Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Colton to Start Working on First Album

"I'm home for the first time in 3 months=) Feels good to get some family/friend time in for a couple days. But I'm stoked to say that I start writing for my first album this week=) I'll let you know details as they come up=)"

Colton's Facebook

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Colton on Ellen

'It's Weird Being Outside of the American Idol Bubble'


Colton Dixon was American Idol's golden boy from the moment he stepped into the audition room last summer. A favorite among all three judges, the 20-year-old singer never found himself in danger of elimination — until last week.

After his lukewarm renditions of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and Earth Wind and Fire's "September" last week, the young singer received the lowest amount of votes and was sent home from the competition.

Dixon talked to reporters about his surprise exit, his future music plans, and his thoughts on who will be the next American Idol.

On his shocking elimination. "I had a feeling I was in the bottom three, but I was still surprised because I had never been in the bottom. At the same time, I’m okay with it and I’m glad Hollie gets to stay longer. She’s going to kill it this week and all’s going to be well. It all happened so fast, and since I had never been in the bottom, I didn’t fully understand what was going on. Even the next morning when I woke up, I was thinking, 'OK, I need to get ready for the mentor session,' and I was like, 'Oh wait, that wasn’t a bad dream last night!' It’s weird being on the other side of things and outside of the Idol bubble."

 On his musical ambitions. "I definitely want to do Christian music. I hope that I get to. I’m going to write as much as I can and see what comes out. I had someone earlier today ask me if I would do a duet with my sister on an album, and I think that would be amazing. It’s a great idea. That would be so much fun."

On staying true to himself by performing his "favorite worship song."
"I’m a Christian and I’m not going to shy away from it. I thought I should share that with everyone watching and I got great feedback from what I did. I was so glad I got to sing ["Everything" by Lifehouse] not once, but twice on the show. I think that made an impact and that encouraged fellow believers to take a stand for what they believe in and not be ashamed of it." 

On who will take the American Idol title.
 "In seasons past, I could clearly pick a winner, and I’m not just saying this because they’re all dear to me, but it’s anyone’s game, and I genuinely mean that. I think a lot of people were surprised by me leaving last week, but it goes to show you that no one’s safe. America has to vote for their favorites. There are a couple of people that stand out every week, but at the same time, there’s room for dark horses in this race. I’m just as curious as everyone else who’s going to take this thing home, because I honestly have no clue."
 
On the judge who gave him the best advice. "I think Randy has given the best. I love them all and they all bring something different, but Randy has really reached out and invested in me and I love seeing that. He told me never stray too far from who you are and always up your game. It’s not week to week now, but it might be song to song or album to album hopefully. So I’ll definitely take that and always remember that."
 
Source: Parade

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'Idol's' Colton Dixon is going to White House Correspondents' Dinner



Colton Dixon is going from "American Idol" to the nation’s capital.
The 20 year-old singer -- who was shockingly eliminated last Thursday-- will attend this weekend’s annual White House Correspondents' Dinner as a special guest of The Christian Broadcasting Network, TODAY.com has learned exclusively.

“I think it was pretty clear from the beginning where Colton’s heart is,” CBN news director Rob Allman told us. “His heart is in Christianity and his strong feeling for God. As soon as he was voted off, I sent an email saying we should try to get Colton to be our guest if he would.”
While the Tennessee native probably won’t get to meet the president, he will rub elbows with some of the biggest celebrities in the world.  Previous guests at the star-studded event have include Courteney Cox, Donald Trump and Justin Bieber -- as well as past "Idol" hopefuls Katharine McPhee, Chris Sligh and Mandisa.

Influential members of the media with space at their tables try to invite guests who “hopefully will catch some attention but will also send a message about what their organization is about,” Allman said.
CBN also extended an invite to Green Bay Packers wide-receiver and Donald Driver, who had to back out due to a last-minute commitment for “Dancing With the Stars.”

Allman admitted he followed Dixon’s "Idol" journey “as much as you can on television and on the web,” and said he was particularly impressed when the singer chose to ignore producers’ suggestions to refrain from expressing his spirituality on the show.

"When we first started the Twitter and Facebook stuff, they said beware of political and religious tweets," Dixon told TODAY.com last month. "Just because it can turn off voters or whatever. But, you know, being a Christian is who I am.  It is a part of me musically. It is what I want to do after the show -- go into Christian music."

