When Katharine McPhee first appeared on American Idol, many people
were struck by the "McPheever" (before KROQ's DJ Ralph had coined the
term) and sought out others who also felt moved by this talented,
charming, and beautiful new singer. One of the first "Katharine"
blogs to appear on the American Idol website was written by a person
with the screen name "Kyoty07." Katharine's early fans congregated
at that blog to talk about her performances, to discuss how to keep
her hopes alive in the competition, and to decide what they should
call themselves as a fan group. Several names were suggested, but
everyone knew they'd hit on the right one when someone threw out the
name "Kat Pack."
The Kat Pack name first became known to Katharine and her family when
Laurie from Louisiana sent an embroidered blanket to her on behalf of
the Kat Pack. Kim (screen name Trist) was also instrumental in
organizing the Kat Pack group and initiated early fan projects like
the "last girl standing" toenail polish project and the 1,000 Roses
project. Katharine's mother, Peisha McPhee, and friends Sean Hardy
and Diane Davis were very supportive of the Kat Pack from the start.
They helped us get mail to her and gave us photos and things.
Creative Kat Pack fan projects continue to this day.
Katharine's first public shout-outs to the Kat Pack came during the
American Idol show and in her first Good Day LA interview. The "Kat
Pack" name soon also began springing up in places like Rolling Stone
magazine, IMDB (Internet Movie Database), and US Weekly. While
members of the Kat Pack continued posting messages
in the "Katharine" forum of the American Idol boards, shortly after
the Kat Pack got it's name, its founder Kyotoy07 disappeared. The
only time he reappeared was on the night of the Top 3, which seemed
like such a great omen at the time -- and turned out to be exactly
that. Katharine made it on through to the finale, and the rest is
history.
As American Idol Season 5 drew to a close, the Kat Pack was "rescued"
from the American Idol boards and moved to MySpace by Jennie and
Laurie, with the original Kat Pack members list intact, and new fans
continuing to be added each week. The Kat Pack started as a way for
fans to gather in support of Katharine McPhee during the American
Idol competition, and its mission continues to be to unite
Katharine's fans under one roof in an ongoing effort to promote the
talented Katharine McPhee.
