Katharine McPhee Out of Recording Contract
Katharine McPhee is the third American Idol alum to be out of their original recording contract in the past couple weeks (first Ruben and now Taylor). A label rep has confirmed that Kat is no longer with RCA Records and added that "Katharine is going to record her next album on her own."
The EW article says that Kat’s album "charted at a promising No. 2 in February 2007, but it never reached gold status." There have been complaints that her album was not well supported by the label. I think that’s probably true. I actually liked "Over It" quite a bit and I was surprised that it didn’t do better.
Everyone is going to disagree about whether Ruben, Taylor and Kat were dropped or bought out their contract but you can’t deny sales. I want to hear from you - why do you think these three were so popular on the show but have had a hard time afterwards?
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13 opinions for Katharine McPhee Out of Recording Contract
GerriG
Jan 9, 2008 at 2:42 pm
What is going???
GerriG
Jan 9, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Sorry everyone for hogging this post but, I have to say this…I believe that finally the music business is correcting it self. Too many people have be allowed to call themselves singers. Just because a person can hold a note ,don’t make them a great singer. Look at Britney and MaDonna they became famous by showing their a.*#@s . The great singer are far and few.
pattispage
Jan 9, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I don’t see much happening with Mcphee till after she makes the monumental mistake of marrying the 43 yr old pervert Nick Cokas.Since he has a hand in her indie movie I don’t see anything good happening there either since he has failed as a director so far. Maybe he thinks the sexy McPhee will help but married to him makes her no longer sexy.This year Sexy Hair will probably drop her also.If she records another album, even if it’s with David Foster that will fail too as her fan appeal is only her McPhan Base. Appearances at County Fairs is about all that will be left for her, or maybe her and him in viagra commercials and that a shame because she does have talent, but Cokas is more important to her so Good Luck Katharine,
jean
Jan 9, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Alrighty then - lets just talk about what is happening. Jrecords/Arista and RCA (basically BMG/Sony) is clearing out under performing idols.
I think we have to define what underperforming is. I believe it is under 500K with heavy promotion and under 200K as a lower promotion. Those number are what happens after the first off Idol performance where the stakes are much higher.
Clive Davis has said several time the just off Idol performer should sell the first 500K to Idol fans as a souviner of the show and the rest is their real fans. Then subtract the people who move on to a different idol each year when the new cast is revealed. So if you can’t go platinum on your first album, there is serious doubt they can afford the next album.
Jordan has a hit song and may do better as the year plays out, Blake needs to get something going now, I figure he has about 6 months at most.
As to why these people were so popular on the show - it boils down to loyal voters. They had very loyal voters.
Ruben was supported by all the stars and I would hear people at work telling me they would vote for him because he was cool, but after the show, none ofthem ever bought his album, as a matter of fact one person who worked for me bought Clay’s album because she would hear it played in my office so often and she started to like it and him. (no she was not sucking up to me, we started working as equals and she like to test the limits of friendship). I think Ruben started off with a lot of fans, but he also started his career off with undiagnosed walking pnumonia which caused show cancellations and a bad touring record. That and the fans wars hurt him a lot - they closed down his message board and were lacking in posting his appearances on TV or in concert and in posting any news.
Taylor won season 5 because he worked so darn hard! He really “performed” every week, not just sing. Daughtry would stand in one place and sing - fine for a concert, not so good for a television appearance. Taylor’s sales problem is that he got more of the Idol watcher vote than the fan vote. He was so entertaining, that many people voted for him even if they did not like his style of music and were the wrong group to be defined as a fan.
Katharine is very pretty, sings pretty and a lot of younger people really love her, but they don’t buy multiples of albums and there are limits on how much they can spend, but they can dial real good.
I think they will all be fine and they will have good lives with lots of opportunities and their fans can continue to follow them. they just won’t be at BMG and might not promote the next album as much.
Brentwood
Jan 9, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I don’t know about Reuben or Taylor, but with Katharine, RCA wasn’t at all happy sharing her with the movies. Their statement said that she “left to support her other entertainment ventures.”
I believe that she’s in negotiations with A&M or Warner now, so she won’t be without a major label for long. Foster is producing her next album, so she might end up at Warner. That would be good for her, since he obviously believes in her more than RCA did. They didn’t even promote her second single. They made a lot of mistakes with her. Maybe her next label will be smarter.
Kim
Jan 9, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Jeanne, did you read this?
“After six seasons, we are proud of the eight artists on the roster who started their careers on the show. With respect to Taylor, we have an understanding that he will come back to us to play music once he’s finished writing his new material.”
A lot of people are confused about what this means. It sounds like Taylor actually choose to leave and they want him back, although Im not sure why after how he was treated the first time. Strange.
And Katharine, weren’t there rumors that she was going with Hollywood records or something? I know David Foster is obsessed with her (not that that says much).
Jeanne
Jan 9, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Well, like I said, I’m being really careful about this topic. It’s my understanding that Taylor was dropped but I could be wrong.
I wish these guys would make official statements or something - that’s what publicists and websites are for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kim
Jan 9, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Does myspace count? Lol …. http://www.myspace.com/taylorhicks
Jeanne
Jan 10, 2008 at 1:21 am
It’s a start ;) Writing a post right now. Thanks, Kim!
A'kyra
Jan 10, 2008 at 7:11 am
I think Jean hit the nail on the head. I would also like to add the “It” factor. AI judges like to have people come to Hollywood who have that “It” factor but somewhere along the line, they lose it. Definitely right about the shows fans and real artist fans, there is a huge difference, for instance where are all those people that were gung-ho over Sanjaya? He has very few actual fans and I fear that his album will fail in sales too. Unfortunate reality. I don’t know what is going on with Kat but I’m sure she will bounce back with no troubles.
joshy79
Jan 10, 2008 at 9:45 am
that really happened.
pattispage
Jan 11, 2008 at 5:20 am
let’s get real jeanne. When news of Taylor being dropped he immediately posted a message on his website to his fans.Kat has not done that thus far. WHY? Stay tuned as when the wedding is over, so is her career unless she goes to playboy or penthouse.Stay tuned for “KATHARINE MCPHEE IS PREGNANT” news.She is totally consumed in her daddy/fiance and doesn’t give a hoot about her fans.McPheever is gone!!
Jill
Jan 12, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Katharine will be alright people even though her music career is over. What a lot of people don’t know is she has a huge contract selling hair extensions and weaves through Sexy Hair. Shes doing very well for herself even if her music and movie career ultimately go nowhere.
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