Before They Were Pop Stars

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Everyone - from pop stars to Popeye - has a past, a past that can't be changed. While many of us know the past of certain pop stars - we all know that Michael Jackson used to be in the Jackson Five, we all know that Justin Timberlake used to be in the Mickey Mouse Club, and we all know that Britney Spears used to have hair - there are also pop stars with pasts that are not common knowledge. Though none of the following pop stars have pasts worthy of blackmail, they do have an interesting tidbit or two.

Jennifer Lopez: Now known as J-Lo or Jenny from the Block, Jennifer Lopez began her career performing at stage musicals. She also had a role in the 1986 movie My Little Girl. In 1990, one of her bigger breaks came when she was cast as a Fly Girl for the show In Living Color. This was when JLo - and her ass(ets) - sauntered into the spotlight.

Madonna: Before gaining her crown as the "Queen of Pop," Madonna went to the University of Michigan to study dance. She eventually moved on to New York to study with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company and then onto Paris to perform in a disco revue. When she got back to the US, she joined rock groups and coupled her dancing with her singing. From her Michigan/New York/Paris background, does it strike anyone else as strange that Madonna sometimes has a British accent?

Whitney Houston: In her youth, Whitney Houston and her vocal group served as backup singers for Aretha Franklin. She also served as a fashion model and continued backup singing for Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan. Going from a backup to center stage (Melinda Doolittle, eat your heart out), she signed with Arista Records when she was 19. It's fair to say that her cousin, Dionne Warwick of Psychic Friends Network fame, probably saw all of Whitney's enormous success coming.

Paula Abdul - More known for her stint as a judge on American Idol than her singing talents, Paula Abdul - straight up, I'll tell ya - did have a career as a pop star. But, before she was a star herself, she just worked with them. This dancer turned Los Angeles Laker Girl began choreographing for huge names in the music business when she was only twenty years old. Paula's clients included The Jacksons, George Michael, Debbie Gibson, INXS, the Pointer Sisters, and Dolly Parton. We also suspect that she taught the animated cat from her "Opposites Attract" video a few moves.

Prince: Before he was famous, Prince was just a boy growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His preoccupation with music started at an early age: he began piano at 7 and was a virtual veteran of the guitar and drums by the time his teenage years approached. At the age of 14, he joined a local band and is credited with helping several other local bands make their marks. With innate musical talents and originality, at the height of his success Prince became a household name, er sorry, a household symbol.

Mariah Carey: Possessing one of the best sets of vocal chords in the history of music, Mariah Carey can thank, in part, her genetics: her mother was an opera singer and a vocal coach. Carey began to perform as a child and, after moving to New York, recorded a demo tape. This tape landed in the hands of Tommy Mottola, a Columbia Records executive and Mariah's future husband. Her fans received her well: she enjoyed enormous pop success and then, then there was Glitter.