Michael Sarver

Michael Sarver
Sarver performing during the American Idol Live Concert Tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Sarver performing during the American Idol Live Concert Tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Background information
Born (1981-03-28) March 28, 1981 (age 43)
Sulphur, Louisiana
OriginJasper, Texas, United States
GenresR&B, soul, rock, pop, country[1]
Occupation(s)Singer, oil rig roughneck worker
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, guitar, drums
Years active2009–present
LabelsDream Records/Fontana Distribution[2]
Websitehttp://michaelsarver.com

Michael Sarver (born March 28, 1981)[3] is an American singer who was the tenth place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol.

Early life

Sarver was born in Sulphur, Louisiana, and graduated from Sulphur High School.[4] He has two children, McKenna and Grayson.[5] 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.[6] Prior to American Idol, Sarver worked as a roughneck on an oil rig.

American Idol

Overview

Sarver auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in Phoenix, Arizona.[7] 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.[8][9] As Sarver was in the top 10, he was able to perform on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009.

Performances/Results

Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition N/A "Thank You" Boyz II Men N/A Advanced
Hollywood First Solo "More Than Anyone" Gavin DeGraw N/A Advanced
Hollywood Group Performance "Some Kind of Wonderful" Soul Brothers Six N/A Advanced
Hollywood Second Solo "All or Nothing" O-Town N/A Advanced
Top 36/Semi-Final 1 Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date "I Don't Want to Be" Gavin DeGraw 8 Advanced
Top 13 Michael Jackson "You Are Not Alone" Michael Jackson 4 Safe
Top 11 Grand Ole Opry "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" Garth Brooks 1 Bottom 21
Top 10 Motown "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" The Temptations 6 Eliminated
  • ^Note 1 When Ryan Seacrest 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 in December 2009. That same month, he joined "Idol" alums Gina Glocksen, David Hernandez and Alexis Grace on the American Stars In Concert Tour.[10][11] He released a self-titled debut album in July 2010,[12] and three songs - "You Are", "Cinderella Girl", and "Ferris Wheel" - were released as singles.[citation needed] His Myspace page later revealed he signed to Dream Records/Fontana Distribution.[2] He has also become the official spokesperson for Credit Power Educational Foundation, Inc.[13] In June 2010, Sarver launched a web site http://michaelsarver.com. In 2012, Sarver left Dream Records due to the inability of the label to fulfill their contractual obligations.[citation needed]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart
positions
US Country[14] US
Heat
[15]
Michael Sarver
  • Release date: July 27, 2010
  • Label: Dream Records/Fontana
 58 45
Christmas
  • Release date: November 30, 2010
  • Label: Independently released
 — —
Begin Again
  • Release date: June 9, 2015
  • Label: Independently released
 — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
US Country
2009 "You Are" — Michael Sarver
"Cinderella Girl" —
2010 "Ferris Wheel" —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
2010 "Ferris Wheel" Bender/Jarboe
2014 "Miss You Something Crazy"[16] Jarboe

Awards and nominations

Year Presenter Award Result
2009 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer Tour (shared with American Idol Top 10) Nominated

References

  1. ^ Denise Martin (27 March 2009). "Still smiling, Michael Sarver says so long to 'American Idol'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Michael Sarver on MySpace Music". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  3. ^ Shaw, Jessica (2009-03-27). "'Idol' exit Q&A: Michael Sarver". Ew.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  4. ^ "City of Sulphur rallies votes for Michael Sarver". Kplctv.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  5. ^ "Michael Sarver biography, news, and photos". PopTower.com. 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  6. ^ Marjorie Szaroleta. "Michael Sarver isn't ready to go back to oil rig". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  7. ^ "Top 13 Contestants – Season 8 – American Idol". Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  8. ^ Paula Abdul (2009-02-17). "Hollywood Week 2 Wednesday". American Idol. Season 8. Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Fox Broadcasting Company.
  9. ^ Montgomery, James (2009-02-19). "'American Idol' Recap: Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey And, Surprisingly, Michael Sarver Survive". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  10. ^ Brian Mansfield (March 12, 2010). "Season 8 Where Are They Now? Michael Sarver". USA Today. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  11. ^ Mark Franklin (December 8, 2009). "Michael Sarver: From the oil rigs to iTunes". The York Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  12. ^ Mark Franklin (November 6, 2010). "CD Spotlight: The 'Ferris Wheel' that never started spinning". The York Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Michael Sarver signs with Credit Power Educational Foundation, Inc". Credit Power, Michael Sarver, and TV Guide. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  14. ^ Michael Sarver Chart History
  15. ^ Idol Chatter 08-04-2010
  16. ^ "CMT : Videos : Michael Sarver : Miss You Something Crazy". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.