Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the sordid pasts of American Idol contestants. While many of the singers seem to be hiding obscene photos or careers as strippers, most of them have had more normal jobs in their pre-Idol days.

On a related note, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, aka Spitzer’s prostitute “Kristen,” is currently claiming that although she’s a call girl with sexy photos flooding the web, her real passion is singing.

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Uh-huh.

Several articles have quoted Dupre as saying she was having a rough time and considered working at a restaurant or moving back home, but, apparently, decided to sell herself instead.

Classy.

Dupre’s songs are available for sale on Aime St., but we recently let you watch Ashley’s free music video and tell us what you thought of it (see it here).

In light of these music scandals, we’ve decided that we to offer aspiring musicians some career advice: Don’t become prostitutes or strippers. Working at a fast food hut might not be glamorous, but it is respectable—just ask the superstars on our list!

Today, we’re taking a look at what some American Idol stars did before they were famous.

American Idols Before They Were Famous

Paula Abdul—“Opposites Attract” video
Pre-Fame Job: Paula danced as a Laker Girl, but we like her better when she’s dancing with the slightly creepy rapping cartoon cat in the “Opposites Attract” video.

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Simon Cowell—Thankfully, Simon doesn’t sing…yet.
Pre-Fame Job: Mail clerk.
The snobby British judge got his start in the mailroom of a record label.

Jennifer Hudson—“And I Am Telling You”
Pre-Fame Job: She starred on American Idol and won an Oscar, but first, Jennifer Hudson worked at Burger King

Clay Aiken—“This is the Night”
Pre-Fame Job: YMCA counselor

Kelly Clarkson—“Since U Been Gone” video
Pre-Fame Job: A busy girl, Clarkson’s pre-Idol jobs included working at Subway, Starbucks and selling vacuum cleaners.

Have you worked a job worse than these? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Music Downloads, Pop Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.