Former American Idol contestant Kimberley Locke is apparently still recording and will release the first single from her sophomore album, Based on a True Story, early next week.

The first track is entitled "Supawoman." This most likely is a misspelled, clever hybrid of the words "super" and "woman."

"It's about being a strong, independent woman and finding a partner, a man who can come in and work with you, with all of your strong attributes, and not be intimidated by you," Locke told Billboard.com of the single, which will be available July 4 via iTunes.

The album is set for release in September via Curb Records. "Supawoman" is one of the nine songs Locke helped pen for the album. The artist, who lost out to runner-up Clay Aiken and winner Ruben Studdard on the second season of Idol, says the writing process was therapeutic for her during a rough time in her life.

"I was engaged, and the engagement fell apart. There were so many emotions and feelings inside of me that (songs) literally were just pouring out of me," Locke said. "It was a really great experience. I think being paired with people who have a strong talent for writing really brought something out in me. Otherwise I don't know if I would have been able to do it."

Based on a True Story is the follow up to Locke's 2004 debut, One Love, which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200. The singles "8th World Wonder" and "I Could" both reached the top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Mobbed by fans in public, confessing her personal struggles and generally making headlines everywhere she goes, Katharine McPhee is already a star. But the American Idol runner-up still has time for us geeks.

The lovely, computer-savvy 22-year old singer is the subject of AOL Music's latest AIM interview. In her instant messages with some lucky dude from AOL, Katharine discussed what it felt like to be on American Idol, what projects she's working on, what she thinks of Iran's nuclear aspirations and a whole lot more. The full transcript appears below.

