He returned to the Idol stage recently to debut his latest song, the first off of his forthcoming second album, "Raging Fire" and has just announced his second album, Behind the Light, will hit stores on May 19.

Radio.com hopped on the phone with him to talk about shedding his folk sound in favor of rock, vocal lilting and what all this touring has taught him about putting on a live show.

Radio.com: You've got a new album coming this spring. What inspired you as you were putting the new material together?

Phillip: When I'm writing a song, it's not necessarily about me. Sometimes it's about somebody else or just a [work of] imagination. Sometimes it's about me. The album's going to be a little more on the creative side. I had a little more time to make this album than the first one � we only had three weeks to do it. We had more time on this one and more fun. I brought in my band guys so it sounds like more of a band record. It's cool to talk parts: nice cool drum beats and beautiful string parts. It's got some darker songs that are a little heavier and on the rock side, not so folky like the first album was. It's more like me because I've gotten to spend more time on it. I'm excited for it.

Radio.com: When you performed "Raging Fire" on American Idol we got string and horn sections accompanying you. Is that how the song will be presented on tour, is it the direction we can expect from your new stuff?

Phillip: On TV you can get away with having a couple of extra people on stage with you and not really have to pay for it. [laughs] On tour, it's still basically the same but only six or seven people instead of nine or ten. But yeah, "Raging Fire" is a good representation of what the rest of the album will be like. That's a love song, still, but it has a bit of a haunting way about how the melody goes. It's a little more on the rock side than "Gone" and "Home."