Singer Katharine McPhee cut her chops over a decade ago on American Idol. Now, as Paige Dineen on CBS’s Monday-night thriller Scorpion, she’s again captivating audiences as an actress. Here, McPhee talks about achieving her Hollywood dreams, life after divorce, and why she’s still looking for love.
Did you always know you wanted to perform?
I don’t really have a memory of not knowing what I was going to do. I have videos of when I was a little kid singing—my mom is a voice teacher—and our grandparents would come to town, and we would do all of these shows for everybody. I thought I would be a pop star, like Mariah Carey, and then Britney [Spears] and Christina Aguilera came out and I wanted to get a record deal.
You’re an actress, but how do you have time for passion projects like singing?
It’s a day-to-day job being on Scorpion. When you sign contracts like that, that’s obviously the biggest priority, but as I have had more time on the show to know what the routine is, and what to expect, I have had more time in my mind to start creating for other things. I’m working on a record again.
What is the record going to be?
I did a TV special last year, and they asked me to present and walk on stage in Las Vegas. Basically fly out just to say a line [“The next performer is…”], and get back on a plane and go to work the next day. I just didn’t find it to be worth all that time. But I put a feeler out and said, “Hey, if there is any spot for me to sing, let me know.” I’m not usually that forward, but the next thing I know I was on stage with John Legend, Adam Levine, and Harry Connick Jr. singing to celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. This is the music I grew up with. My mom sang all of these songs to us growing up, and it just re-inspired me in terms of making a record. I love pop music, but the reality is you have to have such huge label budgets to have any chance to have pop music be exposed [on the radio].
Full interview:
http://oceandrive.com/katharine-mcph...-and-true-love
