Of the contestants on American Idol's fifth season, Katharine McPhee stood out: a gorgeous brunette with a huge voice and an affinity for traditional pop.

    Born to Peisha McPhee a cabaret-singer/vocal coach, Katharine attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theater, but left to try out for television pilots in Los Angeles. She went out on auditions but didn't find work until she was signed for an MTV pilot that never aired. Urged by friends, Katharine drove up to the auditions for American Idol in San Francisco.

    She was marked for Hollywood by the producers. Her fans — the Kat Pack and McPhans — happily suffering from "McPheever" did the rest. Unfortunately, at the end of the 2 hour season finale, when the final votes were tallied, Taylor Hicks emerged as the winner, and Katharine as runner-up.  

    Shortly thereafter, Katharine was picked up by Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited and Sony BMG's RCA Records. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" / "My Destiny," debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart.

    She missed the start of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, due to severe bronchitis and laryngitis, but did rejoin in time to visit the White House to meet President George W. Bush. McPhee sang at the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2007, had a cameo appearance on the lonelygirl15 episode, "Truth or Dare", and made People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People List.

    While recording, Katharine approached her producers and label midway through production, requesting a stronger R&B and modern pop influence. The result is stylish and alluring: the opener, "Love Story," perfectly blends retro-'70s soul vibes and sparkling, contemporary rhythms. Her self-titled debut album sold 116,000 copies its first week, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

    The first single from the album was the "Over It". On the last day of co-hosting TRL for a week, she introduced the World Premiere of her first music video "Over It", which went on to reach #1 on both TRL's and VH1's Top 20 Countdown. As usual it is the performance that sets Katharine apart!

    Katharine McPhee's transcended into big-screen acting roles: she's currently working on a (currently untitled) film made by Happy Madison Productions, Adam Sandler's production company.