Katharine McPhee News

We interrupt our typical American Idol Season Seven updates to bring you news about one of our favorite former finalists:

Katharine McPhee has been named the newest face of Neutrogena. The singer follows a list of celebrities who have enjoyed such an honor, including Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jennifer Garner. The American Idol Season 5 runner-up signed a two-year contract to promote the product.

This has been a big year for McPhee, who married longtime boyfriend Nick Cokas in February.

Months of performing on American Idol couldn't prepare Katharine McPhee for the stage of her wedding to Nick Cokas.

"I was so emotional and moved by the whole thing," said McPhee in People's February 18 issue.

As the fifth season runner-up explained, she was trying hard to control herself. But it was a difficult task when faced with such an occasion.

"I had been holding onto my dad, trying not to cry," McPhee saidadding her father Daniel was "happy" to give her away.  "Then the doors opened, and I was blown away."

McPhee and Cokas - who had been dating for two years before he popped the question last spring - exchanged vows in front of 305 guests. But the 42-year-old groom only noticed his beautiful bride.

"Her beauty and the beauty of the moment exceeded anything I could have ever dreamed of," Cokas said.  "It was incredible."

Awwww!!! 

We hope you aren't sick of news on Nick Cokas and Katharine McPhee's marriage. We just can't help but be continually happy for this couple.

With that in mind, here's a photo from the pair's recent wedding.

The reception took place on February 2 at St. Viviana's in Los Angeles. Cokas and McPhee tied the knot earlier at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church before 305 guests (including McPhee's pal Rumer Willis).

With a beautiful wedding behind them, newlyweds Katharine McPhee and Nick Cokas landed in Hawaii yesterday. Here's a shot of the couple in Oahu:

Katharine McPhee and Nick Cokas got married yesterday in Beverly Hills, exchanging vows in a late afternoon ceremony at Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.

"(Nick) is the love of my life," McPhee gushed to People magazine. "This is a once in a lifetime occasion and everything is just perfect."

McPhee wore a strapless ivory Manuel Mota gown and Neil Lane jewels (diamond and platinum chandelier earrings and diamond and platinum bracelets), while Cokas wore an Armani tuxedo.

Fellow season five American Idol contestants Kellie Pickler and Mandisa were among the 305 guests on hand for the nuptials.

This is getting ugly.

First, Ruben Studdard was dropped from his record label. Then, the same fate befell Taylor Hicks.

Now, Katharine McPhee has parted ways with RCA after just one album, a 2007 self-titled affair that debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200.

The former American Idol finalist struggled to connect with a wide audience with her CD, which was led by the single "Over It." That track topped out at No. 22 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart and No. 29 on the Hot 100. The album has sold just 366,000 units in the United States.

As McPhee said last year, she quickly realized the art of the compromise when it came to record the album, fresh off the road from the "American Idols Live" tour.

For example, Katharine fell in love with two tracks from producer Ryan Leslie, but then they wound up not making the cut. "I'm learning that's the way it goes in this business," she said. "You give and you take."

Hopefully, fiance Nick Cokas can at least help to cushion McPhee's fall.

On December 12, Dr. Phil and his wife Robin McGraw will host Christmas in Washington.

The special benefits the Children’s National Medical Center, and American Idol alumni Katharine McPhee recently taped her segment of the show. She's seen here alongside High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens and Ne-Yo.

Other artists slated to perform are: Alan Jackson, Andrea Bocelli, Colbie Caillat and Heather Headley.

Katharine McPhee, 23, sure is on cloud nine these days, recently showing off a ring from fiance Nick Cokas, 42, People magazine reports today.

"Katharine is bubbling over with excitement for her upcoming wedding," a source says. "She is all smiles when she talks about the planning. It sounds like everything is going very smoothly."

The couple met in 2005 in a theater production of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. McPhee and Cokas got engaged in September, and their union began years ago as a friendship, McPhee said.

"He took me up to my San Francisco (American Idol) auditions," she said.

"That's when the relationship blossomed. We totally fell in love."

As for their 19-year age difference, Katharine McPhee says that "was never really a concern" because the two have such a strong connection.

Nick Cokas "just makes things really fun" and "we love business. We love going to meetings together and create things together."

Case in point: the two will join forces on an independent film titled The Last Caller, in which Katharine McPhee will star and Cokas will produce!

Katharine McPhee recently talked to MTV about her first starring movie role in I Know What Boys Like.

“This is very different,” said McPhee, looking around a set that included Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone and Rumer Willis. “I can see how people would get freaked out on sets, because there’s so many people behind the camera and you get only a few chances - depending on who the director is - to do what you have to do.”

Of course, being on the smash show that American Idol is helped McPhee adjust to the craziness and attention.

“I’ve felt really comfortable, actually,” she said.“Coming from a show that millions of people watch, it’s a lot less scary. So, I’ve had a blast. The whole [movie] experience, this whole environment, is like a family. You get to know all the faces, all the grips, all the stagehands and stuff like that.”

We have a couple new details on the wedding between Katharine McPhee and longtime boyfriend Nick Cokas.

The American Idol runner-up and her older man are reportedly planning to wed in February at a Beverly Hills, estate, according to a report in Us Weekly's October 29 issue.

"There will be many Greek elements," a source told the magazine. "She calls him her 'little Greek god.'"

Awwww.

Cokas proposed to the 23-year-old former American Idol finalist with a pink and yellow engagement ring last spring; however the pair have allegedly kept the pending nuptials secret so McPhee could focus on her career.