Michael Sarver (born March 28, 1981) is an American
singer
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
who was the tenth place finalist on the
eighth season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''.
Early life
Sarver was born in
Sulphur, Louisiana, and graduated from
Sulphur High School. He has two children, McKenna and Grayson. He has written over 1100 songs for himself and others since the age of 14, and has also been singing since he was an adolescent. Prior to ''American Idol'', Sarver worked as a
roughneck
A roughneck is a person whose occupation is hard manual labor. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with the workers on a drilling rig. The ideal of the hard-working, tough roughneck has been adopted by ...
on an oil rig.
''American Idol''
Overview
Sarver auditioned for the eighth season of ''American Idol'' in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
. During the first semi-finals week, he was able to garner enough votes to allow him to continue, beating fellow contestant
Anoop Desai for the third spot by just over 20,000 votes. He was eliminated on March 26, 2009, after the panel of judges were unable to unanimously agree to save him. As Sarver was in the top 10, he was able to perform on the
American Idols Live! Tour 2009.
Performances/Results
*
When Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...
announced the results in the particular night, Sarver was in the bottom three, but declared safe second when Alexis Grace was eliminated.
Post-''Idol''
Sarver signed with Dream Records/
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
in December 2009. That same month, he joined "Idol" alums
Gina Glocksen,
David Hernandez and Alexis Grace on the American Stars In Concert Tour. He released a self-titled debut album in July 2010, and three songs - "You Are", "Cinderella Girl", and "Ferris Wheel" - were released as singles. His Myspace page later revealed he signed to Dream Records/
Fontana Distribution.
He has also become the official spokesperson for Credit Power Educational Foundation, Inc.
In June 2010, Sarver launched a web sit
http://michaelsarver.com In 2012, Sarver left Dream Records due to the inability of the label to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarver, Michael
1981 births
21st-century American singers
Living people
Singers from Texas
Singers from Louisiana
American Idol participants
American multi-instrumentalists
American country singers
People from Jasper, Texas
21st-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Louisiana
Guitarists from Texas
21st-century American drummers
American male pianists
American male guitarists
Country musicians from Texas
Country musicians from Louisiana
21st-century American pianists
21st-century American male singers
American male drummers
Drummers from Louisiana
Drummers from Texas