. Her rider requests that the temperature of her room hover at 75 degrees and the furniture in her "living room space" bear "no busy patterns; black, dark grey, cream, dark pink are all fine."

Below, a look at a few of the more outlandish requests made by celebrities:

The Foo Fighters

"This sets the standard for really fun, witty contract riders," said the Smoking Gun's Goldberg. "The manager requests bath towels, and threatens a wedgie if they're brand new. He calls bacon 'God's currency.' The humor makes it fun to read -- and that's hard to do with a contract." CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

Lil Wayne

Most rappers try to distance themselves from law enforcement. Not Lil Wayne, despite havng had brushes with the law for drug and weapons possession. The multiple Grammy-nominated rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, stipulates in his contract rider that four off-duty cops must accompany him between the hotel and concert venue. "This is a mandatory requirement!!!" the rider reads. "Failure to adhere to anything in the security section of this rider shall be deemed a detriment to the safety of the artist and an immediate breech of contract."

Jennifer Lopez

"This was a rider for a African AIDS charity video she did, and she was really demanding," said Goldberg. "White flowers, white furniture, white curtains. And Cuban food. Come on, Jennifer, it's a cameo in charity video. She was there for a little more than an hour and I heard she didn't even touch the food. It was obscene, really."

Mary J. Blige

At the top of germaphobe Mary J. Blige's list? The stipulation that a brand new toilet seat be installed wherever she plays.

Christina Aguilera

Health-conscious singer Christina Aguilera requests real coffee mugs for her java, along with soy milk, soy cheese, Echinacea, vitamin C and Flintstones chewable vitamins -- guess she still hasn't outgrown them.

Paul McCartney

The very vegan former Beatle won't ride in a limo with leather seats or stand for leather or animal print furniture in his dressing room -- not even the fake stuff. And while his meals are obviously vegan, too, the Smoking Gun site points out one lapse on Paul's part. The singer requests 24 bars of Ivory soap -- which contain trace amounts of animal fats. Oops.

Coldplay

Sure, they asked for the standard vodka, cotton socks and "nibbles." But ever the family men, Brit rockers Coldplay also had a sweet request: eight pre-stamped local postcards set to send off to faraway family. So lead singer Chris Martin could send his love to wife Gwyneth Paltrow and the kiddies.

M.I.A.

Brit hip-hop artist M.I.A. is particular about her cheese. She requests an organic cheese tray featuring cave-aged Gruyere, Swiss and sharp cheddar, along with organic berries, fresh -- not canned -- olives and Ferrero Rocher chocolates.