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 on an oil rig.

American Idol

Overview

Sarver auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in Phoenix, Arizona. 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

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

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. 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 site http://michaelsarver.com. In 2012, Sarver left Dream Records due the inability of the label to fulfill their contractual obligations.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US Heat
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"	Jarboe

Awards and nominations

Year	Presenter	Award	Result
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer Tour	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]