‘American Idol’ Winner Philip Phillips Releases ‘Miles’ 3 Years After Legal Battle

“American Idol” winner Philip Phillips is back with a new single, titled “Miles,” three years after being involved in a legal battle.

While speaking with People, the 26-year-old singer admitted that the past three years have been very tough for him. However, he’s also happy that his newest track has finally been released.

In January 2015, Phillips filed a petition with the California Labor Commissioner to get out of his contract with 19 Entertainment and its affiliated companies. According to Phillips, the music company “manipulated” him.

The Season 11 winner released a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter) saying that he’s extremely grateful for all of the opportunities he has received since winning “American Idol.” “The value that the fans and the show have given to my career is not lost on me. However, I have not felt that I have been free to conduct my career in a way that I am comfortable with. I look forward to being able to make my own choices about my career and to being able to make great music and play it for my fans,” he said.

Meanwhile, Phillips shared his inspiration for “Miles” and said that the song is really about him and his wife, Hannah Blackwell. “My wife has definitely been a big support and the song is really about us because she was with me through all of this these past years. It’s about sticking together, powering through and getting to this point that we’re at right now,” he said.

“Miles” is just one song from Phillips’ upcoming third studio album. According to the singer, other artists have told him that his upcoming album contains his “best material to date.” “Musically, it goes so many different places. But, it’s still all me,” he shared.

The songs in the album will also feature different genres of music such as rock, R&B, blues and country.

Phillips’ first album, “The World From the Side of the Moon,” was released in November 2013. “Behind the Light” was dropped in May 2014. The singer was crowned winner of “American Idol” Season 11 on May 23, 2012.