Katharine McPhee

Of all the top Idol finalists from last season, Katharine has been the one with the highest post-show irritation factor. Where Taylor's offered some disarmingly candid interviews, Chris has comported himself with dignity in the wake of massive success, Elliott has comported himself with dignity in the wake of ..

. well, not much yet, Paris has been pretty much below the radar and Kellie has actually improved her public image, Katharine has been plagued with a number of highly publicized incidents (voice problems, foot injury, missed and abbreviated Idol tour shows, bulimia, etc., etc.

) and sometimes airheaded comments.
And when she delayed her album's release repeatedly, and decided to do a contemporary rhythmic pop album instead of going in the Eva Cassidy/Diana Krall/Jane Monheit traditional pop-ballad style many expected after Over the Rainbow, I was fearing the worst. And when I saw the early official publicity photos (and the ones in the press packet accompanying the album), I was not reassured.

But happily (and I say happily because the more Idols that make good albums, the faster we can get start eliminating the widespread condescension and dismissal that mainstream observers love to project toward the show and its stars), I was wrong. Season 5 has produced a good crop of Idol albums -- Taylor, Chris and Kellie have all delivered in their different areas of specialty -- and Katharine's is right up there with them.
It's not flawless by any means.

There are some unfortunate choices of material, some of which make Katharine sound awkward trying to be down with the sounds of today and and others that just make for tedious listening. The overall sound is not that different from the glut of Britneys, Jessicas, Ashlees, Paula DeAndas, JoJos and so forth, but Katharine adds another dimension because she's a fine technical singer. (Well, JoJo can sing, too, but apart from her two superb hit singles, her material pretty much wallows in mediocrity.

)
My colleague Elysa Gardner says Katharine and the songs just reminded her of warmed-over Mariah Carey imitations, and there's some truth to that -- but the key point is that Katharine's model is the good Mariah, the Mariah of We Belong Together rather than the Mariah of ...

well, just about anything else. (Not a big fan of Mariah's repertoire, just for the record.) There are times that remind me of Christina Aguilera, too (another good singer whose material is largely abysmal).

But altogether, this is a consistently solid album with a few real high points that rank among the best songs in the overall Idol canon.
Owing to the (unexpected) length of this post so far, I'm going to make you read on for the traditional track-by-track analysis, which follows (plus clips if you want to sample the tracks).
Finally got Katharine's album, in a deluxe folder including a BigSexyLips applicator (I should get a lot of use out of that) and a number of glamor photos, including one that's apparently an instructional shot on how to use the BSL lip polish/plumper/whatever it is.

So, if all goes well, I'll have my traditional track-by-track review of the album up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for Birmingham auditions tonight at 8 ET. Join in the mayhem.

(Note--thanks to eagle-eyed Idol observer elliottfan for noting the following piece of news, which had been given to USA TODAY with the understanding we'd consider running it Thursday. Well, it's out there now, so here's what I wrote up, intending to post it Thursday morning.)
You just never know where an Idol will pop up next.

Could be a TV talk show, could be a bull-riding event, could be a webisodic drama. The last of those is where Katharine will appear Jan. 19 -- on Lonelygirl15.

I had only dim recollections of there being something bogus about this, which upon looking it up proved to be more or less the case -- it's the video blog about a teenager who turned out to be portrayed by a much older professional actress. The press release claims it's the most watched/fastest growing/most talked about video blog on the internet, so who am I to doubt it, even if it goes on to classify it in the tradition of The X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Maybe that's true, too, although that's a pretty lofty pair of comparisons in my book.

Anyway, Katharine's apparently a fan and asked if she could be on it, and the creators wrote her a special part (so she won't be playing herself. However, a song from her album will be heard in a later episode). And there you have it.

Thanks to julepjerk for the report on Kat at the Rose Parade, especially the part about being upstaged by a giant frog. Don't you just hate when that happens?
Further Kat/Rose Parade reports are welcome, but it's going to take a lot to top that giant frog upstaging bit.