[NOTE: McPhee is "KatharineIdol"]
[NOTE: She is now on my Buddy List]
[NOTE: She is not online right now]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AOLMusicScottB: hey hey
KatharineIdol: yay
AOLMusicScottB: Where are you IMing from?
KatharineIdol: From my parents house
AOLMusicScottB: you actually have some time off?
KatharineIdol: well yesterday was my only day off
KatharineIdol: I have a photo shoot today
AOLMusicScottB: for the new record?
KatharineIdol: No for OK mag. That shoot will be later this month
KatharineIdol: all my friends are IMing right now!!! AHHHHH
AOLMusicScottB: hahaha
KatharineIdol: yep
AOLMusicScottB: How crazy is everything right now?
KatharineIdol: Pretty crazy
KatharineIdol: My phone has rung about 25 times in the last hour during these interviews
KatharineIdol: I should probably go get it. One sec
AOLMusicScottB: wow, i definitely don't have that problem
KatharineIdol: You don't want that problem
AOLMusicScottB: maybe it's paula abdul asking you on a date?
KatharineIdol: Hahaha
KatharineIdol: No time for dates
KatharineIdol: I can't wait to get out of the country where my phone can't ring
AOLMusicScottB: i'm sure. does it even matter anymore if you come in 1st or 2nd on american idol?
KatharineIdol: I don't think it matters
KatharineIdol: I think I'm going to be fine
KatharineIdol: As long as I get to perform in some kind of way i will be happy
AOLMusicScottB: you gonna try and pull a clay and outshine taylor?
KatharineIdol: I'm just trying to do the best that I can. I'm not trying to outshine anyone really. I'm just in competition with myself
KatharineIdol: that would be cool if I could have as much success as Clay though
AOLMusicScottB: true.
AOLMusicScottB: when you lost you didn't look surprised at all... were you expecting it?
KatharineIdol: I was just happy to be where I was
KatharineIdol: Everyone keeps saying that. I don't know what the other reactions were from the runners up from passed seasons, but you have to be pretty humbled to simply just be where you are
KatharineIdol: Someone has to win
AOLMusicScottB: i'd be pissed and prob would have jumped simon and maybe paula too
KatharineIdol: HAHAHAHA
KatharineIdol: that would have been a site to see
KatharineIdol: I would have liked to be at your finale
AOLMusicScottB: i prob couldn't take him, but paula i think i could handle.
AOLMusicScottB: yeah, you could have seen it on american idol and then right after on cops
KatharineIdol: I think you could handle all of em
KatharineIdol: exactly
AOLMusicScottB: so you've seen how buff i am then.
KatharineIdol: This is much better than regular interview over the phone
KatharineIdol: I have been stalking you
AOLMusicScottB: sweet
AOLMusicScottB: just had to check the windows real quick like to make sure you weren't out there.
KatharineIdol: I am you just can't see me. I have had a lot of experience
KatharineIdol: hehe
AOLMusicScottB: multi talented
KatharineIdol: Very
AOLMusicScottB: speaking of which
KatharineIdol: Yes?
AOLMusicScottB: i hear you have an interest in acting?
KatharineIdol: Yes I do, I have been working on an acting career for years before I even auditioned for idol
AOLMusicScottB: any offers yet?
KatharineIdol: No just have a couple of projects that I’m up for but no for sure things yet
KatharineIdol: I want to make very smart decisions when it does come time to take a part
KatharineIdol: I want it to be something that I know I can do well in
KatharineIdol: It's all about making smart choices from here on out
AOLMusicScottB: no from justin to kelly part 2?
KatharineIdol: I don't think so
KatharineIdol: hahaha
AOLMusicScottB: so your single comes out on the 27th of june, how excited are you?
KatharineIdol: So exciting
KatharineIdol: I hope my fans enjoy it
AOLMusicScottB: i'm already in line waiting for it
KatharineIdol: ahhh sucks!!! thanks
AOLMusicScottB: and getting a little dehydrated actually
KatharineIdol: You better cuz now you’re on my buddy list. that means we’re friends
KatharineIdol: Drink some water
AOLMusicScottB: bff
KatharineIdol: till we die
KatharineIdol: and then after
AOLMusicScottB: exactly
AOLMusicScottB: you go on tour soon too are you ready?
KatharineIdol: yea very excited to play those big houses
AOLMusicScottB: you should learn how to do backflips like B5
AOLMusicScottB: that would rule
KatharineIdol: Already working on it
AOLMusicScottB: ok, a couple more very important questions and you are free to go
AOLMusicScottB: If you had to be in either Slayer or Motorhead, which band would you be in?
KatharineIdol: AHHH motorhead
AOLMusicScottB: good call
KatharineIdol: much better
KatharineIdol: thats like death metal, my kind of stuff
KatharineIdol: haha
AOLMusicScottB: secondly, and equally as important, do you think iran has nukes? and if not how far away are they?
KatharineIdol: what?
AOLMusicScottB: good answer, you'll make a great politician
KatharineIdol: yes I would
AOLMusicScottB: ok, any last words to your fans?
KatharineIdol: that I love them and that I'm eternally grateful to them for getting me to the position that im at today
KatharineIdol: they are the greatest
KatharineIdol: And so are you!!!
KatharineIdol: hehe
AOLMusicScottB: hahah
AOLMusicScottB: ok, go answer your phone. thanks for taking the time
AOLMusicScottB: peace
KatharineIdol: my pleasure
KatharineIdol: peace out

The typically harsh Simon Cowell called runner-up Katharine McPhee's voice "the best of the competition" on the most recent season of American Idol.

While it's no secret that legions of McPhans became captivated by McPhee's looks and talent on Idol, hardly anyone knew that she risked destroying it all during a five-year battle with bulimia. Self-induced vomiting put her ability to sing in serious jeopardy, not to mention the litany of health problems it exposed her to.

When McPhee hit bottom, she was throwing up as many as seven times a day.

"It's like putting a sledgehammer to your vocal cords," the 22-year old, native Californian tells People Magazine in its new issue.

After successfully auditioning for Idol last fall, McPhee finally decided to seek help.

"When I made it onto American Idol, I knew that food -- my eating disorder -- was the one thing really holding me back," Katharine said. "I was bingeing my whole life away for days at a time... So when I got on the show, I said, 'You know what? I can do well in this competition. Let me give myself a chance and just get ahold of this thing.'"

With the support of parents Peisha and Daniel, and her boyfriend, 41-year old actor Nick Cokas, McPhee enrolled at Los Angeles's Eating Disorder Center of California last October. She spent three months there in group and individual therapy sessions, six days a week.

