Music Review: Katharine McPhee "Love Story"

Katharine McPhee

Love Story

Album: Katharine McPhee

Year: 2007

            Katharine McPhee and her  male best friend get married in the formal           “Love Story.”

           A bridal band opens the single, setting a gathering tone. It was at her best friend’s older brother’s baseball game that she met her future husband. He was playing third base. He looked familiar to her but she hadn’t been in any classes with him. She remembered that he made a really great slide into third base, getting the other team’s player out which helped to win the game. After the game, she was invited with her friend’s family to go out to dinner. There, she got a chance to tell him that he made a cool play out there. Throughout dinner, they talked about the last movies they saw and the teachers they’ve both had. Her best friend tapped her on the shoulder and asked her if she could go to the bathroom with her. She had a huge grin on her face. Once in the bathroom, her friend teased her and she was going to have his babies one day. McPhee shrugged it off and said she liked him just as a friend nothing more. (“I think it was the summertime/When I laid eyes on you/I didn't even know your name/Somehow we'd end up in the same room/It never crossed my mind/I never saw you like that/I should've listened to my best friend/She knew we'd be a perfect match.”)

          In the chorus, she says their relationship has a long history. They met at fourteen, about fifteen years old. She dated other boys but there was always something missing. Then, five years later, something changed and she knew he was the one for her. (“It's a typical love story/Started out as friends/We met way back when/This is just a typical love story/The boy you never wanted just steals your heart/I never saw it comin' 'til I fell so hard.”)

           Her feelings had always been there for him. Her best friend would say to her “ask him out.” She would shake her head no, responding that she doesn’t go for the jock type. But she knew once she told him that she loved him, the words would be out and their close friendship would end. Like her, he dated girls in high school. too. However, it was one girl that he met at his job that made her think she had to say something. He was talking all the time about her. Whenever she visited where they both worked, he said he was going on his break. Then, he would sit at the table with her, whispering in her ear. It was more than she could take (“I always made up some excuse/Saying you that weren't my type/Didn't want to face the truth/Didn't want to cross that line 'til one day I saw you/Out of the corner of my eye/You were flirting with some girl/And inside I thought I would die.”)

           The chorus is sung again.

            In the bridge, for about a week, she thought of how to tell him. Finally, she said she told him she loved him, always had and wanted to be with him. The moment she was putting off couldn’t be stopped. Ever since their freshmen year, he has looked out for her and was there for her. It was always him. (“Can't believe it’s happening/When I least expect it/My prince under disguise/How you fooled me with those eyes/When I feel like letting go/In your arms is where I know/I am wrong/From the beginning we always belong/Love love story/Love love story/Love love story (Love)/Love love story (Love Story)/Love love story (This is my)/Love love story (This is my love story)/Love love story/Love/This is my love story.”)

             The chorus is sung twice to end the single.

           McPhee’s sufficient vocals relay her romance in a cut and dry way, editing out the complications along the way. The wedding was a long time and yes, all their friends were right. The engagement party is only the start of a long string of events dedicated to their love. She figures the doubts are a normal part of it all.

          The reluctant “Love Story” goes through with it, thinking it was supposed to happen after being told for so long.