Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop & R&B singer, actress and model who was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006.
Personal life
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[1] (stage name Peisha Arten[2]), 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 graduated in 2002 from Notre Dame High School. At Notre Dame High School, McPhee was a swimmer and a thespian. Afterward, McPhee attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theater. She 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."[3] She was eventually cast as "Paramount Girl" in the 2006 musical film about the life of Hank Garland, Crazy.[4] 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.[5]
On February 2, 2008, McPhee married 43-year-old boyfriend Nick Cokas in a Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.[6]
American Idol
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'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 visited her former high school for her hometown celebration.[7] Antonio Villaraigosa visited Notre Dame High School and proclaimed McPhee's visit as "Katharine McPhee Day."
Performances and results (during voting weeks)
Post-Idol career
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.[8]
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.[9] Thirty-two weeks after its release, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny had climbed to #4 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts.[10] It was the 2nd highest best-selling single of 2006 after Taylor Hicks's "Do I Make You Proud". "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" continued to chart for more than 58 weeks.
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.[11] During her run on American Idol, she lost 30 pounds.
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.[12] 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.
Music career
2007: Katharine McPhee
- See also: Katharine McPhee (album)
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.[13] 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.
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.
2008-present: Second studio album
On January 11, 2008, it was reported by Billboard.com that McPhee had been released from her contract with RCA Records, through speculation that the label was dissatisfied with lack of overall sales of her debut album. 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." [14]
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 in spring 2009 and will contain Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Leona Lewis type power ballads.[15]
She also signed a two-year endorsement deal with Neutrogena to become the new spokesperson for their skin-care product line. On March 16, 2008, she filmed her first commercial, which began airing on television in May 2008, with print ads following.[16] "Real Love" was released as a second single, due the high popularity of the song on Itunes.
On June 11, 2008, Katharine and David Foster released a new song entitled, "I Will Be There With You" for Japan Airlines.[17]
As reported in June, Katharine recorded a cover of a song entitled "Connected" for the new Barbie movie. The song was originally sung by Sara Paxton for the film Aquamarine. The song was produced by Room For Two and a music video was also recorded to be featured on the movie's DVD. The video and song have now been released on the movie's website.[18] The movie DVD comes out on September 9.
On July 16, 2008, Katharine released a cover of the song "I Know What Boys Like", featuring the other cast members of the movie The House Bunny.
She has recorded a new song entitled "Let Your Heart Sing" for the upcoming Disney movie, "Tinkerbell". The movie soundtrack (featuring the song) comes out October 14.[19]
Acting career
McPhee made her studio acting debut as one of the few members of a misfit sorority that stars Anna Faris as a playboy bunny who takes the girls under her wing in a comedy titled The House Bunny (formerly known as I Know What Boys Like), directed by Fred Wolf for Columbia Pictures and Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions. The film co-starred Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and Colin Hanks.
McPhee will also be the star of the indie dark romantic comedy, The Last Caller, according to The Hollywood Reporter. McPhee's character will be a narcissistic woman searching for love and other meaning. The role reportedly does not involve singing.
According to MTV, McPhee will start shooting an indie film called Success in November. "I play this sweet, nice girl who gets the attention of this guy," she revealed, " It's one of those interesting indie films." The movie is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Martin Amis. The movie is to be written and directed by Ethan Goldman.
It has also been announced that McPhee will star in the indie suspense thriller, The Storyteller. The movie is being directed by Robert A. Masciantonio. Katharine will play the role of Tina.[20] Filming is scheduled to begin in October 2008 in Philadelphia.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Miscellaneous
These songs have not appeared on a studio album released by McPhee.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ Peisha McPhee's website
- ^ Peisha Arten at the Internet Movie Database (Accessed on October 23, 2006)
- ^ People.com : The #1 Celebrity Site on the Web
- ^ Crazy at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Ask Ausiello" column TVGuide.com, May 31, 2006, accessed July 26, 2006
- ^ "Idol" Katharine McPhee Weds
- ^ High school fever for 'American Idol' finalist Katharine McPhee
- ^ Katharine McPhee Signs Record Deal - Katharine McPhee : People.com
- ^ Chart Beat, Billboard.com, July 6, 2006, accessed July 26, 2006
- ^ "Hot Singles Sales: Issue date 2007-02-17". Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
- ^ Katharine McPhee's Bulimia Battle - Katharine McPhee : People.com
- ^ "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution". "American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee reveals reading disorder and struggles with father to talk show host Dr. Keith Ablow.. Retrieved on September 15, 2006.
- ^ Jonathan Cohen, "Better 'Late' Than Never: Jones Debuts At No. 1", Billboard.com, February 7, 2007.
- ^ Katharine McPhee: the latest Idol to go indie
- ^ 'American Idol' axes first finalist
- ^ Serpe, Gina (2008-03-26). "Neutrogena Catches McPheever", Eonline. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ YouTube - Katharine McPhee - I WIll Be There With You (Demo Version)
- ^ http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/diamond-castle/
- ^ http://www.katharine-mcphee.org/
- ^ Katharine McPhee to star in 'Storyteller'
- ^ http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/08/steady-week-for.html#more
External links
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#39 Most Viewed (Today) Music Canada
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