Adopted at birth, Phil grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and was brought up in a Christian home. Although he made a commitment to Christ at the early age of eight, he still struggled with his identity.

Like teens the world over, Phil struggled with image in his teenage years, but he found strength in God's promises, in the companionship of Christian friends and in music. When given the ultimatum, "Do your homework or get a job", He chose the latter and left school to become a hairdresser. At the same time, He spent every spare moment in his "off-time" as lead singer and guitarist in his band Drinkwater. Five years later, after being offered a position with Newsboys, Phil Joel found himself in Nashville - his long lost home away from home. Knee deep in the music business, Phil met Heather, the girl of his dreams, in Kansas and married her a year later.

His debut solo album, "Watching Over You" has been 27 years in the making. The ideas and emotions contained in it are retrospective of Phil's life up to the present. The result is a solo album in the truest sense of the word because it's a story only Phil could tell.

Musically, you can expect the same innovative, modern pop Phil has contributed to in his work with the Newsboys-with whom he'll continue to work - but with a different edge to it. And although it's somewhat subjective, there is a certain vulnerability that courses underneath the lyrics here. It's not as polished as one might think, not as predictable as one might imagine. It's real, but it's good. It's what it's supposed to be