McPhee Goes Live, Finally

Thu., Jul. 27, 2006 5:55 PM PDT by

American Idol's runner-up is finally up and running.

Katharine McPhee tested out her partially healed pipes on The View Thursday morning before heading to Pittsburgh to join up with the American Idols Live! tour, which she has been conspicuously absent from since it kicked off July 6.

Sitting in as a cohost on the morning chatfest, McPhee took the time to dispel some of the rumors swirling as to why she has been MIA from the tour so far, including claims that she was once again struggling with bulimia and that she thought she was too good for Idol entertainment.

"People speculated that I was making a movie, and that I was better than American Idol," McPhee said. "I am so grateful for what American Idol did for me. And I miss those people on the tour."

The 22-year-old L.A. native reiterated that she was sidelined because of bronchitis and laryngitis.

"I didn't really disappear," McPhee said. "I was just following doctor's orders. He told me, 'You're not allowed to talk for three weeks.'

"People thought the bulimia was the reason I was set back, but it's just not true. I just got sick and I was overworked."

Proving that her vocal cords are still up to snuff, McPhee serenaded the View audience with her hit Idol rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow."

Before McPheever got out of control, however, the singer wanted to warn her fans that she is "not completely 100 percent" and will have to take things slow upon her return to the tour.

"The doctor still wants me to really take it easy, so I'm not going to be doing this whole section of, like, six songs. I probably will only be singing a few songs and I hope my fans will understand that."

McPhee needs to at least have enough gas in the tank left to meet the Commander in Chief on Friday, when she, Taylor Hicks and the rest of this season's top 12 finalists head off to Washington for a photo-op with President Bush at the White House.

In what promises to be less taxing on her throat, McPhee will also be flexing her theater muscles, having signed up to coproduce a play that will debut at the New York International Fringe Festival next month.

"As soon as I read this play, I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of," McPhee said. "Audiences know me best from American Idol but my passion has always been theater??[Director Michael Albanese] has written a beautiful play that is thought-provoking, entertaining and fresh."

Albanese's creation, Red Herring, is a cheery-sounding little number about two men living in adjoining cells on death row whose friendship helps them come to terms with their fate.

"Somewhere over the Rainbow," indeed.

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