Gavin DeGraw is in the process of narrowing down the track list for a still-untitled fifth album due out this fall on RCA Records, but the veteran pop-rock singer-songwriter has bestowed fans with a new single, “Best I Ever Had,” which was released in June and has sold 41,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. During a visit to the Billboard studios earlier this month, DeGraw performed the new single and discussed the genesis of his latest radio offering.
Watch the video interview below:
“I’m sitting in the room with Martin Johnson, the guy I’d been writing with before who’s really gifted, and he’s like, ‘Hey man, what do you think of this track?'” DeGraw tells Billboard. “He just starts playing this jangle-y, uptempo kind of thing, which ultimately was the foundation for ‘Best I Ever Had.'”
After scoring another hit with “Not Over You,” from 2011’s “Sweeter” album, DeGraw returned to the studio to record an album that he says will take some risks and refine his decade-old songwriting formula.
“I really believe in the content on the record,” says DeGraw. ” I feel it has to be heard — it certainly deserves a go. And it’s a really good cast of talent on the record. It’s not just me.” The singer-songwriter specifically names Ryan Tedder, Butch Walker and Johnson as key collaborators on the album.
DeGraw recently kicked off a tour with Train and the Script, which will travel across the U.S. through Aug. 14 and provide a preview of DeGraw’s upcoming material. Check out a bonus performance — this time of “Not Over You” — from DeGraw below: