Katharine McPhee
Katharine McPhee rose to prominence as the runner up of the smash hit fifth season of the show American Idol. McPhee was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the nearby town of Sherman Oaks. Her mother, a talented cabaret singer and vocal coach, recognized very early that her daughter had a real talent for singing. Trained in singing from the age of two, McPhee performed in school musicals. She was also a swimmer and a Homecoming Princess nominee at her high school. She spent three semesters at the Boston Conservatory studying music, but she eventually left Boston and returned to Los Angeles to pursue acting. She had several minor TV and film roles, as well as some success on the stage.
Persuaded by her family and manager to try out for American Idol, McPhee traveled to San Francisco to audition. The judges were wowed by her performance of "God Bless the Child" and her beauty. Her ability to sing blues and standards were particularly praised by the judges during the competition. In particular, her performance of "Over the Rainbow" in the last two rounds was praised by the judges, especially Simon Cowell. During the finale, she was crowned runner up to winner Taylor Hicks.
After the competition, it was announced that McPhee had been signed to RCA. Her debut single "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" was released in June of 2006 to strong sales. She toured with Andrea Bocelli as well as with her fellow American Idol contestants, although illness caused her to miss part of the latter tour. Her self-titled debut album debuted at number two on the Billboard charts, but failed to reach gold status. In January 2008, it was announced that McPhee was no longer signed with RCA and planned to release her next album independently.
In 2006, McPhee revealed that she had previously suffered from bulimia. She appeared on The Dr. Keith Ablow Show to discuss her experiences dealing with the disorder. In 2008, she married her boyfriend and longtime manager Nick Cokas in Beverly Hills.
After leaving RCA in 2008, McPhee released her second studio album Unbroken on the Universal Music Group subsidiary label Verve Forecast Records. The album sold 15,000 copies in its first week of release in January 2010, ranking it No. 27 on the Billboard 200. McPhee was part of the “We are the World 25” project raising funds for earthquake relief in Haiti. In October 2010, McPhee released a holiday album titled Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You. She has also been involved in acting, taking small roles in films including The House Bunny and guest-starring on TV shows like CSI: NY, Ugly Betty and Community.
Katharine McPhee Official Website
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