PEOPLE.com has exclusively premiered the music video for American Idol finalist and fan favorite Colton Dixon’s latest hit single “Build A Boat.” The compelling music video also launches Dixon’s new partnership with Mercy Ships, the Build A Boat campaign, in an effort to raise awareness, support and inspire fans to volunteer abroad with Mercy Ships. Fans can go to www.coltondixon.com/buildaboat to watch the story and learn more about how they can “go, send, or share” to make a difference.
The music video tells the dramatic story of twins, Ousseynou and Assane, and their life-changing surgery from doctors aboard the Africa Mercy®. At a very young age, the twins’ legs began to bow outward. The surgery they needed was out of reach and their condition worsened as they grew. The boys’ mother felt hopeless, until one day a local nurse learned that Mercy Ships was coming to the coast of Senegal. She drove the family over 200 miles to the hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, for life changing surgery.
“Writing this song, ‘Build A Boat,’ obviously there was that immediate connection with Mercy Ships given they build hospital ships, but more than that, I love the mission of what they do,” Dixon says. “Being a parent now with twins of my own, including our own Ava Dior who was born without a pulse and needed immediate medical attention, it really hits close to home knowing we can help people, especially young kids get the healthcare and surgeries that they might not otherwise have access to. We watched and prayed as the doctors and nurses resuscitated our daughter back to life – this song is all about having faith, and it means a lot that we can bring that hope to other people around the world.”
Mercy Ships is an international faith-based organization that operates hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, medical capacity building, and health system strengthening to those with little access to safe surgical care. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 countries, with the last three decades focused on the sustainable development of local medical care throughout West and Central Africa.
“Build A Boat,” is becoming one of the fastest rising and biggest hit songs of Dixon’s career so far, currently #3 on Billboard AC Indicator, #10 Billboard AC Monitored and #14 on the Billboard National Christian Audience chart.
“Nearly every Christian radio station in the country has already climbed aboard to support ‘Build A Boat,’ remarks Kai Elmer, Fair Trade Services Senior Director of National Promotions. “National testing is strong. Streams are increasing each week. Listener stories are flooding in. There isn’t just a breeze in the sails here…hurricane force winds are blowing!”
Echoing that sentiment is Jeremy Louis from JOY FM in St. Louis: “Early numbers for ‘Build A Boat’ are so good here in St. Louis! It’s currently sitting as the number one best testing song in our latest survey.”
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