Katharine McPhee

When you listen to their respective solo debuts, it's astonishing that Katharine McPhee was the runner up to Taylor Hicks on American Idol's fifth season -- McPhee's soulful alto makes her one of the most commanding singers to emerge from the talent show. Born in Los Angeles in 1984, she began singing at a young age and quickly became a frontrunner in the fifth season of American Idol, in which she eventually placed second. Her self-titled debut appeared in 2006 and eventually charted in the Top 10.