Colton Dixon, the “American Idol” alum who made a name for himself during Season 11, recently spoke with ChurchLeaders about his new children’s book, Season 23 of “American Idol,” and his new single, “The Love I Have For You.”
Inspired by his twin daughters, Athens and Dior, Dixon wrote a children’s book titled after his hit single “Build a Boat.”
“But the other inspiration too is we’re kind of surprised at how many young kiddos come out to our shows,” Dixon told ChurchLeaders. “We’ll look out and sometimes literally, like, right in front of the stage. It’s like, all right, cool. We’re just having daycare here, here at the show.”
“But I love it,” he added. “I genuinely love it. And I’m like, okay, they’re here because they like the song, ‘Build a Boat,’ or they like ‘Up & Up’—they like the melody, or they like the beat whatever.”
This experience inspired Dixon to find a way to connect “the dots” of the gospel better and “go deeper” with the younger people who attend his shows. Dixon said, “This book was an opportunity to do that, not only for my own girls, but for anyone who’s willing to listen read.”
Dixon shared that growing up, one of his favorite Bible stories was the account of Noah’s Ark. “I’m sure it had something to do with pictures,” he said. “But looking back at this story, now, it was Noah’s obedience and his faith that kind of strikes me as the most amazing part of that story.”
Dixon’s children’s book aims to teach what the meaning of faith looks like. “So this story follows two little girls who are believing for something really big in their eyes: a dog,” Dixon explained. “So their parents sit them down. They’re like, all right, if you’re gonna believe for a dog—like dogs need food and they need water—faith is more than just hoping for something. Sometimes, faith requires action. It requires you to walk in it.”
“So it’s the story of these girls scrounging every little penny they can get together and with the help of their friends and family, preparing for this dog,” he continued. “And of course, you can probably guess the way the story ends.”
ChurchLeaders asked Dixon what he thought as an “American Idol” alum of the emphasis given this past season to the name of Jesus, both through contestant song selections and the dedicated Easter special.
