Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol.
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 381,000 copies (as of December 2010). The album's first single, "Over It", was a Billboard Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008. Her second album, Unbroken, was released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5, 2010, and debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the single "Had It All", which peaked at number 22 on the AC chart. It has sold 45,000 copies as of January 2011.
Her third album, the holiday-themed Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, was released in October 2010. It debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart, while the single "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" peaked at number 16 on the Billboard AC chart. McPhee released her fourth album, Hysteria, in September 2015. She released her fifth album, I Fall in Love Too Easily, composed of jazz standards, in November 2017.
McPhee has an established acting career, in The House Bunny and Shark Night 3D, and portrayed Karen Cartwright in Smash (2012–2013) and Paige Dineen in Scorpion (2014–2018). She made her Broadway debut as Jenna in Waitress in 2018 and originated the role in the West End production (2019), and returned to the Broadway show (2019–2020).
Early life McPhee was born in Los Angeles. Her father, Daniel McPhee, was a television producer. Her mother, Peisha (née Burch) McPhee, has been a vocal coach on American Idol since 2011. The family moved to the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles when she was 12 years old. Peisha McPhee recognized her daughter's musical talent and decided to train her. McPhee's older sister, Adriana, has been a vocal coach on American Idol since 2012. McPhee is of English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.
She attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theatre. She left college before graduation on the advice of her manager, and returned to Los Angeles to try out for television pilots. McPhee was cast (during the time she had dropped out of college and was auditioning in Los Angeles) in a mall-based MTV soap opera pilot, You Are Here, playing the older sister of a more popular younger sister. MTV never aired the pilot and did not pick up the series.Ask Ausiello column, TVGuide.com, May 31, 2006; retrieved July 26, 2006.
In March 2005, McPhee starred as Annie Oakley in a Cabrillo Music Theater production of the musical Annie Get Your Gun. McPhee was nominated for a Los Angeles Stage Ovation Award in the category of "Lead Actress in a Musical". McPhee had a small role as Paramount Girl in the 2007 musical film Crazy, based on the life of Hank Garland. McPhee filmed the role in early 2005, before she auditioned for American Idol. She has struggled with eating disorders. She told People that at age 13, she began starving herself and exercising compulsively, and at age 17, became bulimic. McPhee gained weight in college due to her bingeing. After seven years of illness, she finally entered a three-month rehabilitation program after successfully passing her American Idol audition; her rehab stint ended just before the Idol semifinals started in February 2006.Sóuter, Ericka; Rizzo, Monica. "Katharine McPhee's Bulimia Battle" , People, June 22, 2006.
She told Teen Vogue in May 2007, "I eat whatever I crave—I'm just really careful about portions." McPhee and her sister appeared on the debut of The Dr. Keith Ablow Show on September 18, 2006, to discuss her struggles with bulimia and her childhood fear of her father.
Career American Idol
In 2005, 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, and was selected to be a participant in the fifth season, which aired in 2006. After the first round of Hollywood week, she sang "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick, which earned favorable comments from the judges. During the second round, she performed in a group, singing "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by the Four Tops, forgetting the words, but the judges decided to advance the entire group. During the third round, she sang "My Funny Valentine" a cappella and advanced to the top 40. She was angered when fellow group member Crystal Stark did not make the top 24. McPhee's run on American Idol led to the use of the term "McPheever". The inclusion of producer David Foster and singer Andrea Bocelli as guest mentors for Top 6 Week turned out to be a fortuitous introduction for McPhee, as she has worked on various music projects with both men after Idol. In May 2006, McPhee visited her alma mater Notre Dame High School for her hometown celebration.R, Joe. "The Man Who Cried", Television Without Pity at Yahoo.com, May 20, 2006. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited the school and proclaimed the day Katharine McPhee Day. She finished as the runner-up to Taylor Hicks.