Wow, some of you are serious. There have been a couple of requests (not sure if they're from the same person, but I'll assume not) for the complete writer credits on Katharine's album, so I'm happy to oblige. (However, if this subject does not particularly tantalize you, this may read like a very dull post .

.. which would not be much use as a scratching post -- never mind, time to walk the blog, I guess.

)
OK, that's out of my system. Here's the listing as it appears on the press materials:
1. Love Story (Nate Hills, James Washington, Corte Ellis) (the names in parentheses are the writers; following is the producer) Produced by Danja
2.

Over It (Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Ruth-Anne Cunningham) Produced by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg
3. Open Toes (Nate Hills, James Washington, The Clutch; Balewa Muhammad Candice Nelson, Katharine McPhee) Produced by Danja. (That one's a bit confusing, as The Clutch appears to be a musical collective that Hills, for one, is a member of, but I'm just reproducing the info faithfully.

)
4. Home (Kara DioGuardi) Produced by Marti Frederiksen Kara DioGuardi
5. Not Ur Girl (Nate Hills, James Washington, Corte Ellis, Katharine McPhee) Produced by Danja
6.

Each Other (Nate Hills, James Washingotn, Corte Ellis) Produced by Danja
7. Dangerous (Nate Hills, James Washington, Corte Ellis) Produced by Danja
8. Ordinary World (Walter Afanasieff, Emanuel Kiriakou, Lindy Robbins) Produced by Walter Afanasieff Emanuel Kiriakou.

(Definitely not the Duran Duran song.)
9. Do What You Do (Harvey Mason Jr.

, Damon Thomas, James Fauntleroy II, Makeba Riddick, Rob Knox) Produced by The Underdogs
10. Better Off Alone (Austin Carroll, Susan Marshall) Produced by Emanuel Kiriakou
11. Neglected (Nate Hills, James Washington, Kara DioGuardi, Balewa Muhammad, Katharine McPhee) Produced by Danja
12.

Everywhere I Go (Babyface, Ernest Bishop Young Don Dixon) Produced by Babyface.
Besides a few comments on Katharine's glam shots (a couple of which sort of went over the family-friendly line), there were a couple of questions I can provide short answers to.
Love Story, contrary to the previous published report, does not have a McPhee co-writing credit, at least not on this list.

Writers are Nate Hills, James Washington and Corte Ellis, who are all over the record (six songs together or separately).
As for the size of the reproduced photo montage, that's as big as we could get it, though clicking on it brought it up to a quite viewable size.
Katharine will be on the cover of the January issue of Shape magazine, on newsstands this week, complete with an extensive photo shoot.

Here are some quotes from the story, which as you'd expect focuses on her eating disorder, as supplied by the publicist.
At the time of tryouts (August 2005) I was out of control, bingeing and sometimes purging up to seven times a day,” she says. “But after I made it through the first round of auditions, I knew I had to get better if I was going to go all the way.

”
“Growing up I never worried about my body; I was always the tall, skinny one in the family,” she says.
“I used to make resolutions like 'I’m going to lose 20 pounds.’ Then the next day I’d be stuffing myself with cheesecake.

What I want next year is to move onward and upward.”
After being told by several casting producers growing up that she was over weight and needed to loose 10 more pounds, she was crushed. “I tried eating nothing all day, but then I’d end up bingeing at night.

I felt guilty about eating, but I was obsessed with food.”
Over the next three years, Katharine’s weeks would go something like this: “Some days I’d wake up with the ‘feeling,’ as I call it-overwhelmed with desperation and loneliness- and a strong urge to feed that feeling. I’d get into my car and drive from restaurant to restaurant.

Nice places, too. Not cheap take-out food. I spent so much money!

And I’d be so ashamed. Other days I was fine and ate normally, but the feeling always returned and the cycle started again.”
Katherine checked herself into the Eating Disorder Center of California in LA.

“In this way I can say the show literally saved my life.”

