Satire: American Idol's Katharine McPhee and the Voice Within
Published June 30, 2006
I was standing in line at McDonald’s, my first time there since seeing Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me a few months ago, and it occurred to me that Katharine McPhee’s bulimia confession just destroyed her chances to be a spokesperson (or is it songsperson) for the highest grossing restaurant chain in the world. Think of all the ways they could have played on her last name before she revealed her McSickness. I made the mistake of ordering the two double cheeseburgers for a dollar special anyway and with Morgan Spurlock and Katherine McPhee providing the the background narration and music for my digestive tract, well, “I Know I’ll Never Eat This Way Again”.
How do I say that those golden arches threatened to be the wrong-colored Rainbow? As I mentally process my McDonald’s binge, I found myself thinking about this “intuitive eating” thing. My body was clearly telling me not to ingest the stuff, but I simply didn’t listen.
Instead, I heeded this voice that was saying “You’re hungry, you’re in a hurry to make that meeting, salty and greasy will feel good, and a double cheeseburger for a buck is really really cheap.”
As I got to the register, I was already doing a karaoke version of “I Believe I Can Fry,” to which the lady at the register responded by asking “Would you like to super-size your Fry?”
Apparently, it was My Destiny to explore intuitive eating the hard way. I still don’t want to think about Taylor Hicks having ribs for breakfast, though. I’ve never thrown up after eating, but I do personally understand binge eat
- Satire: American Idol's Katharine McPhee and the Voice Within
- Published: June 30, 2006
- Type: Satire
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Tastes: Food and Drink, Culture: Media, Music: Pop, Video: Music, Video: Reality TV
- Writer: Chancelucky
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which is why I called it a "persistent" story. Thanks for the info about who did write the song. The Wikipedia still has Barry writing it. I'd seen the attribution made, denied, etc. to the point where it was more or less an urban legend candidate.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I did notice some of those ironic moments on the show. However, I just love Kat and I think she has an amazing personality along with her voice; she's just humble and down to earth, I think. I totally agree with you on the old boyfriend thing, though. I wish she would date someone more her age. He must be a really nice guy. Congrats, Kat and Good Luck!!!
Thank you! That last paragraph especially the first line is just perfect. Let's spoon feed it to media!
Wow...an article that left me smiling, one for the scrapbook.
Julie, Erica, Belinda,
many thanks for your comments.
I hope Katherine turns down the MacDonald's project. Why do u have so much 'hate?' U must have a very low esteem of u're self. U r one of those 'board crazies!'
Lea,
thanks for dropping by. To be clear, I don't think McDonald's asked her to endorse anything. The post was labelled "satire".
AI's 'runner up' is already fielding sponsorship offers, KFC n Eat'n Park.
How strange! I did look up the KFC offer and it looks like they offered it to the losing finalist before the bulimia story broke.
The Eat'n Park offer looks more recent. I could see a "healthy eating" kind of take on the commercials, but it would still seem very weird to me. That hasn't stopped advertisers in the past though.
I totally agree with you on the "cringe" aspect looking back at the show. I know what it must have felt like to have rumors that she was pregnant flying around...hope it didn't cause her to over-compensate.
I knew she must have had issues steming from her seemingly control-freak parents, but I didn't imagine the extent.
I do wish her the best.
Great article!
Actually, I've never thought the "control freak" parents was fair. It seems to be based on the fact that the Mcfather came up to the judges after they trashed her Whitney performance on David Foster/Bocelli night and the fact that her mother happens to be a singing teacher. If that was all there was to it, I think it's a jump.
I've always found the Mchate a little strange..
Chancelucky: American Idol (review) Elliott Yamin Out at Third
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/49873)
Barry Manilow didn't write the McDonald's jingle "You Deserve A Break Today." He only sang it. The composers were:
Words: Keith Reinhard, Richard Hazlett & Ed Farran
Music: Sid Woloshin & Kevin Gavin
Thanks!
Sarah