# Colton Dixon

Michael Colton Dixon (born October 19, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He placed seventh on the eleventh season of American Idol.

## Early life

Colton Dixon was born Michael Colton Dixon on October 19, 1991, to parents Michael and Teresa Dixon. He was born and raised in a middle-class family in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, along with younger sister, Schyler. His father runs a face painting/air brush company, and his family has a Jack Russell dog named Ozzy, and a cat named Chloe. Besides being a choir member throughout high school, In 2008, he was an extra during the filming of Hannah Montana: The Movie. He graduated from Middle Tennessee Christian School in 2010. He is a devout Christian, and has sung at several worship services including at Saddleback Church. He and Schyler are part of a Christian rock band called Messenger. He released his debut album A Messenger with EMI-CMG/Sparrow Records on January 29, 2013. His musical influences include Paramore, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Lifehouse, Evanescence, Switchfoot, Skillet, and The Fray. His song 'Build a Boat' was credited by Billboard as the 7th best Christian song of 2023.

## American Idol
### Overview

Colton Dixon originally auditioned in the tenth season, along with his sister Schyler, at the Nashville auditions. However, neither of them ended up in the Top 24. Dixon performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on March 3, 2011.
Dixon returned in season 11, but he did not plan to audition, initially planning to merely accompany his sister Schyler to her audition. The judges implored Dixon to audition as well, where he sang David Cook's "Permanent". Both he and Schyler were awarded golden tickets. Schyler was cut yet again during the Las Vegas round, which brought her to tears.
On his final judgement performance, Dixon performed Coldplay's "Fix You" and dedicated it to his sister, Schyler. On February 23, 2012, Dixon was placed in the season 11 Top 25. In the semi-finals, he performed Paramore's "Decode". He was one of the top five male vote getters and advanced into the Top 13. Guest performer on the Top 13 Results night and runner-up of American Idol season 10 Lauren Alaina named Dixon and fellow contestant Jessica Sanchez as her two favorites to win the competition. His elimination on April 19, 2012, was considered a big surprise because he had never been in the bottom three.

### Performances/results

| Episode | Theme | Song choice | Result |
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "Permanent" | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Part 1 | First Solo | "Only Hope" | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Part 2 | Group Performance | Not aired | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Part 3 | Second Solo | "What About Now" | Advanced |
| Las Vegas Round | Songs from the 1950s Group Performance | "Dedicated to the One I Love" | Advanced |
| Final Judgment | Final Solo | "Fix You" | Advanced |
| Top 25 (13 Men) | Personal Choice | "Decode" | Advanced |
| Top 13 | Stevie Wonder | "Lately" | Safe |
| Top 11 | Year They Were Born | "Broken Heart" | Safe |
| Top 10 | Billy Joel | "Piano Man" | Safe |
| Top 9 | Their Personal Idols | Solo "Everything" | Safe |
| Top 9 | Their Personal Idols | Trio "Landslide" / "Edge of Seventeen" / "Don't Stop" with Phillip Phillips & Elise Testone | Safe |
| Top 8 | Songs from the 1980s | Duet "Islands in the Stream" with Skylar Laine | Safe |
| Top 8 | Songs from the 1980s | Solo "Time After Time" | Safe |
| Top 7 | Songs from the 2010s | Solo "Love the Way You Lie" | Safe |
| Top 7 | Songs from the 2010s | Duet "Don't You Wanna Stay" with Skylar Laine | Safe |
| Top 7 | Songs from Now & Then | "Bad Romance" | Eliminated |
| Top 7 | Songs from Now & Then | "September" | Eliminated |
* ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week.