Will Katharine 'Doll' up for album?

For those disappointed by the news that Katharine's album won't be out this year, here's at least with her about what she's planning for it.

Not sure if that Pussycat Dolls influence is a good thing, though ...

Thanks to Lee Ann, who informs us, There is an on the EW site today. She is being very 'hush hush' about her upcoming CD.
True enough -- it's kind of amusing reading her skillful evasions.

A bit lengthy, but interesting stuff.
I'm dubious about this rumor about Katharine being under consideration to play Wonder Woman, but since it's out there, (and let me know how well you think she'd handle the role).
Also, an interesting experience coming up for Kelly Clarkson.

She'll be on Capitol Hill on behalf of the National Academy of Recording Arts Sciences (NARAS) for Grammys on the Hill, a day of music advocacy that connects top music makers with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., in an effort to inform policy makers of the important role the recording arts play in the nation's culture and economy, and to raise the profile of the recording arts during meetings with legislators.

Kelly's role will be to jam with members of the Recording Arts and Sciences Congressional Caucus on Capitol Hill. Grammy-winning musicians, songwriters, producers and engineers — along with the Congressional Grammy Band (musically inclined members of Congress) — will demonstrate the exciting process of creating a record and the importance of each music maker's role in completing the finished product.
Wonder if she'll put the Congressional jam on her next record?

I'm betting against it.
Did Katharine indiscriminately walk under ladders, past black cats and step on cracks in her childhood? Bad luck is stalking her.

Just as she was getting into the swing of this touring thing, she backstage in Charlotte. Well, it's a hairline fracture, apparently, but it can't be pleasant. She went on with the show in Charlotte and intends to continue, which is, all things considered, probably not a bad idea.

Katharine made her return to public performing at the end of her View guest-host appearance, singing Over the Rainbow with her trademark smile. No ill effects from her ailments were detectable, although it was a pretty restrained, no-vocal-fireworks performance.
Now I have to somehow shake off the vision of whatever camping-tent-like ensemble Elisabeth Hasselback was wearing.

Grisly.
Although watching the women of The View is something like being staked to an anthill for me, I'm watching as much as I can take to see what's up with Katharine. So far (first eight minutes), she's talking fluently, has not been pressed on any particular issue, and has confirmed she's joining the Idol tour tonight.

She also said she's so grateful to American Idol and all it's done for me, and dismissed the various rumors about her dissatisfaction with the process and the tour by saying she was following doctors' orders (which were, she said, you're not allowed to talk for three weeks ). As far as her bulimia condition goes, she said things are great. She also shrugged off comments about the 19-year age difference between her and her boyfriend.

Then the discussion moved to issues such as wax figures of Brad and Angelina and Lance Bass' announcement that he's gay, and my brain exploded. More later.
Couple quick things regarding Kat's press conference.

The Big Sexy announcement was the endorsement deal with Sexy Hair Products, which makes Big Sexy gel, mousse, shampoo, etc.
And I have to take responsibility for the use of the word rejoin in reference to Katharine and the Idol tour. You're right, she can't rejoin something she hasn't yet been part of it.

Should have changed it to join. Don't blame Katharine for that one.
Thanks to the heroic efforts of USA TODAY's Donna Freydkin, who not only went to Katharine's Big Sexy press conference in New York this morning but interviewed her briefly later, here's everything you want to know about Katharine (well, everything she talked about, anyway).

Here's from the trenches:
Katharine exudes the same girl-next-door freshness as Mandy Moore. She's got the soft voice, gently tousled hair and easy smile. And when she gets particularly animated about something -- say, her boyfriend Nick Cokas' hair -- she'll touch your leg for extra emphasis.

Katharine travels with an entourage worthy of a bigger star. At the Ritz-Carlton in New York to promote her deal with Sexy Hair Products, for which she'll be the new face, she had a retinue of handlers with her, hovering around protectively. She talked to reporters after a three-week hiatus from the media -- and the current American Idol tour -- due to her bruised vocal chords.

