Exclusive album premiere: Phillip LaRue unveils "You"

For his new album, "You," Phillip LaRue says he wasn't chasing a big hit. Instead he wanted to write music that had an impact.

Due Nov. 13, the solo album was both a personal and powerful journey for the California-born and Nashville-based singer-songwriter. LaRue wanted to create songs that moved him.

"I truly think the best songs on the planet either come from a place of great joy or great pain and I had the time to make sure I didn't compromise this belief," he told CBS News. "This album was a labor of love for myself and my producer and friend Gabe Scott. We treated each song individually and tried our best to honor the lyric over production."

LaRue has spent time writing songs for other artists, including the gold-certified hit "Whiskey In My Water" for Tyler Farr. His music has appeared on TV series such as "Nashville," "The Vampire Diaries" and "Pretty Little Liars." But with "You," it was all about writing songs that were personal -- about all of the different people in his life.

"There's a song for my son when he was born, 'Sweet Love.' A song for my wife, 'You,' a song for my handicap sister Brianna, 'when I see you' and a song for my grandmother, 'Dianne,' who is struggling with the fight of dementia. This record is a personal one for me and my hope is that it will somehow speak to someone else," he said.

"You" makes an exclusive premiere today at CBSNews.com. Listen below, and go here to pre-order the album.