Katharine McPhee is now 15 years removed from her time on “American Idol” and of all “Idol” alums, she has had the most success in scripted television.
She was a lead in the short-lived musical NBC drama “Smash,” followed by four seasons on the CBS ensemble drama “Scorpion.” Now she’s landed on her first sitcom called “Country Comfort” with Eddie Cibrian on Netflix.
McPhee plays a country singer Bailey who was dumped by her longtime boyfriend and finds herself becoming a nanny to a widower and his five kids. Bailey is sweet and well-meaning but a bit of a ditz.
“She’s just constantly running around in circles,” McPhee said in a recent phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I noticed as the episodes went on that my speaking voice became more nasally and high pitched. I leaned on the writing and the showrunner to find my character. It wasn’t that hard, to be honest.”
The show proudly ensconces itself in old-fashioned “Full House”-type humor, and it gives McPhee plenty of opportunities to show off the voice that almost won “Idol” in 2006.
“I’m always looking for a way to merge music and acting together,” said McPhee. “When I read the script, I felt it was a really different type of character from what I’ve played before. And singing country has always been a little secret of mine. I had never pursued the country path myself but I love to sing in that style.”
She also got to work with not just one child, as was the case on “Scorpion,” but with a coterie of them on “Country Comfort.”
“They’re not overly precocious,” she said. “They’re natural. You can see it on screen. The parents are lovely as well. They let their kids be kids.”
McPhee said Bailey’s script lines tended to change a lot more often than when she did drama as the writers would tweak the jokes for maximum impact. “I’d spend all night learning a huge chunk of dialogue, and then they’d throw the whole thing out,” she said. But she said her ability to learn lines has sharpened over the years, even though it’s harder than learning songs.
Netflix is a very different beast compared to network TV, which typically shoots single-episode pilots before the network decides to pick it up. Netflix simply greenlights an entire season at a time.
McPhee came into the show not even knowing that. “I was so green, I thought I was shooting just one episode,” she said. “I had no idea what I was getting into.”
She started production in February last year, but they only finished four episodes before the pandemic stopped all shooting. When she came back, she was more than four months pregnant and just starting to show. So instead of very tight jeans and midriff tops, starting episode five, Bailey starts wearing darker colors and more draped tops. “I hit six months when we finished the last episode,” she said. “The timing was perfect.”
McPhee had her first child in February, a son named Rennie David Foster, with her second husband David Foster, the famed songwriter and producer. She performed a duet with two of the “Idol” semifinalists a month later. Her sister works on “Idol” as a vocal coach, so it was an easy yes. She enjoyed singing with Georgia resident Willie Spence on “The Prayer” and thinks he has a good shot to win the entire competition.
Will “Country Comfort” come back for a second season? McPhee has no idea and unlike broadcast TV, there are no ratings to look at. “Netflix,” she said, “is cryptic.”
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Credit: ABC
Credit: ABC
Atlanta’s Willie Spence cruised into the top 7 Sunday after singing a song from a male artist for the first time: Elton John’s “Circle of Life.”
He received a lot of praise for his command of the song and is considered a front-runner to take home the entire crown.
“I feel more confident each week,” Spence said in a brief interview. “I just try to do my best and give it my all every time.”
Not having his family around has been tough, he said, given COVID-19 protocols.
“I talk to my mom and dad every day on Facetime,” he said. “I talk to them before every performance on Sunday, and we say a prayer. They boost me and rejuvenate me.”
Sunday’s episode will feature each of the seven contestants singing two songs: one in honor of mom and a cover of a Coldplay song.
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Credit: ABC
Credit: ABC
Arthur Gunn, who almost won last year, built up a strong fan base over the past 12 months, so it’s no surprise he won the “comeback” competition “Idol” held two weeks ago.
Some fans of the show have railed against bringing back anybody from the previous season and worry that he may end up depriving someone who has gone through the entire process this year from the top spot. But the producers aren’t stupid. They clearly chose to do this to generate buzz. There is a realistic chance Gunn could end up winning.
Gunn, a Wichita, Kansas resident who is Nepalese American, said he has matured.
“There has definitely been a lot of progress and a lot of learning along the way,” he told Billboard magazine. “I feel more professional and more motivated now. I learned so much about myself and the music scene and how to work in this field. I feel fortunate and will be forever grateful for a lifetime.”
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Credit: ABC
Credit: ABC
Nearly every broadcast TV show is seeing lower and lower ratings as more people go to streaming services.
“Idol” is no exception. It’s seeing its worst ratings in 19 seasons. The ill-fated “comeback” episode that aired on April 19 drew just 4.2 million overnight viewers, the lowest ever.
The show now generates around 7 million viewers counting DVR usage and, as usual, is beaten by “The Voice.”
But this is 2021. Even though the show is not cheap for ABC to produce, it still generates relatively strong numbers and a renewal for a fifth season on the network is likely.
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How “Idol” alums are doing on the radio airplay charts, courtesy of Mediabase 24/7
Gabby Barrett “The Good Ones” #3 country (formerly #1)
Gabby Barrett “I Hope” #2 AC
Scotty McCreery “Your Time” #27 country
Lauren Alaina “Getting Over Him” wit Jon Pardi #47 country
Danny Gokey “New Day” #11 Christian AC
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Here are some of Kelly Clarkson’s recent “Kellyoke” videos on her talk show, which airs locally at 10 a.m. on WSB-TV:
She performed Smokey Robinson’s “You’re Really Got a Hold on Me” on May 4:
Here is Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved” from May 3:
Kelly sings Coldplay’s “Yellow” on the April 30 episode:
Kelly two weeks ago tackles Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”:
And last month, here she is doing Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
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