Michael Colton Dixon is a 20-year-old singer from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Both he and his sister Schyler Dixon are contestants on the 10th season of American Idol. Colton has some performances online that we can use to try to assess his talent and other factors that may affect his odds of winning Idol. Based strictly on what we know so far, Colton will likely be a strong favorite from the outset if he is picked for the Top 20 voting round by the judges and producers.
It is not exactly clear what kind of singer Colton wants to be, but it sounds like he has a very versatile voice with a good range and nice vocal tone. We know he can sing uptempo songs with great confidence and even play the keyboard at the same time. But it sounds like he also has the kind of voice and vocal tone to pull off a very emotional ballad.
Dixon is sort of like the less edgy version of Chris Daughtry. This is actually a good thing, as the harder a rocker is, the less likely they seem to get the casual vote on American Idol. Note that I’m not saying that Colton Dixon is a rocker. But he is that kind of middle-ground singer that is versatile enough to go in many directions.
He probably stands out enough from both an image and performance standpoint to get the all-important cougar and tween votes. In fact, Colton will likely come out as a favorite provided that he gets to the Top 20. This is far from certain, as good singers are often inexplicably cut. However, they are often cut to make way for either cannon fodder (to make it easier for the favorites to get through and the casual American Idol watchers to get a chuckle) or the ones perceived as marketable. Because Colton appears to be both talented and marketable, he has a good shot of being picked by the show to appear in the voting rounds.
At the time of this writing, the rumors going around (via JoesPlaceBlog) are that, while sister Schyler Dixon was cut in the Top 60, Colton made the Top 40. This means he must survive one last cut to make the semifinals for the 10th season of American Idol. There is an issue that could hurt his chances. Some voters look for a clear musical identity. Because it is not so clear what kind of identity Colton Dixon is going for, that is something he needs to think about and strategize over. If that piece of the puzzle falls into place, Colton seems to have the overall voice, musical talent and popular image to be a serious threat to win American Idol.
Resources:
Colton Dixon and Messenger: Sadie Hawkins Dance
JoesPlaceBlog Colton Dixon Spoilers
Colton Dixon and Messenger: We Can Try
