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10 Musicians Who Really Don't Like Going On Tour

"Touring is a peculiar thing, it doesn't suit me particularly well."

Touring the world and playing to thousands of fans every night may seem like a dream but for some musicians, it’s a lot more strenuous than it looks. Between changing cities every night, performing late into the night and long stretches away from home, touring can take a mental and physical toll on musicians. That’s why some of the world’s biggest stars admit that they’re just not a fan of hitting the road. Despite fans’ desires to see their favorite performers on tour, sometimes it just isn’t the best idea.

Read on to find out why these stars don’t like touring…

1. Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus hasn’t embarked on a major headlining tour since 2014 and even though her fans want her to hit the road again, she doesn’t see it in her future. She recently explained that while she loves performing, touring is “not natural” and is “isolating because you’re in front of 100,000 people then you are alone.”

“After the last [headline tour] I did, I kind of looked at it as more of a question. And I can’t. Not only can’t, because can’t is your capability, but my desire. Do I want to live my life for anyone else’s pleasure or fulfillment other than my own?” she told British Vogue. “Like singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love. There’s no connection. There’s no safety.”

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Miley later clarified her comments, sharing a statement on Instagram last month.

“For clarity I feel connected to my fans NOW more than ever. When I win, WE win. ❤️,” she began. “Even if I don’t see them face to face every night at a concert, my fans are felt deeply in my heart. I’m constantly creating and innovating new ways that I can stay connected to the audience I love — without sacrificing my own essentials.”

“Performing for YOU has been some of the best days of my life & we will continue this journey together as we have for the last almost two decades,” she continued. “This has nothing to do with a lack of appreciation for the fans & everything to do with I simply don’t want to get ready in a locker room. Which is the reality of life on the road.”

“These looks I’ve been turning don’t travel well. The archival looks don’t fold. I just don’t want to sleep on a moving bus,” Miley added, before noting that this is “what’s best” for her currently, but she may “change” how she feels in the future.

1. Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes recently opted to cancel all of his upcoming tour dates in order to prioritize his mental health. While reflecting on the situation in an open letter to fans, Shawn admitted he didn’t realize what a “toll” being on the road would take on him and found that he was not ready for “how difficult” touring would be.

“I had to postpone the past few weeks of shows since I wasn’t totally prepared for the toll that being back on the road would take on me. I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away,” Shawn wrote.

He continued, “After speaking more with my team and working with an incredible group of health professionals, it has become more clear that I need to take the time I’ve never taken personally to ground myself and come back stronger.”

1. Adele

Back when Adele was wrapping up her tour for her album “25,” she revealed that she didn’t think she was very good at touring. In a now-deleted handwritten letter to fans, Adele explained that after 15 months on the road, she had finally gotten used to it — but still didn’t like it.

“Touring is a peculiar thing, it doesn’t suit me particularly well,” she wrote. “I’m a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things. Plus I’m dramatic and have a terrible history of touring. Until now that is! I’ve done 119 shows…It has been hard out an absolute thrill and pleasure to have done.”

Then, before the release of her album “30,” Adele shared that she didn’t plan to tour around the new release. While she didn’t end up taking the show on the road, she did schedule a Las Vegas residency which helped her stay in one place while performing shows.

1. Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik has long had a complicated relationship with touring and being on stage. Back in 2016, he revealed that he was dealing with intense anxiety that made performing incredibly difficult and touring an unpleasant experience. While he was working to get better, Zayn continually had to cancel shows throughout the year.

“I’ve been working over the last three months to overcome my extreme anxiety around major live solo performances. I feel I am making progress but I have today acknowledged that I do not feel sufficiently confident to move forward with the planned show in Dubai,” he wrote at the time, later adding, “I cannot apologize enough. I know those who suffer anxiety will understand and I hope those who don’t can empathize with my situation.”

1. Britney Spears

Britney Spears has had her fair share of struggles in the entertainment industry — and that includes touring. In 2021, she wrote that she didn’t see herself ever touring again because she disliked it so much in the past.

“I know I’m not playing in huge arenas with my loud band anymore but I will be honest and say life on the road is hard !!!” she wrote in a since-deleted post. “My first three years in the biz and on the road were great but I’ll be completely honest and say that after those three tours and the pace I was going … I don’t think I ever want to do it again !!! I hated it !!!”

1. Michael Jackson

Before Michael Jackson’s passing, he revealed that he really didn’t like life on the road. In an outtake from an interview about a tour, Michael listed off the things that were hard for him to deal with including changing time zones and difficulty sleeping.

“I don’t like it. I go through hell touring,” Michael said in the interview.

1. Eminem

Eminem isn’t a big fan of touring and is said to have had a tough time hitting the road when his daughter Hailie was young. According to his friend 50 Cent, Eminem would often fly home after shows so he could take Hailie to school the day next and it got to be tiring.

“I’ve toured more than him because he has Hailie, and he likes to physically be at the house. A lot of people don’t know the reason behind him touring less — but Hailie would put boxes in front of the door thinking this would stop him going,” he reportedly told MTV. “He would fly back on a private plane after the show so he could drive her to school in the morning, so for him the tour was exhausting.”

1. Skylar Gray

Skylar Gray, who collaborated with Eminem on “Love The Way You Lie,” admits she isn’t a big fan of touring. While she says she enjoys the actual shows, it’s the rest of the experience that is tough for her. Instead, she’d prefer being in the studio or playing one-off shows.

“Everybody in the industry will combat me on this, but I don’t want to be on tour. I don’t enjoy being on the road. I enjoy the shows themselves, but every other aspect of it — the travel, being away from home — that kind of stuff I hate. And life is too short to wake up and do something you hate every day. So I really enjoy being in the studio. I really enjoy making music videos. And I’m kind of just designing my own career style,” she told Variety.

1. Billy Joel

As Billy Joel has progressed in his career, he says he’s become less excited about touring. He explained that over time, it became monotonous, and he realized it wasn’t good for the relationships in his life. Instead, he now prefers to play one-off shows or residencies.

“We used to do five, six gigs a week. When you’re first starting out and you’re with your buddies going around the world, you’re like a teenage gang. Very exciting. After a couple of years, you’re Willy Loman in ‘Death of a Salesman,'” he told Billboard, adding, “It’s not good for a relationship to be gone for that long. So I became a homey.”

1. Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand decided to take a step back from touring in 1967 when she had an incident where she forgot the lyrics to one of her songs. She didn’t tour again for 27 years and has now permanently stopped touring, explaining that it’s just exhausting for her.

“No. No. I know. I can’t. It’s just too vulnerable. It’s too hard for me. I wish I loved it. There are so many performers who perform practically the whole year, you know, 200 or 300 days a year. They love it. And I wish I felt that way,” she told Billboard. “It would be great because it’s very lucrative but I can’t do it. It’s just too hard. I think about what I eat after the show. You know, I plan the meals after the show so I could be free of anxiety.”