David Foster & Katharine McPhee
Biography David Foster & Katharine McPhee
Katharine McPhee
was born in Los Angeles in 1984 and is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She came into the public eye in 2005 after competing on American Idol, however McPhee has always been in the performing world. Her father, Daniel McPhee used to be a television producer while her mother and sister have been American Idol vocal coaches.
In 2005, McPhee competed in the fifth series of American Idol, performing a rendition of “God Bless the Child” for her audition. Receiving praise from judges and votes from the public, she made it to the final of the competition but was eventually beaten by Taylor Hicks.
In 2006, McPhee signed to a record company and released her first single “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny” which she performed on American Idol. The single went on to become the second highest selling single of the year. After this, McPhee began to appear on television series such as Ugly Betty, Community and CSI: NY at the same time as releasing her first album, named “Katharine McPhee”.
Her television break came in 2012, when she was cast as Karen Cartwright in the NBC programme Smash. Based on the New York theatrical community, Smash told the story of creating “Bombshell”, a brand new musical about Marilyn Monroe, where Karen Cartwright was unexpectedly cast as the lead. With an original soundtrack, McPhee gained a new legion of fans performing alongside Broadway stars including Megan Hilty, Christian Borle and Anjelica Huston.
McPhee made her Broadway debut in 2018 as Jenna Hunterson in Waitress. She first played the role from 10th April 2018 to 17th June 2018, before reprising her performance from 5th July 2018 to 19th August 2018.
Katharine McPhee will originate the role of Jenna in the West End production of Waitress, opening at the Adelphi Theatre and play her final performance on 15th June.
David Foster
is a Canadian-born musician, songwriter, record producer, and composer who has led the industry by shepherding albums that have collectively sold in the hundreds of millions. He has created hit songs and award-winning gold and platinum albums for diverse artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. He has escorted singers who have straddled both pop and classical styles like Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban into the mainstream. Foster is also a celebrity judge on Asia’s biggest talent competition show, Asia’s Got Talent
and World Got Talent, which airs in China to 150 million viewers a night. For his legendary work, Foster has won 16 GRAMMY Awards, including three for Producer of the Year, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and was a three-time nominee for Best Original Song.
Apart from returning to the road, Foster is preparing for the release of his feature documentary on his life and career – David Foster: Off the Record. The film premiered in Toronto on September 9 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Later this year, Foster’s new PBS special, An Intimate Evening with David Foster, will air nationwide as part of Great Performances on PBS. Foster is also gearing up to take on the Broadway stage with several projects including a new musical about the classic, animated character Betty Boop, along with writing the music for a musical based on the Amy Bloom novel and New York Times bestseller Lucky Us.
Foster is also known for his philanthropic efforts, creating The David Foster Foundation in 1986 and volunteering his time and talent to more than 400 charities. The David Foster Foundation’s mission is to provide financial support to Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants, along with a new focus on organ donor awareness.
