• pigduck
• Nov 30,2006
• In: Katharine McPhee

Katharine McPhee - Is she a copier?

Not a photocopier…. can I get any cornier?! AAHHH!

MTV News posted up some tidbits about Katharine McPhee’s still untitled album… I bet it’ll be “Katharine McPhee” or something as boring as that. I mean Chris Daughtry’s album is “Daughtry”. Can’t compare Ms. McPhee to Mr. Daughtry though. Ms. McPhee beats him by miles.

I should have faith in Katharine McPhee though. Her website, www.katharinemcphee.com is so unique with the tagline, “We’re not in Kansas anymore…” It’s almost theatrical in nature. Maybe I’m just dreaming… I wrote a post about this before.

Then again she may change her mind and it’s almost comforting to know that she’s as fickle as me … HAHAHA… her management too since they can’t seem to decide on a proper release date. 1st it was Nov 14, then Nov 28, then Dec 5, then Dec 12, then Dec 19 and now… the NEW release date is some time in January 2007. I’m not going to put down a date exactly, it could be the 30th but let’s not count on it and take it all with a pinch of salt for now… as long as she’s happy doing what she’s doing…and seeking creative avenues and intending to come out with a kicka** album, then I’ll happily wait.

So yes, a still untitled album and a still unknown release date…

I was reminded this morning that Clive Davis backed Alicia Keys too and look where that’s gotten her… Let’s take a look at the MTV News article…

Type “katharinemcphee.com” into your Web browser and it’s instantly clear the “American Idol” runner-up is over “Over the Rainbow.” First, the “Wizard of Oz” line “We’re not in Kansas anymore” appears on the screen, then the words raise up to reveal a shot of McPhee that’s more wicked witch — or at least wicked sexy — than Dorothy.

“It’s a really great thing,” a grinning McPhee said of her image makeover. “Love that song, it’s been a great run, but it’s time to put it down” (see “Katharine McPhee Eyes Acting, Goes ‘Over The Rainbow’ With Debut”). In fact, when McPhee’s record label announced plans to include her signature song from “Idol” on her upcoming debut album, the singer replied, “No you’re not.” “That doesn’t go with the record at all,” she told MTV News recently.

During her “Idol” run, McHaters implied McPhee’s greatest downfall was overconfidence, but her strong sense of self is also her greatest strength as the 22-year-old Los Angeles native sets out to transition that fame into a career.
“The one thing you learn about ‘Idol’ is that you have to be really tough,” McPhee explained. “You learn how to be a powerful businesswoman right away, and I have gotten really strong about what I want and what I don’t. And, for me, it’s fun because it’s me against all the guys.”
What McPhee doesn’t want is to be rushed. While debut “Idol” albums are typically released at the end of the same year as the finalists’ “Idol” season and subsequent tour, she’s been vocal about pushing her LP to 2007. A release date has yet to be confirmed for her debut.
“The most important thing is making it the record that is really me,” McPhee said. “I think people didn’t know what I was going to be. Was I going to be the Celine Dion, the Barbra [Streisand] or the Pussycat Dolls?”
McPhee insisted she’s the same “classy Katharine” she was on “Idol,” but called the new tunes a sort of combination of the three. “With everything I had to deal with [during the tour] with my voice being down, a broken foot and all of that stuff, it was nice to take time to really think about what I wanted to do,” she said. “I was getting submitted a lot of songs that just weren’t right and I didn’t think I could make them mine, so it’s been taking a little bit more time. So now we’ve been building the songs like how you would if you were making a record if you weren’t on ‘Idol’ and you would take five months. It’s been a cool creative experience for me. I’m really a songwriter and I’m learning from the best people in the business.”
Those people include Babyface and songwriter Kara DioGuardi (Kelly Clarkson, Hilary Duff), as well as less predictable names like Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and Timbaland’s production partner, Nate “Danjahandz” Hills, who worked on Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” and Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous.”
“I don’t know if we have the actual club record yet, but we definitely have some stuff you can dance to and I can move my booty to just a little bit,” McPhee said. “I went to Boston Conservatory for musical theater and I was buddies with all the guys across the street at Berklee College of Music, and they were all the beat guys — they played the keys and that was the stuff I improvised with.
“If people are surprised with the sound that I come out with, it’s because they get to see a side that already existed but wasn’t really shown as much because I was always so nervous on ‘Idol,’ ” she continued. “But yeah, I think it’s a little more edgy, a little more current. As Simon Cowell said in the first audition, ‘You’re very current.’ ”
McPhee has yet to finalize the track list, but potentials include “Somehow,” produced by Ryan Leslie (Cassie’s “Me & U”), the DioGuardi-penned power ballad “Home” and “We Got Each Other,” a mid-tempo number that reminds McPhee of Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.” “Neglected,” which McPhee co-wrote, is also a likely keeper, as is the girls’ anthem “Open Toes.” “It might be the new ‘Thong Song,’ ” she said, laughing.
Lyrically, McPhee said not to expect an open journal into her life. “I’m not going to write a song about ‘Daddy, you really hurt me,’ like, I’m not going to go into complete details of my personal life,” she said. “I think people know that I haven’t had the most perfect life. Obviously I wouldn’t have had an eating disorder or things like that. But we all have issues, we all have things that we deal with and overcome.”
Fans should also not expect McPhee’s confidence to carry over into a Kanye West-like media campaign. “I just try to keep things in perspective,” she said. “If I don’t have a hit record then I’ll try the record thing again and try the movie thing. And then [if those don't work] I’ll just get knocked up and be a happy married woman.”

You should read the whole article for context. From what I gather, she seems to know what she wants which is good to know. At least she’s not going to be a pushover. She’s always had that attitude, even on Idol. There were times when we found her obnoxious, yes, even her fans but you must remember that she wasn’t my favourite in the beginning so I can “kind of” speak objectively. The point is, there were times when even I found her a bit “proud” but that’s ok because her guard was probably up, defending herself and her turf. Fair enough.

I can’t say that’s a bad thing. After all, I do the same.

She’s always been rather pretentious too or maybe she’s just a matter of fact. She’d do interviews and well, it’s not her fault that name dropping occurs, but still, I guess it’s to prove to people and to herself that she’s worth quite a bit.

I believe she’s always taken the whole celebrity thing in stride and tried her best to make it “seem” as normal as possible, talking about bodyguards or about her business managers, talent managers, etc. or who her mentor is (aka Clive Davis)… even who she’s working with on her new album, Nate Hills, Babyface and who she worked with before and recently (Andrea Bocelli, David Foster)… Her portfolio has definitely filled out over the last few months. She met Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, who else…? She got a hair endorsement that has seen her face plastered in most supermarket/malls in America, billboards across America, hair conventions (hee hee) and not forgetting the time I saw her face on a bus, driving around town. (Ok, fine, I saw a picture of the bus) 

Besides the various producers mentioned in the article above, there were articles of how she’s hooked up with some great managers (behind the scenes people who really make all things happen for you), for theatre (cinema, I’m guessing) and music… not forgetting her agency that does her PR… all important and what makes her a good candidate for the entertainment business is that she knew right from the start what she’d be facing. After all, her dad’s kind of in the business, her mom too and not forgetting herself before American Idol and the fact that she lives in Hollywood. HAHAHA…

What is good about all this is that she’s building hype for her entrance into the entertainment scene as an artiste… her publicist is doing an excellent job and most importantly, it’s good to see that Katharine is agreeable and that the press and media are responding well. It’s a promising sign. Clive Davis is definitely pimping her.

ANYWAY, let’s get back to the article. I’ve heard Each Other and you can too here. When I first heard it, I thought it was nice but it didn’t strike me as anything Mariah. A fan mentioned that it resembled We Belong Together but when I heard it, I couldn’t quite figure out whether it was like Mariah’s 2005 hit song or not.

Until my little sister heard it for the 1st time and commented it sounded like Mariah did I start to pay attention. I played Each Other and then sang We Belong Together over it and it fit perfectly. The beat, the rhythm, the tempo… so similar, even the adlibs and the song structure… it was like she’d lifted it out of Mariah’s song…

Then I heard Open Toes which sounds a lot like those dumb songs on the radio these days… songs like Sexyback (which I loathe), Fergalicious (she’s not DELICIOUS! yeck!)… you get the picture… I know that the producers who worked on Promiscuous and Sexyback are astounding… after all, Timbaland worked with the late and great Aaliyah so he’s always had great stuff up his sleeve but to be honest, Open Toes has dumb lyrics just like Sexyback…if you think about it, it all started with Mariah Carey and her lyrics for “It’s Like That” … the “chickens are ash and I’m lotion…” bit… hahah… then we have songs that have titles that don’t make sense like, “Sexyback” and now a song about wearing great open toe shoes. HAHAH…. I’m sure there are others…

Sure, it’s all light-hearted fun and games but still… I guess she’s still playing around with sounds and what might suit but please, don’t go copying what’s mainstream today… set your own standard, Katharine!

That’s what Mariah did… but then again, Mariah is the standard.

Going back to her article, it’s good to know that she’s not going to follow in the footsteps on her label-mate, Christina Aguilera and write songs about her dad hurting her… I wonder what Katharine’s dad did to her… HMmmmmm … I’m sure she was speaking figuratively (?)… But then again, people write songs and release these songs because it’s part of the song-writing process and it’s therapeutic… Mariah did it for years … and only on The Emancipation on Mimi were there no trace of such haunting songs… You can’t count Glitter or the Christmas album because one was a soundtrack and the other a festive album… Take Daydream… there was Looking In. Take Charmbracelet with Sunflowers (for Alfred Roy)…even Rainbow had Petals…

Waitaminute, Glitter had Twister and that was about her stylist (nicknamed Twister) who’d committed suicide… so you see… it’s ok to write songs that reflect who you are or what you’r going through at the time but I guess it’s good that Katharine McPhee is not going down that road… Some times, we shouldn’t make those problems into anything bigger than they are… if you’ve overcome them then it’s great to put it behind and look forward…not to dwell on the past… that’s what Mariah Carey did with The Emancipation of Mimi album too … it shows she’s able to forgive and also to let go… man, I got lots to learn.

I was taken by surprise her last line… that if things don’t work out for her, she’d be “a happily married woman”… and I quote. It’s a strange thing to hear that she’s willing to let go and not let the whole entertainment career consume her. We’ll see though. Some people say things like that but can never let go. I’m glad she’s got her head screwed on pretty alright.

So does this make Katharine McPhee a copier? A follower? Is it too early to tell?

Her songs have shown signs of being a follower but in the industry, you follow unless you’re good enough to take the lead… and maybe for a new artist like Katharine McPhee it’s better to follow the leader than to come out thinking you own the world… she’s cautious and that’s a good sign and even better, she’s paying attention to what people say and… she’s flexible enough to change… that is a sign that she’s already made it… in my opinion anyway… and best part of all, she’s also trying her best to stay true to herself… so it’s a balancing act really… not easy but I admire her for it and I hope she doesn’t disappoint and do or say things that will prove otherwise…