Performances and results (during voting weeks) Week #ThemeSong choiceOriginal artistResultTop 24 (12 Women)Free Choice"Since I Fell for You"Ella JohnsonSafeTop 20 (10 Women)Free Choice"All in Love is Fair"Stevie WonderSafeTop 16 (8 Women)Free Choice"Think"Aretha FranklinSafeTop 12Stevie Wonder"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"Stevie WonderSafeTop 11The 1950s"Come Rain or Come Shine"Sy Oliver (with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra)SafeTop 10Songs from The 21st Century"The Voice Within"Christina AguileraBottom 2Top 9Country"Bringing Out the Elvis"Faith HillSafeTop 8Songs by Queen"Who Wants to Live Forever"QueenSafeTop 7The Great American Songbook"Someone to Watch Over Me"Gertrude LawrenceSafeTop 6Great Love Songs"I Have Nothing"Whitney HoustonSafeTop 5One Song From the Year They Were Born (1984)One Song on the Billboard Charts at the time"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)""Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"Phil CollinsKT TunstallSafeTop 4Elvis Presley"Hound Dog"/"All Shook Up""Can't Help Falling in Love"Big Mama Thornton / Elvis PresleyBottom 2Top 3Clive Davis's choiceJudge's Choice (Simon Cowell)Contestant's Choice"I Believe I Can Fly""Somewhere Over the Rainbow""I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues"R. KellyJudy GarlandDuke EllingtonSafeFinaleContestant's ChoiceContestant's ChoiceCoronation Song"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree""Somewhere Over the Rainbow""My Destiny"KT TunstallJudy GarlandKatharine McPheeRunner-Up When Ryan Seacrest announced the results that night, McPhee was placed in the top two. When Ryan Seacrest announced the results that night, McPhee was in the bottom two but declared safe when Chris Daughtry was eliminated.
2006–08: Katharine McPhee and feature-film debut On June 6, 2006, McPhee signed to American Idol series creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited and Sony BMG's RCA Records.Silverman, Stephen M. "Katharine McPhee Signs Record Deal", People.com, June 6, 2006. In the same month, she performed at the JCPenney Jam: Concert for America's Kids, soloing with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and performing a duet with Andrea Bocelli on "Somos Novios".
McPhee's Idol single, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" was released on June 27, 2006, by RCA Records. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "My Destiny" peaked at number 60.Chart Beat, Billboard.com, July 6, 2006. Retrieved July 26, 2006. Thirty-two weeks after its release, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny had climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts. It was the second-highest best-selling single of 2006 after Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud". "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny" remained on the chart for more than 58 weeks.
In July, McPhee missed the first three weeks of the American Idol Tour due to laryngitis and bronchitis.Idol Chatter: "McPhee will not perform", USAToday.com, July 5, 2006. She joined the tour beginning with the July 28 show in Washington, D.C., singing only two songs "Over the Rainbow" and "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", instead of the usual four, on doctor's orders to conserve her voice. At the August 1 concert in Charlotte, North Carolina, she suffered a hairline fracture of her foot when she tripped backstage and was fitted with a walking-boot cast.Silverman, Stephen M. Katharine McPhee Breaks Her Foot, People.com, August 3, 2006. Once she recovered from the foot injury, she added "Think" to her concert set.
McPhee recorded a duet with Andrea Bocelli on "Can't Help Falling in Love" for his Under the Desert Sky album, which was released as a CD/DVD package on November 7, 2006. McPhee signed a two-year endorsement deal in 2006 with Sexy Hair Concepts to become their first celebrity spokesperson for their hair-care product line. Also in 2006, she founded a charity called McPhee Outreach. The purpose of the charity is to team up with other foundations or organizations and help in any way possible. The foundation teamed up with the Lollipop Theater Network to provide music outreach (called "Rhythm of Hope") to sick children in Southern California hospitals. McPhee Outreach teamed up with Global Compassion Services to build a preschool in the West African nation of Burkina Faso to help combat that nation's high illiteracy rate.
On December 1, 2006, McPhee released "A Gift to You / O Come All Ye Faithful". The single was conceived and co-produced by Al Gomes of Big Noise, along with Walter Afanasieff. McPhee performed "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the TNT Network special Christmas in Washington, DC. Her self-titled debut album, Katharine McPhee was released on January 30, 2007, and sold 116,000 copies its first week, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.Cohen, Jonathan. "Better 'Late' Than Never: Jones Debuts At No. 1", Billboard.com, February 7, 2007. The first single from the album was "Over It" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Love Story" failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100.
In early 2007, McPhee guest-starred in the web series, lonelygirl15 as an unnamed character in the episode "Truth or Dare". She made a cameo appearance as herself on Ugly Betty in the episode "I'm Coming Out". The episode was broadcast February 1, 2007. During the 2007 Christmas holiday season, she re-released her Christmas single "O Come All Ye Faithful". On January 11, 2008, Billboard.com reported that McPhee had been released from her contract with RCA Records. A spokesperson for the label announced, "She is going to record her next album on her own."Halperin, Shirley. "Katharine McPhee: the latest Idol to go indie" , Entertainment Weekly, January 9, 2008.