exactly. we are just happy that she is safe. we dont want her going on a plane in bad weather. that would be very dangerous. im glad that she is staying safe.

Always safety first....I'd like to have her around for years to come, then to endanger herself for one concert. I'm sure the fans in Pittsburgh will understand. Forget those bashers on the other boards .....they do need to get a life.

Forget the bashers, real Mcphans would always be there and be supportive. Always safety first! We waited this long, I'm sure the fans in Pittsburgh would understand.

Just got home from concert and Kat wasn't there! It said on door that she wouldn't be there because of illness! Nothing said about flight delays. UGH I was sooooo bummed!! It sucked! Oh well life goes on! Chris rocked though. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Because of Illnesss?" Geez, are the road managers too lazy to change the darn sign? Granted, it all happened at the last minute, but still -- I hate to think of the bad vibes that's gonna start!

Oh well. Kat'll be back (again) and people will be picking up good vibratons
 enough. Then we can look back and LAAAAAUGH!

I'm sorry for those who missed Kat in the concert. They must be very disappointed and sad, especially with the heightened anticipation of her comeback.

I'm sure Kat felt doubly terrible as well.

Well, that's life... there will always be a silver lining afterwards - somewhere over the rainbow.

Agree.

Kat's future note to self: No more doing talk shows where word count is minimal before having to fly out to do a concert.

That's bizarre that the venue in 'Burgh stuck out the sign that said Kat wasn't there due to illness again. But it seems like they're on automatic pilot with that and figured they couldn't take a few minutes to scribble in 'Thunderstorms/Flight Delay' over the word 'illness.' I've discovered that venue staff usually do things by the book, though, and it apparently was all done by the 'AI' head brass out of habit.

In a way, it's sort of ironic that Kat sang 'OtR'--and then ended up having to deal with a thunderstorm that thwarted her starting the tour. But the summer is sometimes laden with thunderstorms that create flight delays...as much as you might think the summer is free and clear. I bet there's almost as many flight delays from thunderstorms and heavy rains in the summer than there is in the winter when there's snow delays. Unfortunately, having to rely on flying every single day to get somewhere is a real 'B' word. How people touring can keep their sanity within the insanity of the airline world boggles my mind. Though Kat manages to keep it all together somehow. I'm sure those security guys in the terminals doing the frisks, though, think they're getting their money's worth.

Well, I assume the weather will cooperate by tomorrow so Kat can get to the White House. We need to see those pics with President Bush, because it's a rare opportunity and a piece of history. That's strange Kat said on 'The View' that she didn't know she'd be at the White House until a couple of days ago. Maybe our threads here let her know.

I wonder if Kat's people could charter a private jet tomorrow so they wouldn't have to contend with the chaos in the airport terminals? A lot of celebs charter jets to get places faster.

man... that thunderstorm gonna cause Kat to get a lot of criticisms again..even though its totally beyond her control

You know what, this whole situation makes me so angry!!! It's bad enough that Kat's flight was delayed due to weather so that couldn't be helped. However, why would they leave signs on the door saying Kat was out due to illness?????? WHAT!!!!!!!

They HAD to know what was going on. The tour handlers certainly knew she was coming last night. After all, they had to organize the concert lineup and how Kat's return would change the show. It's not like her return to the tour was going to be a surprise to everyone and she would just drop by to sing a song or two. Give me a break!!!!

It seems to me that AI has done nothing in regard to PR and media coverage for damage control. Am I the only one who feels like they have just thrown Kat under the bus over her tour absence? They should have been keeping Idol fans and the general public informed of Kat's progress rather than letting rumors and speculation run rampant.

Kat herself and our fan site has done MORE to keep the "truth out there" than AI has!! What is up with that? I am very thankful for the exposure and opportunities that AI has provided for Kat. However, in many instances, she has been treated unfairly and it plays out in the press like she's a drama queen!! Urgggggg!!! I just want to slap somebody!!!! LOL O.K., I feel a little better now!!!! Just had to get that out!!!!

A disgusted McPhan, Teilah  

That's ridiculous that the hung the sign out there that she wasn't there because of "illness".  What did she get sick right after "The View"?  She looked just fine on there.

Just more garbage for her to deal with.  I mean how hard would it have been to type up a new note saying,

"Katharine McPhee will not be performing tonight because her airplane flight from New York City was delayed by thunderstorms."

How friggin' hard is that?  They are that lazy that they just took the sign they probably already had sent to them ahead of time...

Or maybe they didn't know anything and they weren't told she was planning on being there to begin with.  Maybe the memo had been sent out a week ahead of time and nobody bothered to tell the arena staff in Pittsburgh to change the sign or to not post the sign at all.

I mean I don't know when the sign went up at the arena.  I'm guessing they couldn't have known she wouldn't be there at all until probably when the show started.  Unless it was just plainly obvious that she wasn't going to be able to fly at all tonight.

