Cover Girl: Katharine McPhee

American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee quickly sheds her good-girl image with her new Stuff magazine cover shot and accompanying interview. Although, after reading the interview, the "bad girl" stuff seems a little forced. No matter, we still think she's a sweetheart.

STUFF: Are you more McNaughty or McNice?
KATHARINE: There are different sides of me. On American Idol, people saw the side that is very professional and put together. But there’s this other side of me that’s outgoing, energetic and wild—and did really stupid things in college.

Please discuss.
This one time we were walking down the street in Boston, and I was wearing this little skirt. There was this grate with air coming from underneath it. I remember standing above the grate with the air blowing up, and I was holding my skirt down. Another time, we went down to Coyote Ugly. We had so much fun dancing on the bar; the girls were taking their bras off. But I didn’t do that.

Your album cover is pretty racy. Did you do it to shock people?
People made a big deal out of that. They said, “She’s a slut, blah blah blah.” But I’m really not showing that much skin. It’s all suggested.

What was the worst thing about being on Idol?
Sometimes we couldn’t go out after midnight, and for a 21–year–old, that’s pretty crazy. And security went everywhere with me. For me, that was like, OK, this is weird. We’re just kids on a reality show!

You had the rare honor of performing with Meat Loaf. What was that like?
I really liked the guy, but no one warned me that he was going to be so energetic. The first time we sang together, he told me, “Just so you know, I like to go full–out.” I said OK, but he was, like, full–on performing it, and I was so caught off guard. All my fellow Idols were sitting in the audience laughing. I looked at him and just started laughing—no disrespect to him.

Have you always been popular with the fellas?
I was prematurely developed. As a freshman, I looked like a junior; I had boobs. Some of the older kids saw me in the yearbook and said I was cute.

So you probably didn’t have a problem finding a guy.
I came from an all–girl school, so I was determined to get a boyfriend!

Your current boyfriend is almost 20 years your senior. Do you usually go for older dudes?
When I turned 21, I thought it was a good age to explore. You’re no longer a teenager, so it’s OK [to date older guys]. I gravitated toward them, and I love them. They’re just wiser, and they’re less about themselves and more about you.

What do younger men need to know about the opposite sex?
Women sometimes act out, and men get frustrated. They don’t get that all we want is, for a few seconds, for you to be all about the girl—to snuggle her and give her kisses and tell her, “Your lips are so pretty today. I love your lips.” For me, with men, I will fixate on something. I’ll say, “I’m obsessed with your chin.” I’ll kiss his chin and munch on it, and I think that makes people feel good.

Do you see yourself settling down?
Oh, yeah. I want to have, like, 15 babies. I’ve always wanted to be pregnant. One year for Halloween, I decided to be pregnant, so I got this nun costume, and I put a big belly under it. I showed my parents and said I want to go to school as a pregnant nun. My dad sat me down and said, “Katharine, you can’t!”