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'Idol' runner-up Katharine McPhee gets record deal
Though she didn't take the top honor during this season's "American Idol" talent competition, singer Katharine McPhee 's path seems to be paralleling that of winner Taylor Hicks , both of whom now have record deals with the show's creator, Simon Fuller.
As did Hicks last week, McPhee this week inked a deal with Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited and Clive Davis' RCA Records, which plans to offer up McPhee's first commercial single--the double-A sided "Over the Rainbow"/"My Destiny"--June 27. The 22-year-old California native performed both songs during the May 23 finale of "American Idol."
Two weeks before McPhee's single surfaces, 19 Records will dish Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud," which he sang during the finale, and its B-side, a cover of the Doobie Brothers classic "Takin' It to the Streets."
The label, when announcing Hicks' deal, said that his debut album would surface later this year, but made no mention of album-release plans for McPhee, who reportedly plans to also pursue an acting career.
To date, 20 "Idol" contestants have appeared on the Billboard album and/or singles charts. Previous "Idol" winners and runners up have sold a combined total of 33 million records, according to a press release, a figure that includes music from Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice.
Clarkson, who was the first-ever "Idol" winner, bears the additional distinction of winning two Grammy awards earlier this year.
Hicks, McPhee and this year's other Top 10 finalists will join forces for a 60-date summer tour that gets underway July 5.
