Gavin DeGraw widens his vision with co-writers

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: (L-R) Musicians Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary, Gavin DeGraw, and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary perform during a National Parks celebration hosted by the National Parks Conservation Association and PBS at Central Park on September 23, 2009 in New York City.

Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw knows the stress of breaking into the music scene with a smash hit, 2004's "I Don't Want to Be," and having to follow up on its success.

But in his case, the pressure is self-imposed.

"If you're led to the point of having a hit, you feel like you've won a trophy, and you want to see if you can do it again," he says. But "you're putting the real pressure on yourself. You know the label is rooting for you, but they can't force inspiration from you."

DeGraw says the inspiration came his way for his latest album, "Sweeter," which is set to be released Tuesday -- the same day he opens for Train and Maroon 5 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. It's the first project DeGraw has worked on with other writers helping him pen the songs.

"You can get self-conscious about what you're writing, thinking this is garbage," he says. "By co-writing, I'm opening my mind. This motivated me in a different way. I was seeing each of these guys' own process and how they went about things, and my own writing came easier for me. It helped me reach another level."

In addition to Andrew Frampton from the Script, DeGraw hooked up with One Republic's Ryan Tedder.

"He's a great songwriter, and I hung with him for a few days," DeGraw says of Tedder. "We wrote songs in Nashville and Denver. We were both like, 'Whoa, we got something here,' after a few songs, and we got excited."

Working with Tedder and Frampton allowed DeGraw to create an album that is more intimate than his previous effort while staying modern, he says.

The first single is "Not Over You."

"It took three days to write the song and the track and to sing it, and I feel great about it," DeGraw says. "It's one of those sensitive songs, one of those 'I miss you but I don't want to act like I miss you.' That song was a really important step forward for me as an artist."