Culture December 22, 2023

David Foster and Katharine McPhee ready for 'big,' 'loud,' blended family Christmas

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After completing recent performances in support of their album "Christmas Songs," Katharine McPhee and husband David Foster are looking forward to time with their family over the holidays.

The duo are especially excited to celebrate the season with their son Rennie, who's almost 3 years old.

"He's seeing Christmas lights up and decorations and he's getting very excited," McPhee told ABC Audio in an interview in November. "So of course I get excited about this stuff as an adult, anyways -- I've never lost the the joy and excitement of Christmas -- so to have someone else to be equally [excited with]."

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Foster, who also has five adult daughters from previous relationships, says Christmastime in their household is "different every year."

"It's big. It's loud," he shared. "But it's Christmas and it's fun!"

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In this Nov. 23, 2023, file photo, David Foster, Katharine McPhee and son Rennie Foster are seen at the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

The duo also can celebrate the season with "Christmas Songs," an expanded edition of the holiday EP they released last year.

Their single, "Carol of the Bells," is actually a remake of a version of the song Foster recorded for his 1993 release "The Christmas Album." This new version has vocals, but while McPhee sings on it, you'd be hard-pressed to pick her out in the avalanche of voices.

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"I'm pretty buried in there, honestly," she said with a laugh. Foster said his friend at their record company suggested he redo the song because he thought it'd be "super-cool" to have McPhee on it.

There are so many other people singing on it that you can't hear McPhee. "We were going for a feeling and a vibe. It's not about a feature. You know, I have plenty of other songs to be featured on," she said.

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Foster said they used some crowdsourcing while choosing the seven new songs on the album. "As we were just going about our life and trying to pick these songs, I would play a song at a party somewhere and say, 'Hey, what do you think of this song?'" he recalled.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images, FILE
In this Nov. 13, 2023, file photo, Katharine McPhee and David Foster attend the 22nd Annual "Christmas At The Grove" Tree Lighting Celebration at The Grove in Los Angeles.

McPhee also said the album was playing over the sound system during a recent in-store signing she and Foster did, which made her realize they'd done a good job of putting it together.

"You want to have a great Christmas album to have in the background as you're having family gatherings," she said. "It's got a great flow to it. And you can either listen to it intently or have it in the background. And, you know, I'm pretty pleased with that."