With striking looks and a strong — if sometimes out of control and off-pitch — voice, this California native was born to a cabaret-singer/vocal-coach mother, who groomed her for the spotlight from an early age. After high school, McPhee enrolled in the music program at Boston Conservatory but dropped out her sophomore year at the behest of a manager who suggested she try her luck as an actress in Los Angeles. Not much happened until she won a spot on the fifth edition of American Idol. Although initially Simon Cowell didn't think she had what it took, she began winning him over mid-season with her brassy vocals and comely appearance, and ultimately, she was named runner-up. While her fans — the Kat Pack and McPhans — happily suffered from McPheever, her critics insisted she was more of an aspiring Broadway baby than a pop star in training.