Idol Chatter & Voice Views

They’re living the lives of celebrities now.

Working with American Idol’s makeup artists.

Posing for photo shoots. Filming Ford videos.

Rehearsing with Ricky Minor and his band for a performance in front of 30 million TV viewers.

But life wasn’t always so cushy for these American Idols, who now find themselves just a performance away from qualifying for a summer tour.

And their past job experiences go beyond playing a seedy corner bar in front of a handful of customers.

As part of a questionnaire that covers lots of topics, American Idol asked this year’s final 12 about their most unique job/work experience. Be sure to check out the answers from Crystal Bowersox and Paige Miles.

Here’s what all the Idols said.

Aaron Kelly: Selling soda at a beach shop. (A job at the beach? Sounds tough, Aaron).

Andrew Garcia: Busboy at Dragon House. (A restaurant, of course. There’s one in Andrew’s hometown of Moreno Valley, Calif.)

Casey James: Glazing Satillo tile. (My guess is he means Saltillo, a type of terracota tile made famous in Saltillo, Mexico.)

Crystal Bowersox: Played a skydiver’s funeral and was paid half in money, half in skydiving.

Didi Benami: Did laundry at a salon/spa when I was 14. I worked my way up to being a receptionist, but did laundry for several months. (And, of course, we know Didi was a waitress prior to Idol.)

Katie Stevens: Busgirl (She adds, “not that exciting.” Hey, what can you expect? She’s only 17.)

Lee DeWyze: Vet tech, paint store. (I’m pretty sure those were two different jobs.)

Michael Lynche: “I worked in middle school with exceptional education students. I got them in 6th grade and stayed with the same group until they graduated. It was the most rewarding work of my life.”

Paige Miles: Shoveling horse manure for free riding lessons/stable hand. If she couldn’t sing, Paige lists horseback riding as the talent she’d most like to possess.

Siobhan Magnus: Probably my job at the glass shop. (For those who missed it, prior to Idol Siobhan was a glass-blowing apprentice.)

Tim Urban: Worked at a relief organization. He lists handing out nutritional products to orphans in South Africa and Swziland as his proudest moment.

You can find the finalists’ answers to the other survey questions here.