THEY made him a household name, but Damien Leith has had enough of singing other people's songs. So with his debut album, Where We Land, Leith took the risky step of writing nine out of the 11 tracks.

"I didn't really want to do anybody else's songs,'' Leith told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I just felt that we'd done that with The Winner's Journey (Australian Idol compilation) and that was fantastic. I just wanted this album to be mine.''

Leith has been working on his album, which comes out on August 18, since he won Australian Idol last November.

The previous three Australian Idol winners - Guy Sebastian, Casey Donovan and Kate DeAraugo _ had just one week to record their debut efforts.

Watch our exclusive video with Damien Leith on his new album, book and life here.
Leith's first single, 22 Steps, was released on July 21.

"We wanted to take a few risks and, with nine originals, that is risky in itself,'' said the 31-year-old father of two.

"We wanted to make sure the themes were broad enough for people to relate to, but personal enough to make them work.''

With Australian Idol's fifth series kicking off tonight on Ten, Leith had words of advice for this year's hopefuls.

"When hit with negative comments, take it on the chin. If you get caught up in bad comments, it can actually ruin the whole thing for you.''

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Damien Leith’s album Where We Land is in stores August 18.