Phillip Phillips has always considered himself to be quite a mature person. But life has a way of showing us that there are always lessons to be learned, no matter what age. In Part II of our conversation with Phillip we go deep and talk about the growth that comes through facing difficult challenges, his collaboration with musician and songwriters John Paul White (from the Grammy Award-winning duo The Civil Wars) and Nathan Chapman (also a Grammy Award-winning producer), and his excitement about his upcoming third album.
“There is a wide variety, there’s some R&B, a lot of rock, some broken-down songs, and there’s still some of the pop songs—but not too pop.”
Because even in his low-key way, Phillip’s enthusiasm for his new music is evident—“The songs, they are really, really good” he told us unprompted. His capacity to move between genres but still make them his own will be present again in the new album, to an even greater extent: “There is a wide variety, there’s some R&B, a lot of rock, some broken-down songs, and there’s still some of the pop songs”–“but not too pop” he is quick to add after a small pause. A guitar player at heart (“I’m a guitar player first”), Phillip has always been able to find a balance between great, memorable melodies and building his songs over some more unusual or intricate guitar parts: “Man on the Moon” and “Thicket” are great examples, as is the still unreleased “My Name.” Expect some of the same subtle complexities in album three: “I’m not trying to be fancy or anything, though it’s got some really good parts in there.”
Though Phillip did not commit to a specific date for when the new album will be released, he said it would be “no later than the top of next year” and in the meantime fans will be able to hear at least one more new song before the end of 2017, which is really amazing news. Watch as Phillip answers some great fan questions and describes his new album in three words—it is not as easy as it sounds. Phillip was exceptionally warm and insightful and we want to thank him again for his time. Take a look at the videos below.
Part II
Phillip answers some fans’ questions