Former ‘American Idol’ Runner-Up Reveals Major Hair Transformation

Heavy American Idol

“American Idol” star Katharine McPhee Foster is embracing a new hairdo just in time for summer.

McPhee, the runner-up of the singing competition staple’s fifth season in 2006, took to Instagram on May 30 to reveal that she had cut off a sizeable amount of her locks while sporting blonde highlights. Check out her ‘do below via the embedded Instagram link:

“New haircut, same classic @kmfjewelry necklace,” McPhee wrote in the post’s caption. KMF Jewelry is the “Terrified” singer’s line, and fans can see in the photo above that one of the necklaces McPhee is wearing reads “Rennie” — the name of her two-year-old son who she had with husband David Foster in February 2021.

McPhee and the 16-time Grammy winner married in 2019. Rennie is McPhee’s only child whereas he’s Foster’s sixth.

In an interview with Women’s Health in 2013, McPhee explained that chopping her hair wasn’t something out of her norm.

“My mom has dark, long hair, and my sister has dark, long hair, and I was always the child that would cut my hair,” McPhee said. “My mom and sister would always be like, ‘Don’t cut your hair.’ So whenever my hair grows out my mom will be like, ‘Oh, your hair is getting so long, it’s so pretty.’ And I never did anything crazy, but I would chop it every once in a while. I’m not attached to hair. That’s why I could cut it before.”

McPhee’s new look can be compared to the hairstyle she had when appearing on the “Jennifer Hudson Show” in January. See below:

Katharine McPhee Has Released Several Albums & Singles Since Her Time on ‘American Idol’

Since placing second on “American Idol” behind Taylor Hicks, McPhee has released five studio albums along with a 2022 album titled “Christmas Songs” alongside Foster. She’s also dropped several singles, which includes the aforementioned “Terrified” — her most streamed song on Spotify with over 95 million streams — along with 2007’s “Over It” and 2006’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

McPhee and the Canadian-born musician will hit the road later this year for their tour coined “An intimate evening with David Foster & Katharine McPhee.” They’re currently scheduled for nine performances across the United States — six at the beginning of November and three from December 8 through 10.

McPhee has also shown off her acting chops. Among other movies and shows, she starred in the 10-episode series “Country Comfort” in 2021 and in “Scorpion” from 2014 to 2018.

Katharine McPhee Revealed Rennie Was David Foster’s Great-Grandfather’s Name

McPhee appeared on “Today With Hoda & Jenna” a few weeks after Rennie’s birth and revealed her son’s name. “OK, well, his name, we haven’t said anything,” she said. “My husband probably will kill me for saying it, but his name is Rennie David Foster.”

McPhee went on to say Rennie was “an old family name” and that she and Foster hadn’t chosen a name prior to her going into labor.

“We picked Rennie ‘cause I’d actually been in labor for a while. We didn’t have a name picked out,” McPhee continued.

“We had a couple names, but my husband was on a text chain with his sisters and one of his sisters suggested an old family name. It was his great-grandfather’s name, his great-uncle’s name, so it has a long history in his family. My husband said, ‘Hi, Ren Foster,’ and so we said, ‘That’s a good name. It’s a strong name.’”