Colton Dixon to Return to American Idol During Series Finale April 7

Colton Dixon will return to the American Idol stage Thursday, April 7 to perform at the 15th and final season of the popular singing competition. The finale will air live on Fox from 8-10:06 pm ET.

American Idol helped launch Dixon’s career when he made it to the top seven on Season 11.

American Idol’s grand finale will be filled with surprise appearances and star-studded performances as the show pays tribute to the past 15 seasons before the final American Idol is crowned. Thursday’s final episode will have all-star performances by former contestants, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Scotty McCreery, Chris Daughtry, Clark Beckham, Danny Gokey, Diana DeGarmo, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Melinda Doolittle, Pia Toscano, and more.

Miracles From Heaven Remains in Top 5, Risen Falls Out of Top 10 Easter Weekend

Miracles from Heaven fell 36% its second week despite it being Easter weekend, but remained in the Top 5 at the box office with $9.5 million.  The big story of the weekend was Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Risen narrowly missed the top 10 with $900K to place 11th.  The Young Messiah was #17 with $274K.

‘The Passion’ Ratings Down 42% From ‘Grease Live’

Fox aired the semi-live The Passion musical on Palm Sunday featuring a 20-foot glowing cross being carried through the streets of New Orleans. Facing a full schedule from its network rivals plus The Walking Dead on cable, The Passion experienced a 42% decline from January 31’s Grease Live and set a low for network live musicals.

Fox’s second live musical event of the year so far, the drama of the last hours of Jesus had pre-taped segments, Tyler Perry as narrator, Trisha Yearwood as Mary, Seal as Pontius Pilate singing “We Don’t Need Another Hero” from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Tears For Fears’ “Mad World”,  Chris Daughtry as Judas, and Telenovela’s Jencarlos Canela as Jesus. 

The program was also 46% lower than NBC's December 3, 2015 broadcast of The Wiz Live! However, that show as up 34% from Peter Pan Live which aired December 4, 2014.  Both were down from the Carrie Underwood-led Sound of Music Live! which aired December 5, 2013.

Despite the infusion of contemporary music and Perry’s following among young viewers, the special was older-skewing compared to the other live musicals.

Fox finished Sunday tied with NBC and CBS for No.1 in adults 18-49. 

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Newsboys' 'Love Riot' on the Charts

Love Riot, the new recording by Platinum-selling Newsboys, debuted at the top of multiple charts following its March 4 release, marking one of the biggest sales weeks for a Christian artist to date this year. Love Riot debuted at #14 on the Billboard Top 200 and in the Top 10 on iTunes' overall Top Albums chart.

Love Riot was produced by Mark Needham (Imagine Dragons, The Killers) and Zach Hall as well as Grammy winners Seth Mosley (TobyMac, for King & Country) and Mike "X" O'Connor. A highly sought-after producer based in Los Angeles, Needham's involvement with Love Riot marks his first production collaboration with a Christian artist.

The album is highlighted by the first single, "Guilty," the theme song of upcoming movie "God's Not Dead 2."

Newsboys are currently performing selections from Love Riot as headliners of the multi-artist 2016 Rock & Worship Roadshow. The band will also hit the road later this spring for the final leg of their  "We Believe...God's Not Dead" Tour. Sponsored by Feed the Children and IF 7:14, the tour will feature GRAMMY-winning Audio Adrenaline; OBB; and Grammy-nominated Ryan Stevenson.

Brian 'Head' Welch's Love and Death Releases New Single

Love and Death, the side project of Korn guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, premiered a new single titled "Lo Lamento" today via Loudwire.

According to Loudwire, the concept for the new song comes from an idea initially conceived during the creation of Love and Death's album "Between Here and Lost." The track was created by Head, JR Bareis, Jasen Rauch (Breaking Benjamin, RED) and Dan Johnson (RED).

In addition to the new song, Head also announced the pre-order details for his next book, titled With My Eyes Wide Open: Miracles and Mistakes on My Way Back to Korn. The book follows his prior memoir and conversion story in Save Me From Myself. This new release will tell the story of the artist's return to Korn following several years of pursuing healing, sobriety and creating music outside of Korn.

Will Faith Continue to Be an Influence on The Voice?

Last season, we noted that Christianity made a comeback on The Voice and it appears to be happening again this season.

Believers again find themselves in the Top 40 of The Voice though the list isn't as long as season 9.  Not all are outspoken about their faith, but these don't shy away from it either.

- Katie Basden (@thekatiebasden)
- Hannah Huston (@thehannahhuston)
- Jonathan Hutcherson (@jonchutch)
- Emily Keener (@EmilyKeener)
- Brian Nhira (@BrianNhiraMusic)
- Caity Peters (@caitypeters_)
- Mary Sarah (@MarySarahMusic)

To be confirmed:
Paxton Ingram & Teresa Guidry

Of course, Jordan Smith (@JordanSmithLive), was the winner last year.

The Young Messiah Opens in Top 10; Risen Remains in Top 10

"The Young Messiah" opened in seventh place at the box office with an estimated $3.4 million from 1,761 theaters. The opening was likely disappointing to the studio, but the timing of this one certainly didn't seem to help it.

"Risen" did well a few weeks ago and the studio is on the verge of having another hit on their hands next week with "Miracles from Heaven," but "Young Messiah" wasn't able to attract a large portion of the faith audience. For those that did make it to the theaters this weekend to see it, they liked what they saw as it scored an "A-" CinemaScore. The film played to an audience that was 56% female vs. 44% male and 86% of overall attendees were 25 years or older.

3 Doors Down Band Member Lists Skillet as a Favorite to USA TODAY

3 Doors Down was asked by USA TODAY to share a playlist of what they are listening to and on the list was Skillet. The band's guitarist is apparently a huge fan of the band, and cited the band's double Platinum hit, "Monster," which recently was touted as the most downloaded & streamed song in Christian music history.

h/t NewReleaseToday