## Career
### 2012–14: Post-Idol and A Messenger

Following his elimination, Dixon appeared on various shows. He performed a rendition of "Everything" by Lifehouse on Live! with Kelly on April 23, 2012. He treated Access Hollywood viewers to a reprise of the same swan song. He had a guest appearance on the Today Show on April 24, 2012. He came back to The Ellen DeGeneres Show to perform Billy Joel’s "Piano Man" on April 26, 2012. Dixon and fellow contestant Elise Testone performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 27, 2012. He was invited to the White House Correspondents Dinner as a special guest of the Christian Broadcasting Network on April 28, 2012. He also started collaborating with Brandon Heath. He debuted an original song called "Never Gone" at the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012. Colton says he wants his debut album to feature "faith-based music" without alienating a wider audience.
He released the original song he performed on the Idol tour, "Never Gone", on iTunes September 25, 2012, which is included on his debut album. Never Gone debuted at number one on the Christian Digital Sales chart. His debut single entitled "You Are" hit U.S. radio airwaves on October 19, 2012, and was released on iTunes on October 30, 2012. This was his second consecutive song to reach number one on the Christian Digital Sales chart. It also became a Top 10 hit on both the Christian Airplay chart and Hot Christian Songs chart. On January 3, 2013, Dixon led the song "Jesus Paid It All" at the Passion 2013 Conference. On January 29, 2013, Dixon released his album A Messenger through Sparrow Records, which sold 22,000 copies in its first week. It debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, number one on the U.S. Christian Chart and number one on the U.S. Gospel Chart.The debut album was both a commercial and critical success. Dixon and Jessica Sanchez held a concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Manila on February 14. Dixon and Josh Wilson are supporting Third Day on The Miracle Tour, the tour started on February 21, 2013, in Fairfax, Virginia and ends on May 19, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. Dixon's sister, Schyler, was also on the tour for some dates. Dixon appeared on the twelfth season of American Idol on March 28, 2013, on the Top 8 results show singing his new single "Love Has Come for Me" . Love Has Come for Me reached 28 on the Christian Digital Sales chart. The tour will end in California per Third Day. He went on the Hits Deep Tour with TobyMac in November and December 2013.
Dixon re-released A Messenger on January 7, 2014. This expanded edition of A Messenger included remixes and tracks included in special store editions of the original album.

### 2014–15: Anchor and The Calm Before the Storm

It has been announced that he plans on releasing his second album in the summer of 2014. The lead single, "More of You", was released to iTunes on June 24, 2014. It was a big hit as it reached number 9 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and number 5 on the Christian Airplay chart. It also reached number 2 on the Christian Digital Sales chart. On June 19, 2014, Dixon revealed that his sophomore studio album would be titled Anchor and would be released on August 19, 2014, along with the album's artwork. In anticipation of the album two promotional singles were released Our Time Is Now and Dare To Believe. Our Time Is Now reached 45 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and 33 on the Christian Digital Sales chart. The lyric video has over 900,000 views on YouTube. Dare To Believe reached 38 on the Hot Christian Songs chart while also reaching 19 on the Christian Digital Sales chart. After the albums release two single were subsequently released titled Through All Of It and Limitless. Through All Of It was yet another big hit. It reached 11 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and number 6 on the Christian Airplay chart. The music video has gained 4 million views on YouTube. Limitless the third singles from Anchor reached 21 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and 18 on the Christian Airplay chart. Anchor was yet another successful album by the young artist. It debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at number one on the Top Christian Album chart. It was a commercial and critical success.
On July 26, 2015, Colton announced via Twitter that he will participate in This is Not a Test Tour with tobyMac and Britt Nicole. An album, The Calm Before the Storm will be released on September 11 that will contain dual EPs, Calm, a collection of acoustic songs and Storm, a compilation of remixed tracks, that will contain songs from A Messenger and Anchor, including versions of "You Are", "Never Gone" and "More of You".

### 2016–2020: Identity

Dixon released a single, "All That Matters", on January 13, 2017, and his new album, Identity, was released on March 24, 2017.

