Singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips has toured internationally, won “American Idol,” and his coronation song, “Home,” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 10.
But two little critics have risen above everything else — his 1-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, with his wife, Hannah. The toddler dances when she hears her dad’s music, while her brother offers support.
Phillips recalled a car ride with his son. After hearing his dad’s single, “Homesick” on SiriusXM only a few times, his son announced: “They don’t play you a lot on the radio, daddy.”
Phillips responded, “I’m just not cool enough, man.” His son didn’t miss a beat: “You’re the coolest one to me. You’re the best singer in the world, daddy.”
“It warms my heart,” he added.
Phillips brings those songs — and sentiments — to the Crescent Ballroom on Sunday, Oct. 11, as part of his 15-date U.S. “Let’s Go Far Tour.”
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“We’re playing new and old songs, and maybe a cover or two,” Phillips said via Zoom. “We’re just up there having a good time. That’s how I grew up playing music, just jamming with buddies and just trying to play the music to the best of our ability.
“You never know which way the song’s going to go. We try to play a different set at each show. You know, it may be high energy, then we bring it down, maybe some low energy, some sadness and then, maybe, we’ll work back up to anger and then back to happiness. It’s a rollercoaster.”
The South Georgia native — who had large kidney stones removed and reconstructive surgery on his kidney during his time on “Idol” — has been touring for more than a decade, but this chapter feels different. Home is his priority, and the emotional backbone of his latest music.
His five new songs make up “Let’s Go Far: Vol 1,” with volume two coming in 2027.
“I really love these songs,” he said. “We’ll have more for next year. These really tell where I am in my life. I’ve been struggling to figure out how to be a good dad and a good husband, but I love playing music. I love playing live. I love writing music.”
The focus track is “My Dark Places,” a reflection on mental health, as he addresses thoughts that can cloud his mind. He sings, “I don’t wanna live without you, all I do is think about the time I’ve wasted in my dark places.”
After finishing as the runner-up on “The Masked Singer” earlier this year, Phillips released “Homesick.” The song has held firm in the Top 30 of Hot AC (adult contemporary) radio chart for the past.
He recalled his first album, 2012’s “The World from the Side of the Moon,” which sold 1.03 million copies and spawned the single “Gone, Gone, Gone,” too.
“Those were songs that I’d written before going on ‘Idol,’” he said. “There wasn’t any rush. I would go to bed at night, have this idea, wake back up and record it.
“I’d finish it then or within the next day. I could change them, too. It was a really neat feeling. I haven’t felt like that in a long time — not saying that the other songs were bad. I was just writing them in a different way.”
Phillips is having fun, though.
“I try to find things to do — pickleball or something,” he said with a smile. “I remember the last time I was in Arizona, I actually played some pickleball, and it was a good time. I started playing pickleball before it got cool, so seven years now. That’s an outlet for me, for sure.”
Don’t ask him if he’s any good, though.
“I’ll let other people say,” he answered with a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll let other people say if I am or not.”