And Allman believes Dixon will be the next big sensation in that genre.
“Based on some of the things that he performed, I think he can write his own ticket,” Allman said.  “He can clearly go quite a ways -- probably the furthest that any ‘American Idol’ contestant, as a Christian singer, could go.”
Source: The Clicker

Colton Dixon Might Write Songs With Chris Daughtry and Lifehouse

It's been a week since Colton Dixon was eliminated from "American Idol", but he already talked to some big stars for possible collaborations. The seventh-place finisher told MTV News that he chatted with Chris Daughtry at a recent dinner and got a call from Jason Wade of Lifehouse after he sang the band's song.

"I had dinner with Chris Daughtry and there's the option of writing with him, which would be amazing," he opened up. "And Jason Wade of Lifehouse called me up after I did his song and was interested in writing." The aspiring singer performed the band's 2000 song "Everything" on "Idol" top 9 performance night on March 28.

A fan of DAUGHTRY, Colton gushed, "I'm definitely trying to get as much advice from Chris on the future as possible. Just to help model my career after things that he has done, because he's done a phenomenal job of just going for it even after getting voted off fourth. I'm hoping I can make the most out of top seven."

Of his debut album, he spilled, "I have multiple, multiple songs, it's gonna be hard choosing songs for a record, I'm going to be writing till my fingers bleed." He added, "I hope I get to incorporate some of my older stuff in there too because then I can make it come full circle for me and this record would mean that much more."

Although he didn't give any further details, Colton had already revealed what kind of music he wanted to make. "I definitely want to do Christian music," he previously said. "I hope that I get to, but right now, I'm going to write as much as I can and see what comes out. And then whatever the product is of that will be where I'm placed as far as the genre of music."

The devout Christian was also keen to collaborate with his younger sister, Schyler. The 20-year-old singer shared, "I think that would be amazing. It's a great idea, I'll look into it, see if she wants to do it -- which I'm sure she'd love to. It'd be so much fun, but we'll have to see and cross that bridge if and when it comes."

Source: ACE Shobiz

Friday, April 20, 2012

Colton on Ellen

'American Idol' Cast-Off Colton Dixon Took A 'Risk'

After a record 53 million votes were cast, America has allowed Elise Testone to continue on with her "vacation" in the bottom three on "American Idol" Thursday night as Colton Dixon — a potential favorite — was voted off.

And while this may come as the second-most surprising elimination of the season, the Tennessean, who found himself in unfamiliar territory with the fewest votes, acknowledged he only had himself to blame.

"It's all good," Dixon told MTV News backstage after the show. "There is always going to be peaks and valleys, but [Wednesday] night, I should have chosen a different song to begin with. And I know that. I knew I was going to be in the bottom three because of that. I was hoping I wasn't going to leave, but stuff happens."

The Mohawked metal rocker was rolling through the competition after receiving praise for his versatility and unique twists on perfect song choices. But Wednesday night he fell flat when he chose to start off with Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," which turned out to be more of a "Bad Rendition." Even Jimmy Iovine was confused, calling his performance somewhere between "1985 Billy Idol on MTV 'TRL' to 'Spider-Man' on Broadway" — and we kind of agreed.

As the night went on, Colton failed to redeem himself when he took to the stage a second time to perform Earth, Wind and Fire's "September." Crouched over his piano, the skinny, tight-jeans-wearing contestant took a more somber approach to one of the grooviest tunes in soul music. However, despite any further confusion caused by the arrangement, he still stands by his motto: Stay true and take chances.

"I loved 'September.' " Dixon explained. "It's been one of my favorites that I've done on the show, just because it was so different than the original. A lot of people don't like change, or so much change, you know, and I definitely changed that song and I understand the feeling that the original gave off. But um, that wasn't me and that wasn't my style. I chose that song and I ran with it and I think I did me and I loved it. So in some cases, there is a balance, but if you're feeling something, you need to run with it no matter what they are going to say. It's a risk every week. So you have to be willing to take that risk, and I did."

The risk may have caused him the competition, but the 20-year-old said he's glad he got to have one last moment to himself when it came to performing his swan song, Lifehouse's "Everything."

"I wanted to end tonight the way I started it," Colton said. "I felt like I strayed last night, and I hate that I did but I was ready to bring it back and bring my focus back. I wasn't singing for the judges. I wasn't singing for my family or anyone in the audience. I wasn't singing for anyone at all. I was singing for my Lord, the savior Jesus Christ. And we had a good time on that stage so I'm so glad I got to do that song."

Get More: Music News



Source: MTV

Colton Tweets

":-):-):-). I've got exciting news that you guys will find out soon;-)!!!!!"

Can't wait to find out the news, and if you're not already follow Colton on Twitter here. Also be sure to buy all the tracks from Colton on iTunes while we wait for his on music to come out.

