Produced after McPhee had finished second on the fifth season of American Idol, it features contributions from musicians such as Babyface, The Underdogs, and Kara DioGuardi.

The album earned largely polarizing reviews from music critics some of who declared it a "pleasant pop surprise," while others panned the "poor material."

On December 19, 2006, RCA released two songs, "I Lost You" and "Dangerous" as singles for a Walmart exclusive and also digitally, though the former was later cut from the final album track listing.

"[10] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album three out of five stars and wrote: "Even if the album ultimately plays like a handful of good singles and filler, that's not too different than Kelly's debut, and even if McPhee isn't yet as charismatic as Clarkson, this record shows she has the raw ingredients to become a true pop star instead of merely playing one on TV.

"[9] Kefela Sanneh from The New York Times noted that while a "few moments are pretty silly [...] part of what makes her debut album work is its brashness.

The album's twenty-two songwriters mostly avoid schlock but can't come up with an alternative, which makes ballads like "Better Off Alone" and tepid, McPhunky dance pop such as "Do What You Do" just bland.

The upbeat "Love Story" and the decent ballad "Everywhere I Go" mix pop and R&B; and provide some relief, but most of Katharine McPhee is politics as usual.