Colton Dixon

Early life

Colton Dixon was born on October 19, 1991,^{[citation needed]} to parents Michael and Teresa Dixon.^[4] He was born and raised in a middle-class family in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, along with younger sister, Schyler.^[4][5] His father runs a face painting/air brush company, and his family has a Maltesedog named Maggie, a dog named Ozzy, and a cat named Chloe.^[4] Besides being a choir member throughout high school,^[6] Dixon was intoskimboarding and collecting bobbleheads.^[7] In 2008, he was an extra during the filming of "Hannah Montana: The Movie".^[6][7] He graduated fromMiddle Tennessee Christian School in 2010.^[5]

He considers himself as a devout Christian,^[8] and has sung at several worship services including at Saddleback Church.^[4] He and Schyler are part of a Christian rock band called Messenger.^[1] He sees himself going into Christian music and hopes to land a Christian rock record.^[2] Chris Daughtryand Hayley Williams are his favorite male and female artists. Other musical influences include Paramore, 30 Seconds to Mars, Lifehouse,Evanescence, and The Fray.^[6]

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American Idol

Main article: American Idol (season 11)

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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.^[9] Dixon performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on March 3, 2011.^[8]

Dixon returned in season 11, however he did not plan to audition, initially planning to merely accompany his sister Schyler to her audition.^[10] The judges implored Dixon to audition as well, where he sang David Cook's "Permanent". Both he and Schyler were awarded golden tickets.^[11] Schyler was cut yet again during the Las Vegas round, which brought him to tears.^[9]

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.^[12]

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.^[13] His elimination on April 19, 2012 was considered a big surprise^[3] because he had never been in the bottom three. After the show, judge Steven Tyler said that he was "beyond shocked" at Dixon's elimination.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Performances/results

Episode	Theme	Song choice	Original artist	Order #	Result
Audition	Auditioner's Choice	"Permanent"	David Cook	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 1	First Solo	"Only Hope"	Switchfoot	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 2	Group Performance	Not aired		N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 3	Second Solo	"What About Now"	Daughtry	N/A	Advanced
Las Vegas Round	Songs from the 1950s Group Performance	"Dedicated to the One I Love"	The "5" Royales	N/A	Advanced
Final Judgment	Final Solo	"Fix You"	Coldplay	N/A	Advanced
Top 25 (13 Men)	Personal Choice	"Decode"	Paramore	4	Advanced
Top 13	Stevie Wonder	"Lately"	Stevie Wonder	5	Safe
Top 11	Year They Were Born	"Broken Heart"	White Lion	7	Safe
Top 10	Billy Joel	"Piano Man"	Billy Joel	10	Safe
Top 9	Their Personal Idols	Solo "Everything"	Lifehouse	1	Safe
		Trio "Landslide" / "Edge of Seventeen" / "Don't Stop" with Phillip Phillips & Elise Testone	Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks	3
Top 8	Songs from the 1980s	Duet "Islands in the Stream" with Skylar Laine	Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton	3	Safe
		Solo "Time After Time"	Cyndi Lauper	7
Top 7	Songs from the 2010s	Solo "Love the Way You Lie"	Skylar Grey	2	Safe
		Duet "Don't You Wanna Stay" with Skylar Laine	Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson	6
Top 71	Songs from Now & Then	"Bad Romance"	Lady Gaga	2	Eliminated
		"September"	Earth, Wind & Fire	9