## Personal life

In 2012, Dixon started dating Annie Coggeshall. They became engaged in September 2015, and wed on January 8, 2016. In February 2020, they announced they were expecting their first child, expected in autumn. On August 16, 2020, they welcomed twin daughters.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Album details | US | US Christ. | UK C&G | Sales |
| A Messenger | Release date: January 29, 2013 Label: EMI CMG/Sparrow Records/19 Recordings Formats: CD, digital download | 15 | 1 | 12 | US: 100,000 |
| Anchor | Release date: August 19, 2014 Label: EMI CMG/Sparrow/19 Formats: CD, digital download | 23 | 1 | — | US: 28,000 |
| Identity | Release date: March 24, 2017 Label: Capitol CMG/Sparrow/19 Formats: CD, digital download | 73 | 1 | — | US: 7,000 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart ||||||

### Remix albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US Christ. | US Dance |
| The Calm Before the Storm | Release date: September 11, 2015 Label: EMI CMG/Sparrow/19 Formats: CD, digital download | — | 44 | 11 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart |||||

### Extended plays

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US Christ. | US Dance |
| Calm | Release date: September 11, 2015 Label: EMI CMG/Sparrow Records/19 Recordings Formats: Digital download | — | 25 | — |
| Storm | Release date: September 11, 2015 Label: EMI CMG/Sparrow/19 Formats: Digital download | — | 42 | 13 |
| Colton Dixon | Release date: May 15, 2020 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD, Digital download | — | 32 | — |
| Canvas | Release Date: April 28, 2023 Label: Capitol CMG/Sparrow/19 Formats: CD, Digital Download | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart |||||

### Singles

| Title | Year | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US Christ | US Christ Air. | US Christ AC | US Christ Digital | US Christ Stream. | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| "You Are" | 2012 | — | 10 | 10 | 12 | 1 | — | | A Messanger |
| "Love Has Come for Me" | 2013 | — | — | — | — | 28 | — | | A Messanger |
| "Jingle Bells" | 2013 | — | — | 43 | 21 | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "More of You" | 2014 | — | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | — | | Anchor |
| "Through All of It" | 2015 | — | 11 | 6 | 10 | 9 | — | | Anchor |
| "Limitless" | 2015 | — | 21 | 18 | — | — | — | | Identity |
| "All That Matters" | 2017 | — | 17 | 15 | 18 | 15 | — | | Identity |
| "Miracles" | 2020 | — | 14 | 5 | 8 | 14 | — | RIAA: Gold | Colton Dixon |
| "Let It Snow" | 2020 | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Made to Fly" | 2021 | — | 34 | 31 | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Build a Boat" | 2022 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | RIAA: Gold | Canvas |
| "My Light" | 2023 | — | 19 | 13 | 11 | — | — | | Canvas |
| "Home For Christmas" | 2023 | — | — | 39 | 23 | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Rest of My Life" (from Sight) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Up + Up" | 2024 | — | 8 | 2 | 2 | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart ||||||||||

### Promotional singles

| Title | Year | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US Christ | US Christ Air. | US Christ Digital | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| "Never Gone" | 2012 | — | 24 | 24 | 1 | | A Messanger |
| "Our Time is Now" | 2014 | — | 45 | — | 33 | | Anchor |
| "Dare to Believe" | 2014 | — | 38 | — | 19 | | Anchor |
| "Brand New Life" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | | Identity |
| "Down" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | | Identity |
| "The Other Side" | 2017 | — | 42 | — | — | | Identity |
| "The Devil Is a Liar" | 2020 | — | 41 | 36 | — | | Colton Dixon |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart ||||||||

### Other charted and certified songs

| Title | Year | Chart positions | Chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US Christ | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album |
| "The Shape of Your Love" | 2014 | — | 44 | | A Messanger (deluxe edition) |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart ||||||

### Music videos

* Title
* "Never Gone"
* "More of You"
* "Through All of It"
* "All That Matters"
* "The Other Side"
* "Miracles"
* "Made to Fly"
* "Can't Quit You"
* "Up + Up"

## Awards
### GMA Dove Awards

| Year | Category | Result |
| 2013 | New Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (A Messenger) | Won |
| 2013 | Best Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year ("Never Gone") | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (Anchor) | Won |
| 2023 | Song of the Year ("Build A Boat") | Nominated |