Colton Dixon on Faith, Family, and Acting in New Series 'County Rescue'

It has been 12 years since contemporary Christian musical artist Colton Dixon first appeared on American Idol as a contestant vying for the Season 11 crown. Despite several strong performances, Dixon eventually bowed out as the seventh place finisher, paving the way for Philip Phillips to be that season’s champion.

Since that time, the Murfreesboro, Tennessee native has carved out a respectable career in Christian music, releasing five full-length albums, and charting with nine Top 40 hits. “Build a Boat” served as his highest charting single, climbing all the way to number one in 2022.

For all his success in music, the two-time Dove Award winning artist has recently taken a first step into the world of acting, by making a cameo appearance on the new Great American Family series County Rescue. 

The program is set in the day to day world of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and showcases these courageous, everyday heroes in their quest to provide hope and life-saving care to those in vulnerable health situations.

I recently sat down with Dixon to discuss whether he sees acting as a prominent part of his future, his highest regard for the work of EMTs, and a glimpse into what is coming for his music this year.

If you were trying to convince a friend or a family member to take the time to watch County Rescue, especially episode number three, what would you say to encourage them? I mean, what would your sales pitch be?

Besides the fact that yours truly makes a small little cameo, which was fun, I think this show is so full of heart and it's so rare in the world that we live in, to have a show that is family friendly and supports the values that you and I both believe in and try and live our life by. And I think that alone is worth the watch. We actually watched the episode Monday night with my family. And we had a great time. It was really fun to watch. I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but it’s really the first time I have taken a stab at the acting thing. So, I'll let you be the judge on whether I should continue, but it's worth the watch.

(Spoiler Alert) I thought your performance of receiving the Heimlich Maneuver was very believable. It was quite realistic.

Praise the Lord.

For every actor (yes, you heard that correctly), there always seems to be a trigger, a tipping point, a moment, where you say to yourself, “I have to be part of this project!”. For you, what was that moment with County Rescue?

It was kind of your typical opportunity in that it went to my management team. They brought me the idea. Of course acting was not on my radar at all. I hadn't worked out those muscles since high school theater. But there was something about the project and I think the fact too that they wanted me to be me. “Hey, play yourself. We're going to catch you on a tour date and there's going to be a medical emergency. We weren't quite sure what all that was going to look like yet as the script was still being written. But we liked the idea and it made sense with our schedule. And like I said, it's rare to find projects that coincide with your moral beliefs and your moral compass. I’m just so thankful for Great American Family and Pure Flix and other amazing companies like them that continue to put out faith-based films and TV. I’m so honored to be a part of it.

Is acting something that you might want to pursue a little more intently or are you content to stay in the music lane career wise?    

I do music. I'm married. I've got twins who are three years old. So, if I ever did any more acting, it's not because I'm bored, that's for sure. It's not something that was ever on my radar, but it's definitely something that I'm open to. I had a blast filming that day. And who knows what the Lord has in store. I'm open to it.

Speaking of your twins and the underlying theme of County Rescue, I understand you had a scare with your twins birth when one of them needed to be resuscitated … pretty scary stuff. How would you encourage other parents who are going through a time of uncertainty and having to trust God with their children’s well being?

When my wife and I had our twins, when the first one came out via C-section, she wasn't breathing and had to be resuscitated. It felt like an hour went by, but of course it didn’t. I'm sure it was less than a minute of those doctors and nurses working on Dior. But it was a scary thing. But in that moment, my wife and I both had the wherewithal to go, “Man, this is a faith or fear moment.” I think life throws those at you occasionally. And I think that God gave us His Word as a tool to use in times like that. But we also have to realize that there's an enemy lurking around on this earth too, he wants to tear you down, and he wants to use those moments for the negative as well. You kind of just have to see those moments for what they are and realize there's an opportunity here for faith to grow, so let's lean into that. Let's trust God. Let’s know that God is a man of his word and what He says in his Word is true. So, learn as much of the Scripture as you can. In those moments, you will be equipped with those tools.

Having been through that experience, I have to believe that you have a greater respect and admiration for EMTs, medical staff, and people who do this type of work. Is that what kind of lured you into taking this role on this episode?

You're absolutely right. Just knowing how well we were treated by the doctors and nurses, and how well they treated our little girl in that moment made me even more grateful for the men and women who serve across the states and in our world. It's a big deal. The theme of this show is about the EMT world first responders and the various things that they have to go through. And of course, there's some personal drama thrown in there as well, which is fun. But it's a wild job and not for the faint of heart. I am so thankful that they have risen up to that call. But yes, it is absolutely personal to me.

After people have had a chance to watch your performance in Episode 3 of County Rescue or the whole series for that matter, what would you like to see audiences get out of that experience? What is your greatest hope for the show?

I'll be honest, what I love about this show is that people are unafraid to pray. There is an EMT with long blonde hair who prays in this episode. My band and I make it a point to pray on the show. We try to always do it before a show. We huddle together and we pray. And to me, that is the shining light of this show. It's like no matter what's going on in your world, no matter what's going on, whether it be medical, personal, or whatever, we've got God on our side and if God is for us, who can be against us? I love that the show takes a moment and shines that light there and allowed me to do the same on the show. To me that's the coolest takeaway.

I can’t let you go without asking whether you are working on anything new musically that you can share with me?

I absolutely am. And I want to give you all the nitty-gritty but I don't think we're quite there yet. We're still figuring out definitively what the first single's going to be, so I don't want to misspeak. We've got our hands on several songs that I've never been more excited to release music. These are songs that tick all the boxes. There's a song that's super fun that has a lot of depth spiritually. There's another song that to me is kind of a life song type that I cannot wait for you guys to hear. And then there's another one about shame and forgiving yourself. And sometimes, sometimes that's the hardest person to forgive. I can't wait for you guys to hear these songs.

A new album is coming sometime this year. Honestly, the first song we're hoping to have out in the next couple months. We just need to figure out definitively which one it's going to be. 

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