Cover Girl: Katharine McPhee Filed under ( American Idol, Katharine McPhee )

American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee quickly sheds her good-girl image with her new Stuff magazine cover shot and accompanying interview. Although, after reading the interview, the "bad girl" stuff seems a little forced. No matter, we still think she's a sweetheart.

STUFF: Are you more McNaughty or McNice?
KATHARINE: There are different sides of me. On American Idol, people saw the side that is very professional and put together. But there’s this other side of me that’s outgoing, energetic and wild—and did really stupid things in college.

Please discuss.
This one time we were walking down the street in Boston, and I was wearing this little skirt. There was this grate with air coming from underneath it. I remember standing above the grate with the air blowing up, and I was holding my skirt down. Another time, we went down to Coyote Ugly. We had so much fun dancing on the bar; the girls were taking their bras off. But I didn’t do that.

Your album cover is pretty racy. Did you do it to shock people?
People made a big deal out of that. They said, “She’s a slut, blah blah blah.” But I’m really not showing that much skin. It’s all suggested.

What was the worst thing about being on Idol?
Sometimes we couldn’t go out after midnight, and for a 21–year–old, that’s pretty crazy. And security went everywhere with me. For me, that was like, OK, this is weird. We’re just kids on a reality show!

You had the rare honor of performing with Meat Loaf. What was that like?
I really liked the guy, but no one warned me that he was going to be so energetic. The first time we sang together, he told me, “Just so you know, I like to go full–out.” I said OK, but he was, like, full–on performing it, and I was so caught off guard. All my fellow Idols were sitting in the audience laughing. I looked at him and just started laughing—no disrespect to him.

Have you always been popular with the fellas?
I was prematurely developed. As a freshman, I looked like a junior; I had boobs. Some of the older kids saw me in the yearbook and said I was cute.

So you probably didn’t have a problem finding a guy.
I came from an all–girl school, so I was determined to get a boyfriend!

Your current boyfriend is almost 20 years your senior. Do you usually go for older dudes?
When I turned 21, I thought it was a good age to explore. You’re no longer a teenager, so it’s OK [to date older guys]. I gravitated toward them, and I love them. They’re just wiser, and they’re less about themselves and more about you.

What do younger men need to know about the opposite sex?
Women sometimes act out, and men get frustrated. They don’t get that all we want is, for a few seconds, for you to be all about the girl—to snuggle her and give her kisses and tell her, “Your lips are so pretty today. I love your lips.” For me, with men, I will fixate on something. I’ll say, “I’m obsessed with your chin.” I’ll kiss his chin and munch on it, and I think that makes people feel good.

Do you see yourself settling down?
Oh, yeah. I want to have, like, 15 babies. I’ve always wanted to be pregnant. One year for Halloween, I decided to be pregnant, so I got this nun costume, and I put a big belly under it. I showed my parents and said I want to go to school as a pregnant nun. My dad sat me down and said, “Katharine, you can’t!”

Interview with American Idol's Haley Scarnato Filed under ( American Idol, Haley Scarnato, Jennifer Lopez, Katharine McPhee, Marc Anthony, Sanjaya Malakar, Simon Cowell )

Last week, American Idol fans said good-bye to 24-year-old Haley Scarnato. She recently sat down for an interview with AOL to dish on Simon, Sanjaya and Katharine McPhee's hair extensions.

Was that your strategy? Did people mistake your spirited performances for strutting around and playing up your overt sexuality?
I have no idea. You never can tell. I just tried to do the best that I could do, and that was that.

I know for the past couple of weeks, you were shrugging off Simon's comments about just that. But deep down, was it bothering you each week that you weren't getting much feedback on your voice, but just about what you had on?
A little bit ... they always say this is a singing competition, etc., but it is what it is. You just have to brush it off and do the best that you can do.

In retrospect, do you think that not responding to Simon's comments was the right decision?
That's who I am. I'm on national TV, and you've got to respect him. He's Simon Cowell, and you've got to set an example. It does hurt a little bit, but you just kind of brush it off and try to get through it.

What was it like to work with J.Lo as a mentor? What was she like in person?
It was amazing. She was great. She was very warm and comforting, and she had a lot to tell us. You could tell she really did want to help us. It was a very good experience on my part and I think everybody felt the same with it.

Did you get to spend a lot of time with her?
A little bit ... it was like 10 minutes, so it was good to hammer out the song and stuff.

Did you get to meet Marc Anthony at all?
Yes, we did. That was really cool, too.

What was he like?
He was great. He was really, really nice. He loves her and he adores her, so that's really cool to see. They just look really happy.

What challenge did you not expect in this competition?
That's hard, there's so much. You can't prepare yourself for something like this. You expect picking the right song is a huge deal, but just making sure it gets cleared. I didn't know it was going to be that tough to try and get the song cleared. That was pretty tough and it affected us a lot, because then if it didn't clear, we had to pick another song. It would just hold everything up. That was pretty much it.

Did any celebrity mentor give you good advice that we didn't see?
No, not really ... Lulu was amazing. That was all on TV. She and Jennifer Lopez were great. I loved them. What you see is what you get. They try to put everything in as much as they can.

Were you aware of all of the things people have been saying about Sanjaya?
Not really. Like I said, we're totally in that bubble, so we try to stay away from it, just for the sake of our own minds. Not too much, the Sanjaya thing, I hear that's an issue or something. It's kind of funny.

It's an issue all right. Considering what an issue it is, does it bother you that you got voted off before him?
No, oh my gosh! Sanjaya is a great personality; he has a great energy backstage and on stage. I think he did a great job last week. He's a great kid, and I wish the best for him and all of the other contestants.

At one point early on in the season, they said that you were wearing hair extensions that have previously been used by Katharine McPhee on the show the season before, the hair stylist reused them.
I think it's cool. It's fun. They can wash them. It was fun. It was kind of cool to wear Katharine McPhee hair extensions.

When is your wedding, and how stressful has it been being in this competition, knowing that you have that to deal with?
The wedding was Nov. 10, but we have to move it back because the tour is running into it, so we'll see how it goes.

Photo from AOL.

Newsstand Friday: In Touch Magazine Filed under ( America's Next Top Model, CariDee English, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katharine McPhee, Katie Holmes, Suri Cruise, Tom Cruise, Verne Troyer )

"I drank my weight in alcohol."In an exclusive interview, Verne Troyer opens up to In Touch about how his addiction to drinking almost killed him.

Did Gwyneth get a boob job?
An insider says that Gwyneth Paltrow's gone under the knife!

Spring's top trends
America's Next Top Model winner CariDee English shows off this season's hottest styles.

Hollywood's hottest blondes
These golden girls have never looked better!

In Touch With: Katharine McPhee
Katharine is happy, healthy and hoping to be an idol to other women.

Celebrity designers at home
These top stylemakers know how to make an impact.