NUDM 2013 surprised dancers Friday night with a motivational video from Katharine McPhee, best known for Season 5 of American Idol and, more recently, the NBC show Smash. Here are five things you should know about the pop singer.
1. McPhee first caught American Idol judges' eyes with her audition performance of "God Bless the Child" in San Francisco. She made it to the finals of her season, where fans called themselves victims of McPheever. McPhee lost to Taylor Hicks, who has been MIA since his Idol win.
2. The pop star-turned-actress was cast in the pilot of You Are Here, MTV's mall-based drama. The episode was never aired, and the network didn't pick up the series.
3. Her first single was "Over It" from her self-titled debut album Katharine McPhee. The single peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.
4. McPhee co-starred as a Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority member in The House Bunny. She played the pregnant girl who has her baby in a deleted scene of the movie. McPhee also released a cover of "I Know What Boys Like" featuring her fellow misfit sisters from the movie.
5. She now stars in Smash as Karen Cartwright. Her character learns that there's a lot more than being talented that plays into getting a part on Broadway. Season 1 of the show ends with Karen's debut performance as Marilyn Monroe in Bombshell, a musical based off the starlet's life.