What others are saying ...

From Newsday
Michael Sarver has to follow Danny Gokey, doing "You Are Not Alone." This has the potential to be really sappy... He's got a really smooth voice though, and it spools out big; big smile on his face, unlike with Danny I find this much more natural and believable. I like Sarver; think the song choice wasn't great, and he may not have the charisma or pipes of some of the others, but I hope he does well.

From MSNBC
Safe for another week. Did anyone not know that Michael Sarver worked on an oil rig? If they didn’t, they found out in Sarver’s pre-performance video, when he went back in his fancy new clothes to greet his old co-workers. He picked “You Are Not Alone,” which is not exactly an oil rig roughneck kind of song, but sang it well enough to win the kudos of all four judges, although Simon did snark “I just wish we knew what you did for a living.”

From MTV
Texas roughneck oil-rigger Michael Sarver brought out his sensitive side with the big-screen weeper "You Are Not Alone," standing center stage and putting some soulful gospel fire into the tune. Simon said that despite not being the best singer in the competition, he made up for it with "passion, heart" and effort.

From MJ’s AI blog
Michael visits the oil refinery. His wife says he grew up without a dad. This performance is so much better than his semi-final performance! He’s got a powerful voice and sings with a lot of feeling. Very nice. He’s ballad boy, I think. Simon says, “You’re not the best singer, you made up for it with passion, heart…you gave it 110%.” Randy says, “Your definitely one of the best tonight.” Kara says, “Tonight showed me you really can sing…you can hit those notes…you bring your game.” Paula says, “You sounded really lovely tonight.” and then some blah blah about coloring it up…

From TheWrap.com
Michael Sarver: Delivered a performance far superior to that of MacIntyre’s with “You Are Not Alone.” Only problem? He’s not blind. Still, it’s cute to think of all those roughnecks wiping oil from their fingertips to vote for their favorite contestant. He’s a good singer and likable guy, but he is no star.

From Celebrity Café
I can’t help but dislike the annunciation that he makes, like he was using too much teeth. He definitely shows some strength in the song and I believe that it connects. He hits a great glory note in the end.

From People Magazine
Michael Sarver, 27, turned “You Are Not Alone” into a solidly comfy country ballad.

From Fox News
Anyone who gets the option to sing any Michael Jackson song out there and picks “You Are Not Alone” deserves to get voted off by default. The judges however seemed to have nothing to say about Michael’s horrid song choice, or the fact that he was trying way too hard on his vocals.

From BuzzSugar
"You Are Not Alone" showed off Michael's sensitive side. Can't say I was crazy about the arrangement, which seemed to lend itself to oversinging, but he did a competent job and — as Simon said — gave it 110 percent. Paula said he sounded lovely, and Randy said he was one of the best so far (out of four. but still).

From Entertainment Weekly
“I just wish we knew what you did for a living,” Simon deadpanned as he critiqued “You Are Not Alone,” as done by the country’s best-known oil rig roughneck. The ballad, one of the harder Jackson songs to get out of your head, served Sarver well, complementing the burly family man’s warm, solid (if unextraordinary) voice.