But Katharine is back in a major way. She's co-hosting ABC's The View Thursday, but says she's not jittery about it. Once you come off of Idol, at least for me, you're never as nervous as you were, she says.

And when she rejoins the Idol tour in Pittsburgh tomorrow, she'll be taking it easy. I just have to sing easily so I can get through the tour, she says. Katharine is under orders from her doctor to get plenty of sleep and guzzle gallons of water.

When the tour is done on Sept. 24 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Katharine will record her album. I've been writing and have been meeting with writers and producers, she says.

We're envisioning a soulful pop kind of album.
Tomorrow, Katharine will be in New York for a press conference built around what a press release calls a Big Sexy announcement. I doubt that means she's telling the world she's marrying her boyfriend or anything; Big Sexy makes hairspray, mousse, shampoo, etc.

, so I'd say it's a safe assumption we're talking sponsorship deal.
Other questions may be asked, of course, relating to voice problems, tour absences, new record, personal life, etc., so stay tuned.

Actually, contrary to Herlinda A.'s recent comment, Katharine's single and download sales combined so far (191,000) don't yet equal Diana DeGarmo's total single sales (201,000), and Diana had several thousand downloads as well.
Katharine's combined totals should at some point surpass Diana's, but it ain't happened yet.

I'm back -- sorry it took so long today, but the sad news of the understandably occupied most of my time since I got in this morning.
I wanted to thank Whitney Matheson for her in-depth Idol tour opener coverage, and everyone else at USA TODAY who pitched in to help while I was gone.
Also, I didn't really see much about this anywhere during an admittedly quick surveillance, but for the record I wanted to mention the rather disappointing sales racked up by Katharine's My Destiny/Over the Rainbow single.

Details follow.
Maybe I need a booster shot of cynical serum, but I was kind of surprised by the comments on Katharine's , out tomorrow in People. They seem split between what I expected -- an outpouring of sympathy for a widespread and serious disorder -- and a prevalent suspicion that the story was cleverly calculated to boost interest in her just before her single comes out (Tuesday).

Well, it could be a little of both. Sure wouldn't hurt for Katharine to be all over the news when her single hits; might be just the boost she needs to maybe outsell Taylor. (That would be interesting, though a bit unlikely.

) What we don't know, though, is whether Katharine's people (love that concept) planned a story with People's people (which would be a natural move) and the bulimia issue happened to come out during the course of the interview and was seized upon as the natural focus of the article, or whether the bulimia revelation was always part of the plan.
For now, I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt and extend my sympathies for dealing with the problem. But I'm interested to see further comments from you.

Now that it's Idol off season, the Idol Chatter blog is not about to reverse course and speculate on everything Idol-related. I do want to retain a certain above-gutter-level tone here. But a little harmless gossip isn't necessarily off-limits, and I do remember a comment or two in which the poster referred to himself as Katharine's future husband.

Well, there's apparently . She's talked about him on , and, yes, Mr. Nick Cokas is 41.

In a move that will come as a surprise to assorted cave dwellers and hermits, BMG has Katharine to a recording contract. So far in Idol history, every winner and runner-up has released an album through BMG, and Taylor and Katharine will now officially join that company.
First single will be available June 27, featuring, as many of you have already noted, Over the Rainbow and the appalling (adjective mine, though lifted from Simon's lexicon) My Destiny.

Katharine told the Associated Press she had not expected to win and added, It would really just be silly to feel bad for me at this point. I got a record deal, a new car. OK, we won't feel bad for you.

We've rated the Idol celebrity coaches, best and worst, but there's now a clear winner in the Scoring Most Points with a Guest Coach category. That would be Katharine, who is now confirmed for special guest appearances (meaning not a full set or anything that elaborate) with Andrea Bocelli on three West Coast concerts.
The dates are June 9 (Sacramento), June 10 (San Jose) and June 11 (L.

A.), all well in advance of Katharine's more formal debut on the Idol July 5.
This just in.

