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Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop singer, actress, and model who was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006. Though Taylor Hicks' quirky soulfulness made him 2006's American Idol, runner-up Katharine McPhee's classic good looks and voice and affinity for traditional pop made her a strong contender throughout the season. In fact, she was one of the first semifinalists to make it to the final 12. A native of Sherman Oaks, CA, McPhee began singing at age two. Her mother, Patricia McPhee, is an established singer in her own right, performing and recording as Peisha McPhee. She helped Katharine develop as a vocalist and gave her more formal training than many American Idol hopefuls receive. Though McPhee sang and acted throughout her childhood and high-school years, she began taking singing more seriously in college, attending Boston Conservatory as a musical theater major. After three semesters, however, she left for Los Angeles to audition for film and television work. McPhee scored roles in the film Crazy, a musical about Hank Garland, and an MTV series, You Are Here, which didn't make it to the air. She also appeared in productions of Annie Get Your Gun and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir before auditioning for American Idol in 2005. Once McPhee made the final 12, her performances of songs such as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" made her one of the favorites of American Idol judges and viewers. After the American Idol season ended, McPhee was signed by show creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited label and released her first single, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny; it became the second best-selling single of 2006. That summer, after bouts with bronchitis and laryngitis, she joined the rest of the finalists and Hicks on the American Idols LIVE! tour and also toured with Andrea Bocelli, who appeared on American Idol as a guest judge. McPhee began recording her self-titled debut album in the fall, working with collaborators such as Timbaland's production partner, Nate "Danja Hand" Hills, Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, and songwriter Kara DioGuardi. "Over It," which was written by the songwriting team of Billy Steinberg, Josh Alexander, and Ruth-Anne Cunningham, arrived a few weeks before Katharine McPhee was released in early 2007. Born in Los Angeles, California, McPhee moved with her parents and sister to the Sherman Oaks neighborhood at age 12. McPhee has been singing since the age of two. Her mother, Patricia Burch McPhee (stage name Peisha Arten), a vocal coach and accomplished cabaret singer, recognized a talent for music in her daughter and decided to train her. Her father, Daniel McPhee, is a television producer and her older sister, Adriana Burch McPhee (born June 30, 1982) is an aspiring producer as well. McPhee has Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry. McPhee graduated in 2002 from Notre Dame High School. At Notre Dame High School, McPhee was a swimmer and a thespian. She performed in school plays with her elder sister Adriana; both sisters were Homecoming Princess nominees in their senior year. Afterward, McPhee attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theater. McPhee left the college due to her manager's suggestion that she try out for television pilots in Los Angeles. In a People news article, it was reported that she was rejected in "only 195 out of 200 auditions." She was eventually cast as "Paramount Girl" in the 2006 musical film about the life of Hank Garland, Crazy. Other early acting endeavors included lead actress in local professional productions of Annie Get Your Gun and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. She was nominated in 2005 for the Theatre L.A. Ovation Award for her lead role in Annie Get Your Gun. McPhee was also part of a failed mall-based MTV soap opera entitled You Are Here, playing the older sister of a more popular younger sister. In the soap opera, she was jealous of her popular younger sister. McPhee was persuaded by Nick Cokas and her parents to try out for American Idol. She auditioned in San Francisco, and sang "God Bless the Child", originally performed by Billie Holiday. Paula Abdul said that McPhee was "absolutely beautiful", Randy Jackson hailed her audition as potentially the best so far that season, and Simon Cowell complimented her for being "current" and her audition being "absolutely fantastic". McPhee listed Whitney Houston and Brian McKnight as her favorite artists in the American Idol interview of the top 24 semi-finalists. During the week preceding the top three show, she was a runner-up in the Kennel Club Finals. McPhee visited her former high school for her hometown celebration. Antonio Villaraigosa visited Notre Dame High School and proclaimed McPhee's visit as "Katharine McPhee Day." McPhee's run on American Idol led to the popular use of the term "McPheever", coined by Ralph Garman of Los Angeles radio station KROQ's morning show Kevin and Bean. She also referred to her fans as the "Kat Pack" and "McPhans". McPhee was congratulated by Congressman Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks, the 27th district of California, who raised a flag in her honor at the United States Capitol on the day of the finale show. McPhee performed KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" during the Idol final run. During the Idol Finale, McPhee duetted with Meat Loaf. They performed "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", which he had previously recorded with Rocker Chick Marion Raven, whose voice has been compared to Katharine's. During the competition, McPhee roomed with fellow contestant Kellie Pickler, and when Pickler was eliminated, she roomed with Paris Bennett. Pickler was later involved as a bridesmaid in McPhee's wedding in 2008. On June 6, 2006, Sony BMG and 19 Entertainment announced that McPhee had signed to American Idol series creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited and Sony BMG's RCA Records. McPhee's debut single, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" was released on June 27, 2006 by RCA Records. