[18] He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin;[17] "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician.

"[26] As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this.

[31] When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band.

"[32] Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.

For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time.

[38] As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast.

[44] On November 15, he joined forces with the PS22 chorus of Staten Island for a concert to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

[citation needed] Phillips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales of over 5 million copies in the US.

[48] He appeared at the 83rd MLB All-Star Game held at Kansas City on July 10 and sang his coronation song.

[49] On October 9, 2012, he joined other musicians in the One World concert held in Syracuse University to honor the Dalai Lama.

[53] Phillips made the Forbes Highest Earning American Idol list for each of the three years he was qualified.

[3] In January 2013, Phillips appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with Interscope Records founder and CEO and American Idol mentor, Jimmy Iovine.

[62] On January 29, 2013, Phillips began a tour in North America as the opening act for Matchbox Twenty.

"Gone, Gone, Gone" was also used as the twelfth season's "send-off" song, played as the backing track for the montages that highlight each week's eliminated finalist.

He joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only American Idol winners to receive this nomination.

[74] Phillips received his first BMI pop music song writing award for "Raging Fire".

The song was featured in a TV commercial for Ram 1500 trucks, which premiered at the 2014 American Music Awards.

[83] Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge on the eleventh season, revealed that Phillips is her favorite American Idol winner.

Producer Ryan Hadlock has been Phillips' primary collaborator, and he also worked with Nathan Chapman, Jon Nite, John Paul White and Todd Clark, with whom he wrote the singles "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Raging Fire".

[93] In September 2019, Phillips teamed with American Authors and Maddie Poppe on a new version of the song "Bring It on Home".

[95] Phillips performed on the Idol alumni ensemble (including Alejandro Aranda, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery) for "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie on the season finale on May 17, 2020.

[96] Phillips performed at pandemic relief efforts for Sendero Together for Texas [97] and for the Phoebe Hospital Foundation to help support frontline medical heroes battling COVID-19 in southwest Georgia.

The telethon help raise $1M to sustain the expanded service to those in need, preparing and delivering over one million medically tailored meals.

[99] On April 17, 2022, Phillips returned to the twentieth anniversary of American Idol to perform his new single "Love Like That".

This was his first release as an indie artist and the single charted at No 12 on Hot Adult Contemporary (HAC) radio airplay without the benefit of a record label.

He was invited back to the twenty-first season of American Idol to be a mentor for the contestants during Hollywood week.

He and Catie Turner headed the songwriting group, which consisted of original songs written and performed by the contestants.

[104] Phillips performed his multiplatinum song "Gone, Gone, Gone" at the 2023 National Memorial Day Concert in honor of Gold Star families, which aired on May 28, 2023, on PBS.

[114] Phillips has supported organizations including the Sarah Foundation and the Gibson Flood Relief Campaign.