"I knew I had put off going to a treatment center long enough. I'd been struggling with bulimia since I was 17," McPhee said. "Growing up in Los Angeles and spending all those years in dance class, I'd been conscious of body image at a young age, and I went through phases of exercising compulsively and starving myself. Food was my crutch; it was how I dealt with emotions and uncomfortable situations."

The Eating Disorder Center helped her gain control of her relationship with food, but it was far from easy.

"I really had to surrender and give up having a free life to do the program, because I'd be there from 9 in the morning until 7 at night... I remember that first night, my dad holding me, crying and saying, 'I don't know why you have to suffer through this, but it's going to be okay.'"

McPhee, who narrowly lost to Taylor Hicks on the show's finale, and whose first single will be released June 27, has dropped 30 pounds as a result of the "intuitive eating" approach she learned at the center.

"I learned that there's no such thing as a bad food. If you look at a doughnut, people think it's a fattening food... why? Because if you eat it you'll get fat? No, you'll get fat if you eat 10 doughnuts," she said.

While she has made great strides in conquering her eating fears, McPhee admits she's still coping with how to best handle stress.

"I still bite my nails," she said.

Simon Cowell unleashed yet another TV talent contest on viewers last night as his much-anticipated America's Got Talent debuted on NBC.

The American Idol judge is producing the show with the same company that puts on his FOX singfest. He's the behind-the-scenes presence this time around, though, as Regis Philbin hosts and a panel of stars (probably lower-level stars these days than Simon himself) serves as judges.

Cowell's contract with American Idol prohibits him from appearing on competing shows, but America's Got Talent follows the same formula as the wildly-successful Idol, with audition rounds conducted in four cities followed by public voting and eliminations beginning next month for a million-dollar prize.

NBC apparently has so much faith in Cowell and company that it's already booked Talen" for the winter, the same route that Idol took.

It will be featured in NBC's Sunday lineup after football season, meaning Cowell will have his fingers in the TV pie 4-5 nights a week when Idol comes back to Fox for a sixth season in January.

What kind of talent is Simon looking for on this NBC series? Singers, dancers, comedic performers, unique novelty acts... pretty much anything.

The Washington Post reported that in a phone conference interview, Cowell promised viewers would see a guy balance a 300-pound oven on his face... while frying eggs on it. Let's see Taylor Hicks do that!

Gimmicky as it sounds, the formula -- like Idol -- calls for the judges to ridicule people willing to embarrass themselves in the early rounds, before the serious contenders steal the show late in the season.

The judges are singer/actor Brandy, David Hasselhoff (really, right), and Piers Morgan, a former newspaper editor and British TV host. A Cowell stand-in?

There's certainly nothing new about talent shows, which can be traced to medieval street fairs, Star Search, and many other variations. But Simon and production company Fremantle Media, along with his ex-partner and Idol creator, Simon Fuller, have put a new spin on the old idea.

With stagy techniques, a PR blitz, a witty host, and judges that are as much a part of the show as the acts, it won't be surprising if the show takes off.

American Idol winner Ruben Studdard was awarded $2 million in his lawsuit against his ex-manager for misappropriating the singer's money and credit cards, USA Today reports.

Studdard, 26, of Birmingham, Ala., edged out runner-up Clay Aiken to win the second season of the hit FOX series in 2003. He filed suit against ex-manager Ronald W. Edwards and Edwards' promotions company, Sez Inc., last year.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Scott Vowell awarded Studdard $500,000 for actual losses and $1.5 million in punitive damages, The Birmingham News reported on its website.

Vowell dismissed Edwards' promotions company from the suit because it was bankrupt and had no assets. Edwards filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 17, 2005.

The suit claimed that the manager misused more than $246,000 of the singer's money, improperly borrowing against credit cards and even using Studdard's money to repay a $10,000 loan to a Tuscaloosa, Ala., bank.

Studdard has made upwards of $2.2 million from album sales, but the damage his manager caused his credit has made it hard for him to obtain financing to purchase a home, the judge's order said.