Maybe I didn't read clearly enough.  Where is she now?  Did she spend the night in New York or did she catch a flight for Washington, D.C. tonight?  She's got to meet the President after all.

Jeez, now not only will she have done all of this media stuff before she joined the Tour, now she'll add the White House trip, too.

How unlucky can Katharine be?  Plus, we're heading into the ever so exciting Southern portion of the Tour.  Great place for our girl to get her feet wet.  In the area of the country that cares the least about her.

Although maybe that'll be a good thing.  She can do her two songs a night for a week or two while they are in everybody but Katharine, Lisa & Ace country.  Since most of those people will be interested in seeing Taylor, Chris, Elliott, Kellie & Bucky anyway.

On a related note, anybody know what songs Katharine was supposed to sing tonight (or tomorrow and in the near future)?  I'm assuming "Rainbow" and hmmmm...."Someone To Watch Over Me"???

The AI PR team is doing a shitty job for Kat. They stink.

They don't care about any individual AI performer as long as they think the whole event is still doing fine.

I'm afraid Kat may have lost many uncommitted fans of hers.

That's my guess--because they both can be done very softly and intimately.

Really, I think Kat's intimate singing will draw people into her performances even more. They have those cameras there to show her up on the big screen, so the close-ups will help that too. Usually intimate type of singing doesn't translate in a big venue--but Kat knows how to project. You could almost say that Kat singing this way might be a self-discovery of stylistic approach to some songs. I REALLY loved Kat's toned-down approach on 'OtR' on 'The View' this morning. After all, the judges on 'AI' did tell her to try that singing approach more often.

It's all about Kat's purity of voice, which is the best in the business right now.

More on the signs placed at the venue: As I said, everything's done by the book on tours like this. What the venues should do, though, is have a loudspeaker or a ticker explain what happened so it doesn't have to be done on sheets of paper. The Rose Garden Arena in Portland has a ticker outside that gives current information--though they usually just flash ticket information about upcoming events.

When it comes to changing an announcement on a piece of paper, apparently there's no printer/copy store nearby that the 'AI' people could go to to change the announcement. After all, printing out new sheets that explain what happened would only cost about $20...and that'd break the 'AI' bank.

Ok, I give them the benefit of the doubt (or the removal of the sarcasm) because it was so last-minute...

Well, missing out on the three weeks of the Tour is a lost opportunity to gain fans that where possibly on the fence about her.  Still, if she couldn't sing...what can you do?  Just bad luck (like thunderstorms on the East Coast).

How's the first verse of "SOTR" go....when all the clouds darken up the skyway...

too bad her plane couldn't have found "the rainbow highway" to Pittsburgh.  Washington, D.C. will have to do I guess.

Yeah, I agree with that.  I'm not sure if she sang "SOTR" the way she did because she was a little hesistant about pushing her voice too hard right away or if that was a stylistic choice.  Whatever, to me, she should mix up how she does the song at times.  Makes it fresh and more interesting for all of us who've heard it hundreds of times already.

I kinda wish she would have slightly altered "SOTR" in the finale of Idol.  I mean she did it great the second time but it was an identical version so...I think it lost some of the "wow" factor because of it.  Whatever, none of that matters now.

Um, yeah I picked "Rainbow" because well I think that's what people expect to hear and then "STWOM" because well, because I love the song for one, but I went through all of the songs she did in my brain and that one seems like it would be the easiest on her vocal cords while she's still getting her legs under her.

Although I think that would be not one, but TWO dim the lights in the arena songs.  So...

Oh yeah, the purity of her voice.  I think that's what I love most.  That's what really shone through when I was able to listen to all of her stuff with just the audio.  Because when you are actually watching her, sometimes you aren't totally focusing on what she's singing so...but with just the audio...she's just totally amazing to me (in every way).

Katcrazy2006, I agree with you. The AI team has done nothing to protect her image. Do they want her to fail? Just look at Kat's board in the AI site, the mods act so slow in deleting negative threads. It seems that they want Kat to look bad. It's very frustrating.

It was so sweet of her to update us on this.  Everyone would have been so worried if she had missed the concert and we didn't know why.

OK, McPhans & Katpackers --let's all take a deep breath and pray for Kat's safety as she takes a plane, train or drives(?) to Washington, DC today to join the other 9 Idols at the Verizon Center (and meet the President & First Lady at the White House)!

Hey, the truth will come out and everything will be fine. Forget the bashers. Better yet....don't read the BS!

That sucks. Probably would have been faster to drive. Hopefully she can make it to D.C. today. We had some lightning last night, but it's sunny and clear this morning. Hot and humid though so I hope she's got some cool clothes to wear!

The "out due to Illness" sign is utterly inexcusable.

Whoever posted about "McFumes," shouldn't that be "McPhumes?" Just clarifying!

Awww. I didn't want her to have any more problems but yeah, bad luck I guess.

o man i feel soo bad!!...and i thought i had bad luck!