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David Hodges’ name may not be familiar, but his music certainly is. As one-third of Evanescence, he co-wrote such hits as “Bring Me to Life” and “My Immortal” from the band’s debut “Fallen,” which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

He then went on to write and produce megahits for other artists including Kelly Clarkson (“Because of You”), Daughtry (“What About Now”) and David Auchuleta (“Crush”). But now, it is his time in the spotlight.

The songs that compose his melodically-rich Reprise debut depict a full spectrum of emotions in a passionate, complex, yet instantly accessible way. On the driving “It’s Too Late,” he coaxes a lover not to leave just because things get hard. The mid-tempo “Hard to Believe” speaks to a friend in need, while the uplifting “Another Red Light” looks at the fragility of life. “I am drawn to art that doesn’t downplay the every day hardship of life,” the artist/songwriter/producer says, sitting behind the console at the studio. “Only in really seeing that brokenness for what it is can we have a realistic sense of hope. There are real signs of truth and beauty in the midst of all the mess and madness and I think that’s what these songs speak to.”

Hodges is the first artist signed to Reprise by multi-platinum songwriter and “American Idol” judge Kara Dioguardi. The pair originally met as songwriters, penning a number of tunes together in 2007. Shortly after hearing other songs David had been writing, “Kara called me and said ‘you know, you should be the one singing these songs’,” Hodges recalls. “I definitely have scars from other artist projects that haven't turned out the way I had hoped, but there's something that keeps drawing me back to being an artist and not just a writer.”

The David Hodges story starts in Little Rock, AR, where he was born into a musical family. “All of us played an instrument, but from early on I was drawn to the craft of storytelling through music." That desire to communicate and connect pours out of his Reprise project, which he co-wrote with a number of collaborators and co-produced in his home studio and the famous LA rock studio NRG.

No more is that spirit more evident than on first single, “Hard to Believe.” “The song doesn’t say that there’s light at the end of the tunnel or that there's a guarantee it’s going to get better, it’s just that you don't have to walk through this alone,” Hodges says. “How It Ends” and “It’s Too Late” both address those pivotal moments in relationships when you wish you could start over.

Hodges originally wrote the poignant “Another Red Light” for a different artist. “As the project was coming together, this song kept coming up. A guy is sitting at a traffic light and this whole line of cars goes by heading to the cemetery. It’s a reminder that we only have so many days, hours and minutes and to make the most of life.”

That’s what Hodges plans to do and we’re all invited along on the glorious, exhilarating ride. “I don’t know where this journey is going to take us, but I think each moment can hold such a powerful sense of humanity and transcendence that’s definitely reason enough to take the next step or to stick around to see where the story goes.”