Neither party commented on whether the singer had frequented payday loan stores in the past due to his credit problems. They give you cash with no credit check or faxing!

Fans of hip hop legend Snoop Dogg were stunned Saturday by the appearance of American Idol winner Taylor Hicks at one of the Doggfather's concerts.

Unbeknownst to fans until they saw him in person, Hicks joined the rap star on stage and played harmonica to one of Snoop's signature tracks, "Gin and Juice," at the Birmingham (Ala.) City Stages festival.

Hicks also performed some of his famous dance moves later in the rapper's set. The Alabama native was thrilled to share the stage with the rap mogul.

"I have the greatest respect for Snoop Dogg as an artist, but also as a family man, a businessman and an integral part of pop culture," he said. "Rap music has the most advanced lyricism there is. Rap is real. There's nothing pretentious about it. I'm very excited about appearing with Snoop. I think it's great."

Could their be a duet on the horizon for these unlikely friends? Probably not. But we'd like to see it. The two share such undeniable chemistry. Please send any bootlegs from Saturday to us immediately. We have got to hear this.

It may seem impossible to believe now, but TV Guide reports there was a time when no one wanted to hear Elliot Yamin sing.

"I was always loud, interrupting my mom on the phone or my brother doing his homework," the 27-year-old Virginian said. "I would annoy everybody."

Not anymore. The third-place finisher on Season Five of American Idol, Yamin actually placed fifth in an AOL poll ranking the best Idols of all-time.

In just a few weeks, Yamin transformed himself from a loser with a bowl cut and goofy grin to everyone's favorite underdog. His health issues - partial deafness and diabetes - inspired millions with similar conditions.

Elliot's mom, Claudette, summed it up when she saw her son dressed in white in the May 22 edition of TV Guide: "Elliott looks sexy."

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Taylor Hicks has always been a charmer... even way back in the day when he had brown hair.

At least according to Brooke Kelley Campbell, who dated the American Idol star and took him to her senior prom at Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Hicks' former girlfriend reflected on her time with the newest Idol singing phenom in an interview with People Magazine.

"Taylor was a fashion guy and he wanted to make sure that he matched my gloves and all that. My dress was green, and his tux was like a crisp green and navy plaid," said Campbell, now 29 and married, living with her husband and 18-month-old son in Roswell, Ga.

At the prom, Hicks was the center of attention, showing some signs of the choreography that helped him shine on American Idol, where he edged out Katharine McPhee to win the fifth season's top honor.

"[Taylor] was such a good dancer. He did what he called the 'Carlton Dance,' from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," Campbell said.

The singer's romance with Campbell lasted well after prom, as the pair dated for about a year. Hicks even went on a family vacation with her to Highlands, N.C., during that time.

"My mom thought he hung the moon. He was one of those guys that, if he was coming to pick me up to go somewhere and I wasn't quite ready, he would sit down in the den with my parents and just talk and talk and talk," Campbell said. "I would come in and say, 'OK, it's time to go. C'mon, Taylor, let's go.'"

It was also hard to drag him away from the basement of one of his friends, an early performing venue for Hicks.

"Taylor would be playing music, and that is just where we would go. Taylor was right in the middle of it. We all went over there because there was going to be entertainment, and Taylor happened to be the entertainment," Campbell said.

Some things never change.

Katharine McPhee can't go anywhere without causing a stir these days.

People Magazine reports that after attending a recent Broadway show, the 22-year old starlet was mobbed by tourists. McPhans, if you will.

"I try to look at it as, well, we're all hot right now, but let's remember that this is a dog-eat-dog business and it could all go as fast as it came. I just keep that in mind," McPhee said.

Humility is healthy, but it's doubtful McPhee will be fading from the spotlight anytime soon, with a new record contract under her belt and two singles -- her original song "My Destiny" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" -- coming out on June 27.

She will be on tour with her fellow American Idol finalists beginning July 5. Katharine is also going to begin working on her full length debut album soon.

"Definitely, it'll be pop," she told People regarding her upcoming CD at the Brooklyn, N.Y., launch of the new Princess Cruise luxury liner. "It'll be on the radio, on the Top 40 charts hopefully." Stay tuned.