HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Katharine McPhee has joined the growing list of “American Idol” alums to be dropped by a record label.
McPhee, the 2006 season runner-up, was let go by RCA Records. Fellow “Idol” alums Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks, who claimed the show’s 2006 title over McPhee, were also recently dropped from the Sony-BMG family.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Katharine McPhee has joined the growing list of “American Idol” alums to be dropped by a record label.
McPhee, the 2006 season runner-up, was let go by RCA Records. Fellow “Idol” alums Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks, who claimed the show’s 2006 title over McPhee, were also recently dropped from the Sony-BMG family.
McPhee’s first album entered the charts at No. 2 in February 2007, but failed to go gold. Her defenders would most likely make the claim that RCA didn’t give her the time or promotion she needed.
“Winning ‘American Idol’ is no longer a guarantee that you’re going to make it,” one industry source tells the New York Daily News. “Katharine was hot for a few months. But audiences are fickle.”
However, one top BMG exec insists: “It’s preposterous to say this franchise has lost its luster. It’s the envy of the music industry. We’ve sold over 50 million albums by ‘AI’ artists since the show started.
“We put millions behind Katharine. Many of us at the label still love her songs. But we’re in the major leagues. We didn’t think she could break into the mainstream. We would rather be honest.”
The 23-year-old McPhee, who was named one of the 100 Most Beautiful People of 2007 by People Magazine, has already begun the process of searching for a new label. She is also set to star in the film, “I Know What Boys Like,” later this year.
McPhee, and her boyfriend, actor Nick Cokas, 42, reportedly got engaged in November, after dating for two years.
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