David Foster and Katharine McPhee have made beautiful music together romantically since marrying in 2019, and now they’re doing the same on a nationwide tour.
Foster, who has produced a cavalcade of hit pop songs for everyone from Earth, Wind & Fire to Celine Dion to Chicago, will join actress and singer McPhee in Atlanta for two shows Saturday, Feb. 25 at Atlanta Symphony Hall. (Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster starting at $49.50.)
“There’s a lot of interest in us as a couple,” said Foster, 73, Thursday in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution along with McPhee. (Yes, their 35-year age gap is a perpetual source of fascination.) “Of course, she’s an amazing singer. I don’t sing. So why not my wife?”
The live show features McPhee, who was a runner-up on “American Idol” in 2006, performing many of Foster’s greatest hits with Foster at the piano. Foster’s hit parade includes disco classics (Cheryl Lynn’s ”Got To Be Real”), ballads (Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love,” Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love”) and even some power pop (John Parr’s “St. Elmo’s Fire”).
McPhee will also mine tunes from her own past including those she sang on her NBC musical series “Smash” a decade ago. While the show only lasted two seasons, she said more people talk to her about that cult series than her four-year run as a single mom on the CBS crime procedural “Scorpion,” which aired from 2014 to 2018.
“People who watched ‘Smash’ really loved it,” said McPhee, 38.
So far on tour, McPhee has been singing the classic Whitney Houston song “I Will Always Love You,” which Foster produced three decades ago as a cover of the Dolly Parton classic for the “Bodyguard” soundtrack.
“I reimagined that song completely,” Foster said. “I wanted it to be a big moment for Whitney.”
McPhee had her own connection to the soundtrack. In 2005, she was struggling to break into Hollywood. “I would drive to auditions and obsessively listen to the “Bodyguard” soundtrack over and over again. And I would just sing along in the car. And it’s now weird to know that David produced it!” (The pair, who have a 2-year-old son, met during “Idol” but didn’t officially begin dating until 2018.)
During the concert, Foster and McPhee will also invite a volunteer from the audience to sing a song. “People who wave the most enthusiastically will get my attention,” Foster said. “They pick the song. Hopefully we know it. When we don’t, well, hopefully we don’t ruin their chances at being good.”
McPhee still watches “Idol” and has appeared on it multiple times as an alum since her time on the show 17 years ago. Her mother Patricia worked on the show for many years as a vocal coach and now her sister Adriana does the same.
“She told me the talent this year is incredible,” McPhee said.
Foster’s career includes 16 Grammy Awards and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He never thought the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would induct him until he noticed the voters nominating a broader array of acts in recent years.
“Maybe there’s a place for me there,” he said. “But my music is pretty soft. I would definitely be in the Soft Rock Hall of Fame!”
IF YOU GO
David Foster and Katharine McPhee
3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, $49.50-$69.50. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. ticketmaster.com
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