'American Idol' Alum Colton Dixon to Release Debut Album in January

Colton Dixon is set to release his 11-song collection of modern, inspirational power-rock on his debut album, A Messenger, via EMI-CMG/Sparrow Records on Jan. 29.

our editor recommends

'American Idol' Finalist Colton Dixon Releases New Song, Looks Back on Summer Tour and Ahead to Season 12 (Q&A)

'American Idol' on the Charts: Colton Dixon Kicks Off Solo Career With a Pair of No. 1s

'American Idol' iHeartRadio Concert: Colton Dixon, Phillips Phillips and Jessica Sanchez Take the Stage in New York

The record features the season 11 American Idol finalist’s chart-topping radio single “You Are,” which hit No. 1 in its first week on the iTunes Christian and Gospel singles chart, Billboard’s Christian Digital Songs and Christian/Gospel Digital Songs charts. Also included on the disc is “Never Gone,” an original composition featured on the American Idol tour.

PHOTOS: 'American Idol' iHeartRadio Concert

While crafting A Messenger, the 21-year-old Murfreesboro, Tenn., native collaborated with an assorted team of co-writers and producers including Red Decibel, the team of Adam Watts, Andy Dodd and Gannin Arnold (Kelly Clarkson, Switchfoot), who co-wrote “Never Gone,” “Shape of Your Love” and “In and Out of Time,” and mega producer busbee (Daughtry, P!nk, Switchfoot, Smash Mouth), who co-wrote “You Are,” and the power-rock anthem “Noise.”  Zac Maloy, former lead singer of The Nixons and now a sought out lyricist in Nashville, (Daughtry, Plain White T’s), penned the power anthem “I’ll Be The Light,” and Dave Bassett (Shinedown) co-wrote “This Is Who I Am.”

For “Where My Heart Goes,” Dixon teamed up with top gospel writer/producer David Garcia and Ben Glover, who was named ASCAP’s Christian Songwriter of the Year for 2012. The final track on A Messenger is the stripped down, acoustic “Let Them See You” written by Scotty Wilbanks, touring keyboardist of Third Day.

VIDEO: 'American Idol' Summer Tour Preview: Season 11's Top 10 Interview Each Other

In support of A Messenger, Dixon will be touring as a special guest on 46 dates with Third Day, starting Feb. 21 in Fairfax, Va. Dixon will also join fellow Idol Jessica Sanchez at Araneta Coliseum in Manila for a special Valentine’s Day concert on Feb. 14, and in September he will be performing at the Rock the Universe Festival in Orlando, Fla.

Kicking off the album with “Noise,” Dixon asks, “Where is the silence, that simple silence/Every day is a time bomb/Ticking louder ‘til it goes off/ Where is the silence, where is it hiding?” After a year of painful events in the news, it’s a valid question. Dixon’s release displays plenty of the Christian rocker's emotional vocals and energetic piano punctuated by positive lyrics and, most importantly, his message of hope. It’s a comforting debut bringing light into an increasingly dark world.

Track listing:

1. Noise
2. I’ll Be The Light
3. You Are
4. Never Gone
5. Love Has Come
6. Scars
7. Rise
8. Where My Heart Goes
9. This Is Who I Am
10. In and Out of Time
11. Let Them See You

Twitter: Idol_Worship