Katherine McPhee is a popular American singer who launched her career by winning second place during the American Idol competition in 2006.
McPhee was born on March 25, 1984 in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Patricia Burch McPhee, is an accomplished cabaret singer and vocal coach and has been instrumental in McPhee’s singing since she was two years old. Her father, Daniel McPhee, is a television producer, while her older sister, Adriana Burch McPhee, is also an aspiring producer.
As a child, McPhee was also an athlete and a swimmer at Notre Dame High School. She was also a stage actress in the same school and along with her older sister Adriana de ella, were nominated for Princess of Homecoming during their senior year.
She attended the prestigious Boston Conservatory to further hone her singing skills. Having decided to focus full time on singing and at the suggestion of her manager, she dropped out of college to audition for television in Los Angeles.
But life wasn’t always easy for McPhee. In an article she revealed that out of 200 auditions, she had been rejected 195 times.
Despite her family’s penchant for showbiz, it was her boyfriend who steered her to greater stardom in her lifetime. Nick Goras, McPhee’s boyfriend, convinced her to audition for American Idol in San Francisco. Her audition piece, an original Billie Holiday song called “God Bless the Child” was highly praised by Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell.
Although she did not walk away with the American Idol grand prize that Taylor Hicks won, she was signed to Simon Fuller’s record company and Sony BMG’s RCA Records on June 6, 2006. A few days later, on June 27, her debut. The single “Somewhere Over the Rainbow / My Destiny” was released and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” peaked at number 12 while “My Destiny” was number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. This won the record as the second best selling single from 2006.
McPhee was chosen to tour with Andrea Bocelli during their US concert series on June 9–11, 2006.
With the actress still in her career, McPhee is co-producing a play Red Herring along with Angelina Bruno, Jeff Kasal and Robert Hawk. The play will also take place during the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.
In 2007, McPhee’s self-titled debut album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 116,000 copies in its first week. “Over It”, the first single from the album, has consistently topped the charts and music videos.
McPhee is scheduled to appear in upcoming film projects. One film is an independent production titled “The Last Caller.” In another film, he will co-star with Anna Faris under the direction of Fred Wolf. It will be produced by Columbia Pictures and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Production.
Although she has confessed to having suffered from bulimia in the past, McPhee today is a picture of confidence and beauty and is sure to shine a little brighter in the years to come.
