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By Ron Rollins, DDN arts editor | Friday, February 16, 2007, 11:05 AM
Pop disc of the day:
Katharine McPhee’s debut disc, “KATHARINE McPHEE”
It may come as a shock to some of you to learn that there are still, even in these “American Idol”-drenched days, those of us who do not keep track of the show and its results. Even worse, we approach any music produced by those results with a certain mixture of disdain, dread and apprehension. Sorry, but it’s true.
But it’s also true that for every Clay there seems to be a Fantasia, or something like that, and so it would be unfair and untrue to argue that one should ignore Katharine McPhee’s self-titled debut album.
Turns out, in fact, that the woman who came in behind Taylor Hicks (who?) has put together a crisp and clever blend of pop and R&B that’s downright listenable and for the most part quite pleasant.
McPhee’s an appealing package, and has been wisely spiffed her image into something both sultry and girl-next-door, with the songs it takes to back it up. She sings a lot about heartbreak, as heartbreakingly good-looking singers all seem to do, but brings the right amount of sob to the tunes to suggest ambivalence; “Over It” works because you get the idea she protesteth too much. Smart girl.
She’s snappiest on the quick-paced numbers, such as the very spunky “Not Ur Girl” and “Open Toes,” a shout-out to the fact that a gal just can’t have too many cute shoes (while obliviously accepting the wildly mistaken premise that guys actually pay attention to what’s on a woman’s feet).
McPhee, as Idol watchers know, has a convincingly broad range, and she maneuvers the hills and curves quite skillfully. Her voice is better than most of the other pop-tart competitors out there, but also restrains herself from the sort of hammy, Whitneyesque hyper-singing that gave us the awfulness of American Idol in the first place.
See? I told you she was smart.
Grade: B
iPod picks: Not Ur Girl, Over It, Dangerous, Love Story
I think NUG is the song off the record to make it a hit. I really, really do. It's got a balance of attitude & sweetness with a cool beat and Kat sounds great. I mean Idol wouldn't have chosen to use it if they didn't think it was a pretty cool song.
But I too wish that the AI people would tell everyone that's Katharine singing and you can get the song on her album. Maybe they'll mention it when she goes on Idol in a few weeks (I'm assuming). Or maybe...I'd love this...she'll perform "Not Ur Girl" so everyone knows! Do we really need to see her sing "Over It" again?
Katharine McPhee fans around the world