Katharine McPhee Says Former Label Tried to Turn Her Into Sex Kitten

Fri, 15 January 2010 04:13:50 ET

Talking about finding her own identity in music industry, the 'American Idol' alum says, 'I'd much rather be authentic to myself than this machine that doesn't really stay true to you.'

Katharine McPhee has opened up about the reason why she recorded a pop album for her self-titled debut effort "Katharine McPhee". In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the 25-year-old talked about the difficult part of finding her identity in music industry because her previous label wants to turn her into "sex kitten".

"It was really hard for me to be able to find my identity because the label I was with at the time didn't see me doing that and didn't see me wearing the long gowns," the songstress recalled. "They wanted me wearing the very short-short dresses and be that sex kitten or whatever because, you know, the Rihannas and the Cassies were really hot at the time and they thought, 'Oh, you know, let's put her in that mold.' "

"I have a lot more to say than just singing those pop songs which I love," the former "American Idol" contestant added. "I'm a huge Top 40 lover ... but I realized through that process it didn't really fit me. I'd much rather be authentic to myself than this machine that doesn't really stay true to you. It wasn't ultimately who I was. The cover of the first record, that was a hair campaign photo shoot. ... you live and you learn."

When asked about the writing experience for new album "Unbroken", she responded, "It's funny. I never used to want to write." She elaborated her answer saying, "I grew up in that era of the Celine Dions and the Whitney Houstons and those artists who had the big voices and I [idolized] them but they weren't really songwriters."

"So I used to be like, 'If people bring a great song to me I will sing it.' I just wanted to be like that," the singer whose movie credit includes "The House Bunny" moreover explained. "And with this album I had so much more to say and I looked back at old journals and was able to pull some interesting material. Other songs are just things as an actress I can just put myself into."

Katharine McPhee's sophomore album "Unbroken" has been released on January 5. Having sold 15,000 copies in its first week, it debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "Had It All", was released in 2009 and has reached #22 on the Adult Contemporary charts.

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