10 Questions with Colton

Colton: "I'm Honored to be the Tim Tebow of American Idol"

We may have to wait several more months before Tebow Time begins, but right now it's Colton Dixon time. Even though the 20-year-old singer was eliminated from American Idol on Thursday night, he still has a strong group of followers, especially in the Christian community, that are highly anticipating his post-Idol career. And it's because of his strong commitment to his faith (and of course his good looks) that Dixon has been called the Tim Tebow of TV and Idol. But, how does Dixon feel about his new nickname?
"Honored," he tells Hollywood.com exclusively. "I've truly enjoyed watching Tim display his faith openly on TV, and I appreciate that because I understand what he gets in return for that. Not everyone likes that, but he knows who he his, and he knows who he stands for. I'm the same way. I'm not going to dare shy away from my faith. And I didn't."

Even though he's dedicated to his Christian beliefs, Dixon might have ruffled some religious feathers by choosing to sing "Bad Romance" by the decidedly un-Christian Lady Gaga on Wednesday. In fact, Dixon feels his song choice might have been party responsible for his ouster. "Song choice got the best of me this week," he explains. "I made sure to tweak the song and make it presentable — but at the same time, since a lot of my fans are religious, they heard Lady Gaga and immediately turned off. I should have planned for that. I should have thought about that when choosing a song. I paid the consequences of it."

Still, elimination hasn't deterred Dixon from hoping to score a Christian Rock record deal. "I hope that happens," he says. "If it doesn't, I'm going to put out a record anyway. It would definitely be edgy. It would have some Rock flavor. [But] I would love to go into Christian music. I would be totally OK with doing a Switchfoot thing as well. They play the best of both worlds."

Dixon hopes to achieve the level of fame that former Idol contender Chris Daughtry has found. "He's big about his faith," Dixon shares. "Man, if my career goes anywhere near as good as where his career has gone, I'm going to be just fine."

And on a side note, for those Dixon fans who have been wondering about his rumored romance with Skylar Laine, well good news! "I'm going to put them to rest," Dixon says. "But first I'm going to tell you a funny story. Last night, I was eliminated obviously and got back to the mansion. I saw Skylar, and the first thing she said was, 'So, I guess that we're broken up now.' It was so funny. But, no, Skylar and I have never dated. We're really good friends. She can come to me with anything. I can go to her with anything. All the Idol contestants are like that — It's a big family. It would be weird for anyone to date anyone. It's so strange to think about."

Source: Hollywood

Colton Dixon says 'it all happened so fast'

What kind of album do you see yourself making? Do you have any plans to do one with your sister?
I definitely want to do Christian music. I hope that I get to, but right now, I'm going to write as much as I can and see what comes out. Whatever the product is of that will be where I'm placed as far as a genre of music. With my sister, I had someone earlier today ask me if I would do a duet with my sister on an album. I think that would be amazing. It's a great idea, I'll look into it and see if she wants to do it. I'm sure she'd love to, that would be so much fun. But we'll have to see and cross the bridge if and when it comes.
How do you make your song choices on the show? What all goes into that?
We have one to two days to choose a song or two songs if it's a two-song week; it's rough. They give you a song list, and you choose either from 13 songs on a list or a two-page list. For this week, it was a two-page list for the Top 100 No. 1's from 2000 to now, and a two-page list for Soul Train. You just have to go through and see what you can do with the song, unfortunately, I don't think I chose the best one this week, but, you know, it's all good. Choosing a song, you just got to make sure it's something you can connect to, and that's what I try and focus on first, and then the musicality and how you're going to perform it comes later.

Many were shocked to see you go last night. One of those people was Carrie Underwood, who sent out some tweets last night in support of you. What do you think about that?

I haven't seen them through Twitter, but during an interview last night afterwards, someone told me what she had wrote. I just want to say thanks, she has done so well since American Idol, and I love that she doesn't shy away from her faith either, so it's nice to see someone doing what I want to do away from the show, give me good encouragement. It was amazing to see that, and I really do appreciate it.

What advice did you receive while you were on the show that you're going to carry with you from now on?
Always stay true to yourself, no matter who's in your ear telling you to do this that and the other. At the end of the day, it's your decision. Unfortunately, song choice got the best of me this week, it's a hard lesson learned, but I needed to learn that lesson. You have to have a valley before you can peak. What's cool about this is I don't think I've peaked yet, which makes me excited for this album – hopeful album, I should say. We'll see what happens, but always remaining true to yourself, for sure.