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "My Destiny" peaked at #60. Thirty-two weeks after its release, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny had climbed to #4 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts. It was 2nd highest best-selling single of 2006 after Taylor Hicks's "Do I Make You Proud?". After 58 weeks, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" continues to chart, #47, on Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, the week of Sept 1, 2007. McPhee toured with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and performed duets, "Somos Novios" and "The Prayer" in three of his concerts during his tour in the United States from June 9 through June 11, 2006. She and Bocelli also performed and recorded duets, "Somos Novios" on the JC Penney Jam album and "Can't Help Falling in Love" on Bocelli's Under the Desert Sky album. In June 2006, McPhee revealed to People magazine that she previously suffered from bulimia. After a period of about five years, she began treatment after qualifying for American Idol. During her run on American Idol, she lost 30 lbs. McPhee missed the start of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, due to severe bronchitis and laryngitis. McPhee commented on her illness in a public interview, saying "I just have to sing easily so I can get through the tour... I bruised my vocal cords because I was doing so much coughing". McPhee eventually joined the tour on July 28, in Washington, D.C. just in time for all ten finalists to visit the White House to meet President George W. Bush. The day prior to returning to the Idol's tour, McPhee was a guest co-host on The View. On July 21, 2006, Broadway World announced that McPhee is co-producing Michael Albanese's play Red Herring along with Robert Hawk, Angelina Bruno, and Jeff Kasal. McPhee was quoted in the promo as describing a desire to become involved in theatre, stating that although "audiences know me best from American Idol... my passion has always been theatre." The play will be a part of the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival. McPhee and her sister appeared on debut of The Dr. Keith Ablow Show on September 18, 2006 to discuss her struggles with an eating disorder, bulimia, and her childhood fear of her father. On the show, McPhee stated that she was thought to have a learning disability during her middle school years but was finally diagnosed with a vision problem. In October 2006, McPhee dedicated a performance of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" during the Carousel of Hope Ball which Whitney attended. McPhee's much-anticipated, self-titled debut album, Katharine McPhee was released on January 30, 2007 and sold 116,000 copies its first week, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The first single from the album was the hit single, "Over It", which was officially released on the same day as the album and peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's music video hit #1 on both TRL and VH1's Top 20 countdown, maintaining the top position on VH1 for 3 consecutive weeks. The video also hit #1 on MTV Asia's Pop 10 Chart for a massive 12 consecutive weeks. On May 22, 2007, McPhee released "Love Story", the second single from her debut album. Unlike "Over It" however, McPhee's second single failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, though it did reach #38 on the Canadian Hot 100 and its video stayed at #1 on MTV Asia for 5 consecutive weeks. In mid-2007, McPhee was named one of the year's 100 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine. She was also voted #2 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in The World of 2007 and #47 on Maxim's Hot 100 Women of 2007. On October 23, McPhee sang "The Prayer" in a duet with 16-year-old Cody Karey at the Young Musicians Foundation Gala at the Hilton in Beverly Hills, Californian, as well as the American national anthem during the opening of the 2007 California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women, which was held at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. Three days later, during a concert tribute for Neil Sedaka at the Lincoln Center in New York City on October 26, 2007, Grammy award winning producer/songwriter, David Foster, announced that he and Katharine McPhee would be collaborating on her second studio album. At the end of November, McPhee sang the National Anthem before a national audience in Detroit before the Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, and on December 3, McPhee and her mother Peisha McPhee performed 'Silent Night' at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Sacramento, California. On January 11, 2008, it was reported by Billboard.com that McPhee had parted ways with RCA Records. A spokesperson for the label confirmed this in a statement reading: "Katharine McPhee has moved on to support her other entertainment activities. She is going to record her next album on her own." McPhee's departure from RCA was reportedly due to the underperformance of her first album which debuted promisingly at #2 but failed to reach gold status, having so far sold only 370,000 copies. On March 11, 2008, Katharine McPhee appeared on the album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1. As part of a duet with fellow American Idol 5 contestant Elliott Yamin, McPhee recorded the song "Real Love". The following evening, McPhee returned to the American Idol stage during the Top 12 results night of the seventh season of the competition. She performed the Beatles song "Something", with Grammy-winning producer David Foster on piano. After the performance, Foster confirmed that he and McPhee were still collaborating on her second studio album. McPhee's new album is due this December and will contain Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Leona Lewis type power ballads. She has also signed a two-year endorsement deal with Neutrogena to become the new flawless face for their skin-care product line. On March 16, 2008, she filmed her first commercial, which is scheduled to begin airing on television in May 2008, with print ads to follow. "Real Love" was released as a second single, due the high popularity of the song on Itunes. The song is starting climbing in Mediabase charts. Now the songs sits in the top 150. On February 2, 2008, McPhee married 43-year-old boyfriend Nick Cokas in a Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church with a gospel choir. There were about 300 guests in attendance, including The House Bunny co-star Rumer Willis. Country music artist and fellow American Idol 5 contestant Kellie Pickler was a bridesmaid. McPhee supports Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for President 2008. |
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