Katharine McPhee is making headline news everywhere with her bulimia struggle. I think this is a positive message and she’s advocating awareness… such a shocker.

I was at the office and did a random search on her to find out the “breaking Kat news” of the day. Ha ha … I’m happy she’s getting the amount of press… appearing on the front-page of CNN.com (although not anymore - she’s still front-page on CNN Entertainment), ABC News, People.com, the Teen People website, USA Today, AOL.com, and MTV News.

She’ll be on the front cover of Teen People & People magazines which hits news stands some time at the end of this week and/or next week.

Here are some of the articles:-

Katharine McPhee Reveals 5 year struggle with bulimia - ABC News

McPhee’s bulimia was once “out of control” - USA Today

Katharine McPhee: I was a “binge and purger” - Teen People

Katharine McPhee’s Bulimia Battle - People

“Idol” Runner-up Katharine McPhee Reveals Eating Disorder - MTV News

Some preview pictures of Katharine McPhee and her Teen People cover shoot:-

Katharine McPhee’s tabloid-ish article. From OK! Weekly dated July 3, 2006:- (yes! about nick cokas!)

The article above in full size:-

Katharine McPhee from the articles above, I gather seems to be very supportive and I think it’s great that she gives him credit for helping her with bulimia and everything.

After reading all the articles, I have more respect for Katharine McPhee. Her struggle and finally finding some freedom from bulimia is truly inspiring. Some people question the timeliness of the article; so this headline grabbing news is released just a few days before her single release? But I don’t think we should see this as negative press because she is advocating awareness on bulimia, an eating disorder that most people would not want to admit to having. It’s not something to be proud of. But I’m glad that she admits it, just to make sure that other girls out there who may be suffering from it, can realise that there is help out there for them… there is support… and that they are not alone.

She mentioned that hardly anybody from Idol knew about her bulimia struggle. It all makes sense now, her little absences from the Idol set at times, her vague-ness about her weight and visiting a “dietician” and “nutritionist” before Idol 5 season began, the way she reacted in one of her earlier performances (Top 12/10 women’s round) when she apologised to the audience for having to look at her from the back for so long… her sincere messages to the fans where she said, “You made me believe in myself…” and so many other countless things that prompted me to think, “why did she say that? what did she mean by that?” 

What is most interesting is that it was American Idol that not only helped her reach superstar-dom but helped her overcome and confront her eating disorder… It is definitely a story that shows the positive effect of the Idol series, not just in realising people’s dreams but to give them hope and to give them an outlet to grow and believe in themselves. I am so proud of her!

She has grown in that sense and maybe that’s why in the last few weeks of American Idol, I became a major fan. She definitely was nervous a lot at the beginning but when she started to become comfortable with herself, she started to look prettier too. It is amazing what healthy eating and healthy exercise can do. Haha… I like to think that American Idol contained a lot of vigorous workouts because of their hectic schedules, the stress and also whatever else the Idol bubble has to offer. Even then, she was very conscious of herself and her insecurity tended to show on results nights, when she would have a worried look throughout the shows. That is a quality that I liked about her… she was never over-confident.

Some times, it may seem like she was a bit cocky but it is her defensiveness, always having to protect herself, maybe the fear of anything negative that might cause her to be disheartened. That’s fine, because we all have a bit of that in us and considering she was on the biggest show in television history, I should think we should allow her the benefit of the doubt. On reflection, with what she had to go through, I think she handled herself superbly on American Idol. I am impressed.  

She’s always been true to herself. I think it is awesome that she never leveraged on her struggle or woes to gain sympathy votes even though she could easily have done so. It makes me even more proud that she got to the top 2 with her talent - that angelic, powerful voice and her good performing and dancing skills. She is a true performer, an artiste, not someone who uses relies on her personal stories to sell herself. No, she claimed the top spot by being a performer. Isn’t that wonderful?

A lot of her fans were stunned too by her beauty week in and week out but more than that, they must’ve seen something bigger in her for them to vote her into the top 2.

I like her even more, her quirkiness, her bluntness, her humility, her down to earth nature, her disbelief that anybody would vote for her, her gratefulness towards her fans for this grand opportunity and it is wonderful to see someone mature so much in the last few months… becoming more confident and really understanding who she is. Wow. She is pretty amazing. 

I have even more respect for her 41 year old boyfriend. Considering the amount of credit she gave to him in her story, it shows that he saw more in her than she ever saw in herself. Amazing. Sure, her parents were there but it was only when he walked into her life, did she change for the better. I’m happy that Katharine McPhee has someone like this in her life who can bring such positivity. Want to see more pictures of Nick Cokas? Click here.

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On other Idol news, Taylor Hicks is no. 1.  

Katharine McPhee’s Double A-Side “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny” will be in-stores next week, June 27, 2006. Please support her by buying her single. Want to preview the tracks? Click here.