On Monday evening, Katharine attended the “Schiaperelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations” Costume Institute Gala (also known as the annual ‘Met Ball’) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Decked out in a lovely, coral Elie Saab gown, Kat looked absolutely breathtaking as she walked the red carpet.  Check out images the gallery by following the link below!

5/7/12 – Costume Institute Gala / Met Ball in NYC

The first soundtrack for SMASH, entitled “The Music of Smash”, has debuted on the Billboard 200 at #9!  In its first week in stores, the soundtrack moved 40,000 copies.  This is a great, solid start!  Have you purchased your copy yet?

Also, two of the songs from the soundtrack charted on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart — and both are performed by our girl Katharine!  Ryan Tedder-produced original “Touch Me” bowed at #106 on the chart with 18,000 copies of the song sold.  Kat’s cover of Florence + the Machine‘s “Shake It Out” also landed at #181.

Can you believe there’s only one more episode of SMASH left for the first season?  Time flies!  Episode 14 of Smash, entitled “Previews”, aired this past Monday.  In case you missed it, you can catch it below!

BUY THE MUSIC: You can purchase the music from the episode now on iTunes.  Click here for the show-stopping gospel number “Stand”, performed by Katharine and her co-star Leslie Odom.  The song is also available on the first soundtrack for the show, which is available in stores now.  You can also purchase the sultry, original track “Smash!” as performed by Katharine and Megan Hilty.  Click here for that one!

Last night, Katharine appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote SMASH and its recent soundtrack release!  This was her first sit-down interview with Leno — and it was hilarious.  She talked about dressing up her two Chihuahuas, adjusting to New York City, her battle wounds from dance rehearsals, and more!  In case you missed it, check out the interview videos below:

FOR INTERNATIONAL FANS: This link should work for you guys!

The first soundtrack for SMASH, aptly titled “The Music of Smash”, is now available in stores and online!  The standard edition of the album includes 13 favorites from season one of the show; including seven of Kat’s best performances (such as “Touch Me”, “Shake It Out”, and “The 20th Century Fox Mambo”).  Target is also offering an exclusive deluxe edition with five bonus tracks (including Kat’s covers of “Our Day Will Come” and fan-favorite “Run”).

This soundtrack is a must-have for all Katharine and SMASH fans!  In case you haven’t purchased your copy yet, we have gathered all the vendor links you may need to order your copy now:

- Order the standard edition from Amazon ($9.99, 13 tracks)
- Order the deluxe edition from Target ($13.99, 18 tracks)
- Download the album or individual track on iTunes ($11.99; “Complete My Album” option available if you have previously purchased singles included on album.)

Only two more episodes left for the first season of SMASH!  This coming Monday, episode 14 (“Previews”) will air.  Can’t wait till then?  We have gathers all the Kat-related sneak peeks to tide you over!  Let’s start with the synopsis for the episode, which is as follows:

“Bombshell” faces its first audience just as a major crisis hits Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman). The team of Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) scramble to fix the show when the first preview falls short, and Frank (Brian D’Arcy James) must adjust to the unwelcome return of Michael Swift (Will Chase) to his life. Dev (Raza Jaffrey) seeks reconciliation with Karen (Katharine McPhee), but explosive information about Ivy (Megan Hilty) lurks just beneath the surface. Jack Davenport and Anjelica Huston also star.

A bunch of previews for the episode have been released… Check them out by following the links below.  This looks like it’s going to be another excellent episode!

- Clip #1: Karen goes into panic mode when Rebecca has a strange reaction
- Clip #2: Karen performs gospel number “Stand” at Sam’s church
- Clip #3: Karen and Ivy perform new number, “Smash”, for ‘Bombshell’
- Clip #4: Karen confronts Rebecca about sleeping with Derek

With only a few more episodes left for the first season of SMASH, the drama is really ramping up as “Bombshell” is prepared for presentation before its first real audience in Boston.  In case you missed the most recent episode, entitled “Tech”, you can watch it below!

Katharine headlined the launch of the Partners in Preservation initiative in New York City yesterday.  Partners in Preservation is a community-based program which provides preservation grants for local historic places, sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Kat performed a stunning rendition of “New York, New York” at the event in front of holographic images of a selection of New York City’s many beautiful, historic landmarks.  Check out the performance below!

Just a few days after wrapping the first season of SMASH at the end of March, Katharine headed over to Africa as celebrity ambassador for non-profit organization Malaria No More.  Recently, Kat wrote a blog for Huffington Post discussing her time in the country and the importance of supporting charities like Malaria No More.  Everyone can truly make a difference!  This is a must-read — click here to check it out.  Below is an excerpt from her journal:

The best part was when a group of young school children put on a skit about malaria. The kids cast me in the role of Assistant Doctor, but I was given strict instructions that they had been rehearsing for a long time and I had to stick to the script. This meant I was powerless when a young actor got sick from malaria. I couldn’t save him with medicine; he had not slept under a mosquito net, and had not gotten tested in time for treatment to work.

Still buzzing about the phenomenal music from Smash‘s most recent episode — entitled ‘Publicity’?  Katharine performed two fantastic numbers, including an epic Bollywood number with co-star Raza Jaffrey and company.  We can’t stop watching it!

The song featured in the number is original track “A Thousand and One Nights”, written and composed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.  The song can be purchased for your listening pleasure on iTunes now — click here!

Katharine’s amazing cover of Snow Patrol‘s “Run” was also featured in the episode.  You can take a listen to the full studio version over at PopCrush!  The track will be featured as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of the SMASH soundtrack, which will be available at Target.