Kat interview with Daily Record (UK) (April 28, 2012)

http://www.dailyreco...86908-23840567/

American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee hits the bigtime on TV musical Smash

She has become a huge star thanks to the Steven Spielberg telly musical series Smash, dubbed a grown-up Glee.

It’s just started on Sky Atlantic over here but you may know Katharine McPhee as a runner-up on American Idol.

She was the singer who helped break KT Tunstall in America by singing the Scot’s Black Horse & The Cherry Tree on the show.

And Whitney Houston complimented her “amazing voice” after she sang the Bodyguard star’s I Have Nothing.

Whitney’s friend Clive Davis then asked Katharine, 28, to perform privately for her, singing a Bodyguard medley to the late singing legend, who after her death was called the greatest ever female singer thanks to her almost three octave range.

Now with her all singing-all dancing television show and a new album on the way, Katharine believes Whitney, who died in February after a long battle with drug addiction, was just being kind.

She said: “I met her and she was incredible. I feel like everyone pales in comparison to her, so that was very kind for her to say that, but I don’t know if it was warranted.

“She was obviously very giving in that she really embraced other artists, and I think that’s what’s amazing.

“She was always a real huge influence in my life and you were always told to never sing her songs.

“No one can sing them like she did, but you sure can dream to be just a smidgen of what she was.

“I was shocked when I heard she’d died.

“Actually, I guess shocked isn’t the word. I was saddened by it.

“There’s so many others like her who have struggled so much of their life with addictions, it doesn’t come as big of a shock.”

Whitney’s patronage spurred her on to success and although she didn’t win series five of American Idol, she has become successful.

And she may get to sing a Whitney song on Smash.

The telly series shows the mechanics of staging a Broadway show about Marilyn Monroe and stars Anjelica Huston, Brit Jack Davenport from Pirates of the Caribbean and Debra Messing, best known for Will and Grace.

Like Glee, the stars cover well-known songs. Katharine, who plays would-be star Karen Cartwright, favourite to play Marilyn, gets to sing Adele’s Rumour Has It, Florence + The Machine’s Shake It Out and Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful.

Even though she’s a current artist, Katharine, whose 2007 self-titled debut album went to number two in America, enjoys covering other people’s songs on the show.

She said: “It’s something I really enjoy.

“I thought since I’ve spent a lot of time in the recording studios in the last five years that the recording part of the show would be my least favourite.

“But I would say the recording process for me has actually been really rewarding, as it’s such a different pace from the set.
“We are really on the set a lot every day, so I enjoy it much more than I thought I actually would.

“It’s such a fast pace so you don’t get a whole lot of time to sit with the songs and perfect them, as much as I would really love to.”

Katharine, who can trace her roots back to Scotland, was born in Los Angeles to a television producer dad and a cabaret singer mum.

Her first influence was Mariah Carey who she would listen to “on my little cassette player, rewinding it over and over”.

But it’s not been plain sailing for Katharine.

She was diagnosed with a learning disability during her middle school years, before finally being correctly diagnosed with a vision problem.

But this had other consequences such as causing low self-esteem.

She said: “I was always the pretty little girl who was stupid.

“I remember every morning my dad driving me to school.

“Nobody knew about my vision, but I was terrified just to be at school.

“I was terrified the teacher was going to call on me to read out loud.”

She comfort ate but also went to dance classes and became self conscious about her body.

From 17 Katharine fought a five-year battle with bulimia that only stopped when she passed her American Idol audition and went into a three-month rehab programme.

She said: “I learned that there’s no such thing as a bad food.

“If you look at a doughnut, people think it’s a fattening food – why? Because if you eat it you’ll get fat?
“No, you’ll get fat if you eat 10 doughnuts.”

In Smash she shows off her bikini body, and on the red carpet she knows what flatters her fabulous figure.

She said: “I don’t like anything super tight, I’m not a tight dress kind of person. I usually like clothes that are free and flowy.

“If I do have to wear something super tight, I try and crack down a little bit on all these breads and French Fries that I love.”

Perhaps her own inner demons have made her a stronger woman because after American Idol she knew she could cash in and become a pop star, but decided she wanted an agency that represented actors.

She said: “So it didn’t mean I had to flaunt myself, sing club music or play these Victorian small indie parts.”

Although Simon Cowell is no longer on American Idol Katharine says he’s “very excited for me” at the success of Smash.
She added: “Simon has always been supportive of me.”

Katharine, married to Nick Cokas, who is 19 years her senior, is currently recording a new album before resuming filming Smash in July.

And the television show has rubbed off on her fourth album that she’s putting together in Los Angeles.

She laughed: “I really love depressing songs, but I want to also enjoy myself and I want something that’s fun and feels sophisticated and youthful.”

Which sounds like Katharine herself.

Was there actually an interview? I didn't notice any new information here, just snippets from past interviews and articles.

You might be right, I was thinking that after I posted it that it was more a compilation of comments than a real interview. As for new information, here's a couple of things I don't remember her saying before:

Perhaps her own inner demons have made her a stronger woman because after American Idol she knew she could cash in and become a pop star, but decided she wanted an agency that represented actors.

She said: “So it didn’t mean I had to flaunt myself, sing club music or play these Victorian small indie parts.”

...

And the television show has rubbed off on her fourth album that she’s putting together in Los Angeles.

She laughed: “I really love depressing songs, but I want to also enjoy myself and I want something that’s fun and feels sophisticated and youthful.”