Bradford Dworak: What has this whole American Idol experience meant to you?

Michael Sarver: It [has] meant growth in my life. Not only do I feel like a better musician and singer, but I feel like a better person.

BD: Before Idol, you worked on an oil rig in your home state of Texas. What's more stressful: the oil field or American Idol?

MS: Being on the oil rig is more stressful. Although American Idol and the business of being in the music business is stressful in some [cases], nothing is [worse] than wondering if you're going to make it home alive every week to see your family.
BD: Since your appearance on the show, you left your job to focus on music. What do you miss most about it?

MS: I miss the people. The oil field is made up of really good people.

BD: What inspires you?

MS: There are two things. Number one is God [and] my faith that I stand on so strongly. Everybody has a different belief, but whatever you believe in, believe in it strongly and with all your heart, [because] it becomes an inspiration. Then, secondly, I would say my family—my wife and my kids.
BD: Do your kids understand the impact of your American Idol journey?

MS: My 4-year-old has a little more of a grip on it than my 3-year-old. My 2-year-old knows pretty much nothing other than Daddy goes to California, but my daughter understands I was on a TV show.

BD: Are your kids able to see you when you hit the road this summer on the American Idol tour?

MS: I plan to have them join me, of course, in our home state along with a lot of friends and family. But then at periodic times during the tour, I plan to have them along when we might be in a city for more than just 24 hours.
BD: Are there any artists you hope to work with in the future?

MS: One would be Celine Dion. It would [be] incredible to work with her. She is one of my favorites because of the caliber of her talent.

BD: Do you have a favorite Celine song?

MS: All right, that's very hard...probably the theme song to Titanic, which is "My Heart Will Go On." It just kind of sticks in your mind every time you see a gooey moment in the movie. It's a pretty powerful song [that] says a lot about love and life.
BD: What many people don't know is that you are a songwriter. Do you prefer the writing side or the performance side?

MS: I take more pride in what I write than even what I sing. Singing is the biggest thing for me in my life, but over the years, it has turned into writing and I have written 898 [songs] to date. I am a very serious writer, and I do believe—other people may have different opinions—[that] I have some very credible music to offer.

BD: So do you find it easier to sing the songs you have written or easier to sing a well-known song?

MS: It is easier, for me, to sing the stuff that I write. It doesn't mean that I am necessarily a crappy singer, it just simply means that I can't be any more real than singing what I have to say.
BD: What are the best words of advice you have been given?

MS: "Be here now" are the exact words that we were told to me several times during the American Idol process by a certain individual who is deeply involved in it. In other words, experience the moment and [don't] let nerves or stress cause us to miss this incredible experience.

I am going to take that with me, and every moment I have in my life, I am going to experience [it] in the fullest way I can.
BD: What do have planned for your future?

MS: Right after the tour, I plan to take a little break, maybe a month or so off with my family. It will be my anniversary, but after that, [I will] go straight to the studio and start recording an album.

As an artist, I plan to prove there's more to music than just genres. There are individuals and artists that come out of music. It's very hard for people to pin down what my genre is. That's why I tell people my genre is the Michael genre. So what I hope to prove is that I do have a gift and I do have things inside of me to say that I can share with the world that will help people.

Catch up with the other idols.

More celebrity Q&A.

Sign up for the screening room newsletter!