Katharine McPhee
Biography
Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Katharine McPhee knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a professional singer. Katharine belted out her very first tune at the age of 2, much to the surprise of her vocal coach mother. With her mother's help, Katharine McPhee honed her voice into the powerful force that it is today.
katharine mcphee on american idol
After high school, Katharine McPhee decided that it was time to focus on her singing and enrolled at the prestigious Boston Conservatory of Music. Though she only attended one semester, Katharine McPhee emerged from the institute with a greater understanding of how to get the most from her powerful chops. But before her life-changing stint on American Idol, Katharine was an actress and made appearances in films like Crazy (2005), performed on-stage in Annie Get Your Gun and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and was on TV in the short-lived You Are Here. Shortly after, Katharine McPhee decided to make a trip to San Francisco to audition for American Idol, where she blew the judges away with her stunning rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child."
Katharine McPhee did phenomenally well on the show, impressing the viewers and the judges with her silky smooth singing voice and sexy, yet utterly confident, demeanor. Katharine McPhee came in second place to Taylor Hicks.
She received a lot of recognition following American Idol. Her debut single, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny," was released on June 27, 2006, by RCA Records. "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "My Destiny" peaked at No. 60. Katharine McPhee toured with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli around the same time.
katharine mcphee is named no. 43 in 2008 top 99
In 2007, Katharine McPhee's self-titled debut album sold 116,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. In November 2007, Katharine announced her plans to begin recording a new album after parting ways with her record label, RCA Records. Also in 2007, Katharine McPhee pursued her second love of acting on TV's Ugly Betty and in the big screen's I Know What Boys Like (2008) alongside Anna Faris and Rumer Willis.
