American Idol alum Scott MacIntyre recently praised God for helping him overcome physical challenges and blessing him with a successful music career.
The singer and pianist, who rose to stardom in 2009 as an eighth place finalist on “Idol” season 8, suffered from kidney failure prior to his audition. However, the wife of his music teacher helped save his life which enabled him to pursue his dreams of making music. MacIntyre, who suffers from tunnel vision, attributed his ability to overcome past health woes to his faith.
“My faith has brought me through a lot, and one of the organizations I do a lot of charity work for now is Donate Life America. Many people don’t know that a year before “Idol” I actually had kidney failure and was on dialysis,” MacIntyre recently told The Christian Post exclusively at the 44th Dove Awards in Nashville, TN.,. “[I] could not play piano, could not sing, but then the wife of my former piano teacher donated her kidney to me and saved my life. I would not be here today and would not have been on “Idol” without that life saving gift.”
The “Christmas In Paris” singer, 28, hailed the reality singing show for helping boost his music career. MacIntyre’s 2010 CD “Heartstrings” debuted at #18 on the iTunes Pop Album Chart and he has toured across the globe with some of the biggest names in music.
“‘Idol’ opened up so many doors…just the way God’s used it since then over the last couple of years has been amazing,” he said.
“I’ve been able to tour around the world, perform with some of my favorite acts that I grew up listening to. I got to perform with the Jonas brothers recently [and] Alice Cooper [among others]… really cool experiences…I’m so blessed,” he added.
MacIntyre, who is the author of “By Faith, Not By Sight,” revealed why he is passionate about spreading God’s word through music. He also touched on what initially drew him to Christian music.
“I just love music. I think music has a way of reaching so deep into people’s souls and moving them and when it’s a message for Christ it’s really powerful… I think that’s what drew me to Christian music and what drew me to music in the first place was just the way that it connects with people,” he said.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter is currently working on a new album that is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2014. He opened up about why he believes people of all walks of life connect with his music.
“I just try to be honest in my music. I try to tell stories about what I’ve been through in my life and what other people might be going through. I really believe that there’s no obstacle too great that you can’t overcome if you walk by faith instead of by sight,” he said.
“That is the title of my book, By faith, Not By Sight… hopefully it’s something that can help people in their situation because we all have challenges. I have physical challenges [visual impairment], other people might have emotional or spiritual challenges,” he explained.
by Benge Nsenduluka