By: Rhema 99.7
Dropped by his record label, Colton Dixon shares how, as he trusted in God, God brought about bigger plans.
It’s been an eventful three years or so for you since we last chatted. So what’s been happening?
Man so much has happened. We had the global pandemic, my wife and I welcomed twins into the world. We have two girls. So, yeah, I’m a dad, that’s a whole new chapter for me. And then there’s some new music as well, super excited about that. It’s just been a really fresh new season in the Dixon household after a season where I didn’t really know if music was going to be in the books or not, was dropped from a record label and had a lot of questions and and really had to rely on God during that season, kind of had to put my money where my mouth was and say, all right, God, you’re my provider, not what I do. And here we go. And he’s a good God. So He took care of me and my wife. And it’s been just a beautiful season.
How could we kind of talk about, that process which no artist wants, but it happens from time to time, where your record label just says, “look, we’re going in a different direction” or “we don’t feel like, you kind of fit where we’re at”. What’s that conversation like as an artist who’s on the other side of it?
It’s never an easy conversation as an artist because so much of who you are is wrapped up in what you do as an artist. Right. You know, when I write songs, they’re very personal. My branding from a business perspective is me. It’s my name, you know, so it’s hard not to take that personally. I know that a lot of the time it’s just numbers on a page and they’re they’re trying to figure out the best move for them moving forward. But, yeah, it’s a difficult pill to swallow. And I’m thankful for those guys at my old label. Still love them to death, but it was a little bit of a tough season for me. Just working through that. My wife said been so good that flipped it for me. She said, man, instead of this being a setback, which it really seems seemed like it was at the time, what if God is just setting you up for what’s next? In order for something new to come, something has to be taken away. And it was just a really good perspective. I’m thankful for my wife. Yeah, it was kind of three or four months of that of trusting that God did have a plan for music in my life, or even if he didn’t, you know, just being open and knowing that his plan and his ways are better than mine. And then, yeah, lo and behold, a new record label opened up. But even like I said, even if it hadn’t, that season was really good for us as a family, learning to trust God, regardless of what it looks like, which kind of set up 2020 perfectly.
“WHAT IF GOD IS JUST SETTING YOU UP FOR WHAT’S NEXT? IN ORDER FOR SOMETHING NEW TO COME, SOMETHING HAS TO BE TAKEN AWAY.”
I mean, it’s amazing, isn’t it, those kind of seasons of uncertainty where you’ve really got to lean in and push into God? It’s amazing what comes out of it. What was the biggest thing for you when you got to the other side and you could see how God’s weaved everything together?
My provision isn’t in what I do, it’s in who I serve and whose child I am. You know, I’m a child of God. That means we have access to everything that God does. When you understand that it’s a game changer, God’s good. He wants to take care of his kids, you know. Period. And I’m so thankful that He sees us through the lens of Jesus, you know, not through all of the mistakes that I’ve made, all the things that I haven’t got right. He sees us through that lens of Jesus. He lived a perfect life and paid the price so that we could have that kind of relationship with God. So whenever I understood that, it kind of just eased the pressure and the tension of going, oh, I don’t have to necessarily, like, strive to do all this on my own. You know, I’ve got someone who has already laid the groundwork and I just have to trust in him and do what I know to do and the natural of course. But we also have that supernatural component, which is so awesome. It’s bailed me out of a lot of situations.
One of the first songs that came, I guess, out of this this new season that you find yourself in was miracles. Was there any sort of hesitation about how it might be received, given that the sound was fairly different?
Yeah, there’s always a hesitation there. Of course, as an artist, when you’re evolving and there have been artists that I’ve loved growing up, you know, you fall in love with a certain project or certain sound. Then they just evolve as people, you know, and it’s totally normal, but then I maybe don’t like those artists as much anymore, you know, so of course, there was some hesitation there on our end, but I was honestly just excited for the new opportunity that I had in front of me. I just signed with the new label at this point, Atlantic Records, and they’re a fairly large record company. And coming from a Christian label to a mainstream label, I was just excited for the opportunity to reach more people. And still am I felt like that’s been my calling since the American Idol days and even dating back before that, for whatever reason, God has equipped me for people in the church and people not in the church. Some of my favourite writing days have been with people who don’t believe what I do. And I’m just something beautiful happens in that moment.
So when it came to a new sound and kind of new branding, I was excited just to go in the studio and see what naturally came out. And this song came out of that season of not having a record label and still seeing God move on my behalf, regardless of what it looked like in the natural. Saying that he’s a God of miracles, even in the little things and that just required some joy. So we were we were in the studio that day, got to write with one of the greats before he passed away. Actually, his name is Busbee. And we just jammed out to this song and Busways a believer. So we’ll see him again one day. And this other guy named Michael. And we just had so much fun talking about times where we were bailed out in our lives and not really being able to explain it. But then at the end at the end of that day, us all kind of collectively going man, there was a higher power. Of course, we know that to be God, but there is a higher power at work on our behalf. And how cool is that? It was just fun, man. I’m so excited. That song came out when it did just before Covid season, giving people an opportunity to praise instead of give in to fear.
Listen to the full interview with Colton on The Artist Spotlight here!
Article supplied with thanks to Rhema 99.7.
Feature image: Supplied, Rhema FM