On an interview airing tonight on Extra (check local listings), Katharine says, and I quote in full from a press release, Steven Spielberg would like to have a meeting with me! That for me I think was the thing that really made this last week calming for me. I just was like, 'Wow, Steven Spielberg would like to have a meeting with me .

..' that's incredible!

I think that was the moment where I turned to a couple of my close friends who have been through this competition and I was like I don't know if winning is the best for me.
Does that mean Spielberg would have canceled the meeting if she'd won? Not quite sure how the two things relate, unless it means, Who gives a frog's .

.. leg about American Idol?

I'm gonna meet Steven Spielberg anyway and star in a great big movie!
My Destiny -- wow, it was a ballad! Knock me over with that feather!

In a way, it was well suited to Katharine, since it was a celebratory song that allowed her habitual smiling to actually seem appropriate (not always the case by a long shot). Tune-wise it was as forgettable an assembly-line pop ballad as I've ever heard, and the age-old last-minute gospel choir Idol trick didn't change anything for the better. The vocal also sounded very uneven, with parts oversung and undersung.

I could live without hearing this again, although I won't be so privileged. Interestingly, none of the judges seemed to like the song either. That's encouraging, anyway.

Once it became clear that this was a greatest hits remake show, it wasn't exactly a shock that Katharine did Over the Rainbow again. It was her best performance of the season (Cherry Tree was No. 2, so she's being shrewd), but you just can't match that initial impact.

(She might have if she sang the whole thing a cappella, but no such luck.)
I wonder if she'll make a career singing seated on the floor. And enough of the teary-eyed dad.

Overall, good but anticlimactic.
Katharine went first. (Taylor's no dummy, picking the second slot.

) Shoot, I was hoping they'd do new selections rather than reprise past performances. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree is a smart one for Katharine, and at least she was off the floor more this time (although that exposed more of her less-than-stellar dancing).
Seemed like an anticlimax, though -- no surprise value left, we've seen it before, and she didn't notably improve on her earlier performance.

Against all Oz, something good at the end of Katharine's 'Rainbow'

Not sure when the Somewhere got added to Over the Rainbow, but pedantic issues aside, this is the kind of standard Katharine seems more comfortable with than more contemporary ballads. She couldn't resist a flight of fluttery syllables, of course, and the singing on the floor bit is getting old, but she exercised superb control and this was overall a good showcase for the beleaguered Katharine.

Katharine: would you like some ham on that 'Dog'?

I approve of Katharine rocking it up, but this was a bit over the top -- too frantic, too much posturing. And while she sang Hound Dog well, she really blew the All Shook Up portion of her medley. Could be trouble ahead.

Year of birth song: Another overblown ballad, Against All Odds by Phil Collins, and way oversung. Strained, off-key in parts, lame choice — not a good move. As it turned out, easily the worst performance of the night.

Current hit: But this was easily the best thing Katharine has done in weeks. KT Tunstall's Black Horse and the Cherry Tree was an adventurous song choice, and her vocal had personality, sass and spunk -- all rare qualities in her recent performances. By crouching, she took a bold stand.

Katharine toadies by singing a song written by co-coach David Foster, Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing, a ballad butchered by countless Idol tryout hopefuls. Bland may be the evening's key word.
It was so hard for me to get around the sheer insipidity of the song that I had trouble judging the performance, but she sounded as if she was overdoing it to show her intensity.

Sounded a bit strained and artificial.
We're just over halfway through, with Katharine singing Who Wants to Live Forever, and it occurs to me that if the price were watching shows like this for eternity, the choice would be easy. Even Kellie kind of blew her almost sparkling moment by immediately reverting to her batty personality responding to the judges.

Anyway, Katharine opting for the ballad was probably a good idea, even though as dramatic ballads go, this one gets pretty lukewarmly. It's about one-tenth as goosebump-inducing as a Celine Dion song. (And I'm no big fan of Celine's.

) But Katharine played to her strengths and was fine, if tedious.