Katherine McPhee Returns To ‘American Idol’ With Powerful Duet Weeks After Giving Birth

Katharine McPhee returned to the “American Idol” stage for a spine-tingling performance.

The fifth season runner-up joined frontrunner Willie Spence for a powerful duet of their rendition of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion’s 1999 iconic song “The Prayer.”

This appears to be Katherine’s first time returning to the stage to perform since she and husband David Foster welcomed their first child together in February, a baby boy named Rennie.

 

The song held a special significance for the duo, Willie dedicated the song to his grandfather who recently died from Covid-19 while Katherine honored her late father who died in July 2018 for the performance.

Their performance wowed the judges with Katy Perry calling their rendition of the classic song “goosebumps central,” adding that it was a great choice for the “American Idol” competitor to “really showcased your voice, and different levels…that you have within you.”

“It’s about those amazing classic songs that other powerhouses sing, and that show that you are also a powerhouse,” she added.

Luke Bryan reacted to their performance with awe, “Part of being a star is making people fall in love with you and, man, I am in love with you, and I am in love with the way you go about being on stage, and the way you go about singing and the place it comes from. It’s amazing.”

Lionel Richie also coined the nickname “Willie Pavarotti” for the singer and explained, “In our business, you don’t want to be a singer, you want to be a stylist. You have your own lane, and it’s just mesmerizing to watch you.”

“American Idol” airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Access Hollywood’s podcast “The Vault” features decades worth of A-list interviews and never-before-heard moments with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Listen now!

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Lionel Richie Talks 'The Greatest Night In Pop' And His Hope Of Getting Prince On 1985 Hit Song