Fans of Katharine McPhee may be surprised to learn that her debut album is sassy, sexy and promiscuous. And all that is conveyed just on the cover.

“It’s definitely suggestive and a much sexier image than I have had in the past,” McPhee told andPOP last week about her Flashdance-inspired album cover.

“It catches your eye and that’s what I like about it, and you can’t really say it’s a slutty picture because it’s just suggestive. There’s no skin showing. It’s still, ‘I’m sexy, I may not be that innocent,’ but I’m also not showing you everything.”

And if you think McPhee will show you everything, she reminds her fans that her promiscuity ends on the album cover.

“You definitely won’t see me on stage suddenly wearing thigh-high boots and a little dress,” she laughs.

On Tuesday, McPhee will find out if that sexy cover translates into album sales when her self-titled debut hits stores, though she won’t need to keep pushing the boundaries to earn fans. She already has plenty.

McPhee caused a “McPheever” when she appeared on last season’s “American Idol” and wound up finishing as the runner-up.

Because she’s entering the music game as a known rookie, she didn’t have to introduce her life through her lyrics.

“Not this record,” she said from Sherman Oaks, California, where she was getting ready to move to her new home in The Valley. “I came off a reality show so people knew enough about my life.”

Instead, the writing process started in September, immediately after her “Idol” commitments ended, when some of the top lyricists gathered with McPhee in Virginia Beach, at the home of producer Nate “Danja” Hills.

She was more concerned with how the album was going to sound and she had a hard time explaining this to producers that she had never met.

“These new people were suddenly a part of my life,” she said. “Suddenly, you don’t know everybody and you’re told you’re going to work with everybody for the next three months, it’s kind of scary in the beginning. I knew the kind of direction but it took everybody some time to understand that and get on board.”

The result is a “rhythmic pop” record with production work from Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg – who also wrote her first single, “Over It” – Babyface and the team of Walter Afanasieff and Emanuel Kiriakou.

McPhee will be making the rounds next week and in early February (Larry King, Leno, Kimmel, etc.). But perhaps a more significant appearance for McPhee – who revealed, after “American Idol” concluded, that she had been battling bulimia for seven years – is her gracing the cover of this month’s Shape magazine

“It means a lot, especially coming from where I came from,” she said. “It means even more to be representing a healthy body and that I’m able to say I’m healthy and do it the right way.”

Through her MySpace page, the 22-year-old hears from many young girls seeking advice about going through eating disorders.

“Once you decide to be a spokesperson or role model about something like this, people will naturally come to you for help. There’s not much I can do other than just give my advice of where to get help.”

McPhee can also be seen on the Feb. 1 episode of “Ugly Betty.” There’s been a rumour floating around for months that McPhee is being considered for the role of “Wonder Woman” in the upcoming big-screen version.

“Anything,” she says, “is possible.”

Listen to Katharine McPhee’s first single off the album, “Over It.”
Real Audio Windows Media

Read a “behind the scenes” report on this interview in the andPOP Blog






Related Stories: