Pop Quiz: Katharine McPhee

Pop Quiz: Katharine McPhee

Aidin Vaziri | Some reasons we're excited about this week's arrival of "American Idol" Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee's self-titled debut album: (1) Even though she lost on the show, she won our hearts. (2) The album was supposed to come out in November and, when it didn't, our anticipation level went from 14 to 50. (3) It includes a bunch of songs that aren't "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" or "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." Hooray!

Katharine McPhee
Q: You know you should have won, right?
A: Oh, you're so sweet! Thank you.
Q: No, really. I personally voted for you 1,834,182 times.
A: Thank you. We'll see how the record does. We're all geared up.
Q: Some people have described the photo on the album cover as "the slut next door." This isn't me. This is the Internet talking.
A: I like the photo. You would never see me on a daily basis walking around in thigh-high boots and a little short dress, but it's sort of an eye-catcher. It's like, "Wait a minute: Who's that? That's the girl we saw in the long gowns on 'Idol.' "
Q: You're putting it all out there.
A: That's as much as I want to put out there. The thing I like about the photo is that it's suggestive and racy but not really showing any skin. That's what I'm all about.