Pickler Gets a Deal, McPhee Gets Better

Kellie Pickler became the fourth contestant from the most recent season of American Idol to land a record deal, signing yesterday with BNA Records and 19 Recordings Ltd. Her debut album is set for a November 14 release, and the North Carolina native will begin work on it once she is done touring with her fellow Idols as part of the cross-county American Idols Live extravaganza.

Meanwhile, a fellow American Idol Season Five McPhenom is on the mend and rebuffing rumors that she's bailing on the tour altogether.

Runner-up Katharine McPhee, battling bronchitis and laryngitis for the past two weeks, and sidelined for the beginning of the Idols' cross-country tour, posted a letter to her admirers a fan site, stating:

"I have heard a rumor that I will be missing the entire tour, I can assure you that that is completely false. I am looking to join the tour around the 21st. That is the doctors orders, not mine."