by Brittany Geragotelis

Gavin DeGraw sang his way onto the scene back in 2003 when his single “I Don’t Want to Be” became the head-bopping theme song for the wildly popular CW show, “One Tree Hill.” Several albums and hits later, Gavin’s back with a sexier sound to his latest record, Sweeter, out in September. Lucky for his fans, his first single, “Not Over You” is available on iTunes to tide us over until then.

While on tour promoting his single, Gavin was nice enough to take some time out to talk to AC about love, life and the making of this album. Here’s what he had to say:

AC: Your single “Not Over You,” off your new album, Sweeter, was released on iTunes recently. How does it feel?
Gavin DeGraw: It’s really exciting. Whenever you make an album, it’s not like, “Oh I made an album and it took me three days and I hope it does good.” I’ve been working on this album every single day for pretty much a year straight. It’s sort of like making wine and being ready to pop the cork. So it’s exciting and a little nerve-racking.

AC: Can you tell us about the process of making this album?
GD: Well, Ryan Tedder from the band One Republic had been talking about doing something together for a few years. So, this past year I was talking with some people at my record label about who I’d really like to work with. Ryan was one of the names at the top of my list.
Finally, the stars aligned—I’m not a horoscope guy—and it worked out. Basically there was only one day we’d both be in Nashville, and we went to a great place called Black Bird studios and started throwing ideas at each other. So we wrote this song and felt so good about it. So I brought it to my people, and they really liked it. That first song was called “Sweeter,” which also became the album title. It’s this funky, sexy, slightly gritty song with a hint of rock.

AC: How did you choose which song would be your single?
GD: Ryan and I decided to do another song together, this time in Denver because Ryan has a studio there. Within a day we’d written the majority of the song and really felt it was the right track for the first single. It was the right combination of sweetness; that nice soaring melody in the chorus that’s big and beautiful. There are some great throwback pieces we both liked—some Marvin Gaye moments in there and other classic early/mid-’60s influence.

AC: It seems like this album is sexier than some of your albums. Was this intentional?
GD: I think what allowed me to go there was that I was collaborating on a few songs, which allowed me to step away from it just being me. I was less self-conscious and just went with it. Once we’d done a song or two, it allowed me to tap into something I was more apprehensive about before. But I’m a grown man and these are elements of my life that I should write about. I’d rather hear about intimacy from someone who has actually experienced it.

AC: An album follows an artist through a certain time in their life, sort of like a diary. How does this album reflect what was going on in your life during the last year?
GD: I think this album is so spot-on with my life right now. It’s a photograph of my life, like my own little Wikipedia entry for Gavin DeGraw. There’s a song on the album that I’ve been writing for years and have never been able to finish it, because by the time I get a chance to release it, I want to rewrite it. I’d be in a different point in my life and would want to rewrite the lyrics. The song is “Candy” and it’s about not being focused on all the public [crap] that’s happening around you. We’re not just a tabloid society, as far as I am concerned. I want to have a conversation that goes beyond the tabloids. It’s a song about society revolving around pop culture, how essentially we can’t survive on candy. Your substance needs to be what you’re really passionate about.

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