Reviews:
Don't get us wrong. It was, like,
thrilling watching Katharine McPhee do her best Judy Garland on
American Idol. And the
Today show. And every other morning/late show the tube has to offer. But the only human being to build a career out of belting "Over the Rainbow" was, um, Judy Garland. So it's nice to know that McPhee's doing her own tasteful, PG-13 R&B thing on her eponymous debut. First single "Over It" bunches up on a sultry backbeat while McPhee moans that she's, well, "over" some dude's lips, attitude, whatevs. Not exactly "Since U Been Gone," but what is? And it doesn't have to be. The great thing about
Idol (yes, it took 15 long, hard minutes to finish this sentence) is that runner-ups are just as likely to strike pop gold as winners, as baldie grunger Chris Daughtry just proved. McPhee's innocuous soul girl persona may prove an antidote to Taylor Hicks' flash. Norah Jones with beats? We're sold.
It makes perfect sense that last year's
American Idol came down to McPhee and Taylor Hicks (see Q&A, also in this section). They're opposite sides of the same soul coin the country is suddenly craving, Hicks the more rambunctious and flamboyant, McPhee the more introspective and serene.
The nation's been abuzz (in a good or bad way, we're not sure) with Taylor Hicks and his Soul Patrol since his
American Idol triumph, but we've still got a McPheever for Kathy. (And more cowbell, sporadically). Anyhoo, the 22-year-old Judy Garland enthusiast pushes her own brand of white-girl soul on this debut.