Do your future plans involve writing and recording in Nashville?
I miss Nashville so much and I'm excited to be back next week, but I have several friends who love to write in and around Nashville. I'm excited to get back and start working and see what we come up with, but I definitely plan on staying somewhere around Nashville.
Are some of the sort of artists you're looking at for inspiration on making an album, the sort of Lifehouse, Relient K, Switchfoot sort of bands who appeal to Christian audiences and at the same time, kind of have a little bit of mainstream appeal?
Absolutely. I'm so thankful for the Idol platform, because I was able to reach so many more people than just the Christian market, and I'm extremely thankful for that. Doing a Switchfoot route would be amazing. It would be exactly what I want to do. You would get the best of both worlds, I could maybe tour with Chris Daughtry or Paramore, or even Switchfoot, and hit the main churches along the way too. It's about a ministry for me. I would be able to share the message with people who already know and for those who maybe don't know. I'd love to be able to do that, and I'm excited to see what happens with it.
Last night, you apologized. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone apologize like that before. Can you elaborate on what you were apologizing for, either than song choice?
Last night, seeing the way I came across on camera after going backstage after September, I was kind of disappointed, 1) with TV editing, but again, I mean, I said it. I was disappointed in that. That's definitely not who I am, and that struck me the wrong way. Especially with song choice, I've taken pride in knowing who I am, and really taking a stance in my faith. I think by choosing Bad Romance I turned off a lot of those voters, which are my core voters. It was an apology for both of those things, I'm sorry I got caught up in the musicality and performance this week instead of what it should've been, which is the connection to a song that I normally bring every week. I hate that I had to go out on that note, but I got a chance to do Everything by Lifehouse again, and I'm glad I got to do that.
I enjoyed the fact you went out with a song that had a lot of religious impact. Tell me about your decision to do a strong religious song as you went out.
The producers and everyone else on the show are saying be who you are. You've gotten this far based on that. I was going to do this anyway, but that just gave me a good little kick into doing Everything by Lifehouse. I'm a Christian and I'm not going to shy away from it. I thought I should share that with everyone watching. I got great feedback from it, I did. I was so glad I got to do it not once, but twice on the show. I think that made an impact, and that encouraged fellow believers to take a stand for what they believe in and not be ashamed of it.

Chris Daughtry once said he was glad that he lost because winning would have wrecked his rock "cred." Do you go along with that?
I'm not sure if I completely agree with that. Winning provides many opportunities that me and five other people aren't going to get to experience. Idol is such a huge platform and so many people watch it, from a certain point on, people now know who I am, who I stand for and what I want to do. I understand what Chris is saying, I'm not going to lie, it would have been nice to win. By not winning, I'm more flexible with what I can and can't do. Everything happens for a reason, and God's got a plan, so I'm just going to trust it and go along with it.
If you had to pick out of everybody, who do you see going into the finals?
In seasons past, I could clearly pick a winner. I'm not just saying this, just because they're all dear to me, but, it's anyone's game, and I genuinely mean that. I would think a lot of people were surprised by me leaving last night, but it goes to show you, no one is safe. America has to vote for their favorites. There are a couple of people that stand out every week, but at the same time, there's room for dark horses in this race. Everyone did so well this week, and I know that streak is going to continue. Honestly, I'm just as curious as everyone else who's going to take this thing home, 'cause I honestly have no clue.
Were there any of the judges in particular that you felt maybe were too hard on you, or did you find yourself getting frustrated with any of them?
I was frustrated after I did September. They tell me to be true to who I am, and they love the way I change up a song, and yet they didn't like September, which I thought I did to a T to who I am, that was a little frustrating. But at the same time, it didn't show off a lot of vocals, and the range wasn't crazy. I understand it form a vocal competition stand point. It's frustrating but at the same time I kind of get it. After hearing comments like "I can hear you on the radio today," "You're ready to make a record today" from Steven [Tyler], it's still encouraging. It makes me want to write this very second and get a record together. I'm stoked for what's going to happen.
Which one of [the judges] gave you the best advice?
I think Randy has given the best. I love them all and they all bring something different, but Randy has really reached out and invested in me, and I love seeing that. He told me never stray from who you are, and always up your game. It's not week to week now, but it might be song to song, or album to album hopefully, so I'll definitely take that always remember that.

