Singer and songwriter Colton Dixon first caught the public's attention in 2012's season 11 of American Idol. The guitar-playing, golden-maned Dixon's theatrical vocals and upfront spirituality connected with audiences enough to secure a seventh-place finish, and it didn't take long for the charismatic rocker to land a record deal. The resulting A Messenger, his debut for Sparrow Records, was released in 2013 and quickly rose to number 15 on the Billboard Top 200 and number one on the Christian albums chart. With newly raised stakes, he fared similarly well with his 2014 follow-up, Anchor, which also topped the Christian chart behind the hit single "More of You." Tours with major artists like TobyMac, Third Day, and Casting Crowns helped increase his profile as a popular concert act. In 2015, Dixon released The Calm Before the Storm, which combined two previously released EPs: the all-acoustic Calm and a set of remixes called Storm. His third proper studio album, Identity, followed on Sparrow early in 2017 and returned him to the number one spot on the Christian albums chart.