The world may never entirely know about all the pain Phillip Phillips has been through over the past few years. But what they will know is the beauty of the music that came from it.
“It’s been a lot,” Phillips, 32, tells PEOPLE quietly. “Relationships have changed, and priorities have changed, and responsibilities have changed.”
From label shakeups to lawsuits, and from management changes to his wife Hannah’s undisclosed health issues, the American Idol Season 11 winner has been on quite a personal and professional rollercoaster as of late.
“I’m the kind of person that when I get upset or angry, I really shut down,” says the Georgia native. “I think these past few years have had me dealing with a lot of things that I had once pushed off.” He pauses. “You learn some people aren’t superheroes, you know?”
But when he loves someone, Phillips loves deep. And it’s this endearing trait that can be heard deep within the lyrics of his new album Drift Back, which is set for release June 9 and serves as his first in five years.
“These songs really represent everything I’ve been through,” says Phillips, who collaborates with songstress Caitlyn Smith on “Strangers” off the new album. “Some of these songs are about my relationship with my wife, while others are about my relationship with other very close people in my life. They are not all happy songs, but not all sad songs either. They are just real life.”
Finding a way to come to terms with that ‘real life’ is something Phillips brings to the forefront on his current single “Dancing with Your Shadows,” which he wrote with Quinn Lewis and Todd Clark.
“My wife is going through something really difficult with her health,” Phillips explains without getting i
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