What would you say was your riskiest move?
The biggest risk was Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. I think it was a bad risk to take because I didn't really think it through. I think musically and performance wise and image, I was so happy with how it turned out. The message that was portrayed wasn't really who I was, and that's normally the first thing I think about, and for whatever reason, I overlooked that this week, and I lost sight of what I normally think of first. I think that's the main reason why I'm talking to you right now, honestly, but it's a lesson that I'm going to learn from, and I'm going to get back on my feet. I'm going to write and hopefully put out a record sometime soon. No harm, no foul, and I'm totally excited about the future.

Have you thought through what songs you are going to do on the tour, and what would you have done for Queen week next week?
I have no clue what songs I'm going to do on tour. I'm sure we'll do a couple that we did on the show. I'll probably ask fans what their favorites were, and figure it out and give them what they want. For Queen, I was wanting to do The Show Must Go On, I think that would've been an awesome song, I love the way Moulin Rouge did it. That would have been such a fun song, I would've had a choir, I was totally excited about it. I hate that I'm not going to get to do it, but that would've been a lot of fun.

Do you think that the votes were split with you and Phillip Phillips? You two were the two males on the show that had the biggest voting blocks.
I don't think we were necessarily split. I don't think it was either you were a Phillip fan or a Colton fan. The demographic for voters are the same for a lot of us. I hate when Jimmy compared us that way, but Phillip is phenomenal at what he does. I'm happy he stayed, he's fantastic, and I'm excited to see what he does on the show and excited to see what he does with Queen. I don't think it was necessary split. I know a lot of my fans are Phillip Phillips fans too, so it's going to be cool to see how all of this unwinds.
Both you and Hollie seemed pretty shocked when Ryan Seacrest announced that you'd be the one going home, especially since you had never been in the Bottom Three before, prior to last night's show. What was going through your mind leading up to that announcement, and what were you thinking immediately afterwards?
I had a feeling I was in the Bottom Three, so that didn't surprise me so much, especially after I was standing next to Jessica and Phillip. That was kind of a giveaway to me. I was surprised just because I had never been in the bottom; at the same time I'm OK with it. I'm glad Hollie gets to stay longer. She's going to kill it next week. It all happened so fast, and since I had never been in the bottom, I didn't fully understand what was going on. Even this morning, I was thinking, I need to get ready for the mentor session, I'm like, oh wait, that wasn't a bad dream last night, it's weird. It's weird being on the other side of things and outside of the Idol bubble. Again, I'm excited for what's coming up, and everything's going to be OK.

It seems like American Idol this season has been stressing "girl power." Do you think all this rallying is really making a difference, and maybe that's why you got eliminated and so many men up to this point? Do you think the female voters are helping the girls out more now than in past seasons?
I don't even know what to say. This season, if a girl is going to win any season, it's this season. The girls are so good, but then again, you look and you have Joshua Ledet and Phillip Phillips still in it. Seriously, anyone can take it this year. It's about who's willing to put in the work and change up a song and make it their own, and really outshine the rest of the group every week. I'm wondering and excited who's going to take it just as much as everyone else is, and I know them all. It's going to be cool to see.
You sing so many songs over the course of Idol. What would be your ideal theme week if you were to choose your own?
This has never been done on the show, and it probably won't, because not everyone is a writer, but I think it'd be awesome if a theme week one week would be to write a song completely from scratch and play it. That would be so much fun. I love to write, and it'd be cool to sit in a room with different co-writers based on each artist. I might need to talk to Nigel [Lythgoe, Idol producer] about this, I'm getting excited about this. I would love that, that would have been so much fun.

If the judges still had a save last night, do you think they would have used it on you?
Based on this week, and their feedback, I don't know. It's up in the air. I think I was pretty consistent up until this week, so I would hope they would, but at the same time, I'm really glad they used it on Jessica. She totally deserves it, and she's going to do great things. I would like to think that they would and hope they would, but I guess we'll never know.
Final Remarks
Thanks for calling in. I just want to leave you with I'm excited for tour. Be looking out for an album, hopefully sometime soon. I'm so excited to write with many different people that I've met through this journey. Again, I can't stress enough my faith and what that means to me. God gave me a voice at 13 years old, and I just want to share it, whether that's through Christian music, secular music, whatever. Thank you for supporting me or following me through the journey, I appreciate it. Stay tuned, there's going to be more to come, for sure.

Source: USA Today

Colton's Messenger's

Hello everyone and welcome to Colton's Messenger's where we'll bring you the latest Colton Dixon news daily as we get it! I'm also the owner of many other successful fansites for people like Lifehouse and Rici Jo, and can't wait to watch this one take off. We are here to help gain awareness about Colton and keep his fans in the scoop as we wait on his first album and what is coming in the future. Please stay tuned as the website launches and more is added to the site!