Sam Woolf


Samuel Joseph Woolf is an American singer-songwriter from Bradenton, Florida, who finished in fifth place on the thirteenth season of American Idol. Shortly after his participation on the series, he released the EP Pretend, which reached the top ten on Billboards Heatseekers chart. Since then, he has released several non-album singles.

Early life

Sam Woolf was born on April 19, 1996 in West Bloomfield, Michigan to Mary and Scott Woolf. His great-grandfather, Sammy Woolf, was a well-known Detroit bandleader, his uncle is composer Randall Woolf, and pianist Kathleen Supové is his aunt. His great-uncle, Mickey Woolf, was a musician prominent in Detroit's Jewish community. Woolf was a student at the Scotch Elementary School in West Bloomfield, but moved to North Port, Florida in 2006 when he was 9. When he was 13, his mother remarried and moved to another city in Florida, and Woolf and his older sister Emily remained in North Port with their father. Woolf and his father moved to Bradenton just prior to his sophomore year of high school, where he attended Braden River High School. At the beginning of his junior year, he moved in with his grandparents who also live in Bradenton.
Woolf's first live public performance was at his sixth grade talent show where he performed The Beatles' "Hey Jude." Woolf later became interested in music as a career, took singing lessons from an opera teacher, Bob Lischetti, and performed locally in Bradenton. He also was mentored at the Del Couch Music Education Foundation and went to Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan for four weeks the summer after his sophomore year of high school. In the summer of 2013, Woolf completed a five-week program at the Berklee College of Music and was selected as one of the top four songwriters for their singer showcase, where he performed an original song, "The Same." While he was in Boston, the audition for the thirteenth season of American Idol was held near Berklee College of Music and at his mother's suggestion, he decided to attend the audition. He attended Berklee College of Music, briefly, before pursuing his full time career as a singer songwriter.

''American Idol''

Woolf auditioned in Boston, singing "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran. He sang "Waiting on the World to Change" on the first round in Hollywood, and his original composition entitled "I Tried" in the final solo of the Hollywood Round.
EpisodeThemeSong choiceOriginal artistOrderResult
AuditionAuditioner's Choice"Lego House"Ed SheeranN/AAdvanced
Hollywood Round, Part 1A Capella"Waiting on the World to Change"John MayerN/AAdvanced
Hollywood Round, Part 2Group Performance"Treasure"
with Kristen O'Connor		Bruno MarsN/AAdvanced
Hollywood Round, Part 3Solo"I Tried" Sam WoolfN/AAdvanced
Top 31 Personal Choice"Babylon"David Gray4Advanced
Top 13This Is Me"Unwell"Matchbox Twenty12Safe
Top 12Home"Just One"Blind Pilot9Safe
Top 11Songs from the Cinema"Come Together"The Beatles1Bottom 3
Top 10Billboard Top 10"We Are Young"Fun feat. Janelle Monáe10Safe
Top 9I'm with the Band!"Hey There Delilah"Plain White T's5Bottom 3
Top 8Back to the StartSolo "Lego House"Ed Sheeran4Saved
Top 8Back to the StartDuet "Lucky"
with Malaya Watson		Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat8Saved
Top 8Songs from the 1980sDuet "The Girl Is Mine"
with Alex Preston		Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney3Safe
Top 8Songs from the 1980sSolo "Time After Time"Cyndi Lauper7Safe
Top 7Competitors' ChoiceDuet "Let Her Go"
with Alex Preston		Passenger3Safe
Top 7Competitors' ChoiceSolo "Sail Away"David Gray8Safe
Top 6Rock 'n' Roll"It's Time"Imagine Dragons2Safe
Top 6Country"You're Still the One"Shania Twain7Safe
Top 5America's RequestsTrio "Best Day of My Life"
with Jena Irene & Alex Preston		American Authors3Eliminated
Top 5America's RequestsSolo "Sing"Ed Sheeran5Eliminated
Top 5America's RequestsSolo "How to Save a Life"The Fray10Eliminated

After his appearance on Idol, Woolf deferred for one year an offer of admissions to Berklee College of Music until fall 2015. Woolf performed nationally in the American Idol season 13 tour, then held a 'Welcome Home' concert in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy Stadium on September 27, 2014. He opened a similar homecoming concert for his fellow American Idol season 13 finalist, Alex Preston, at the Capitol Center For the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire on November 8, 2014, and on February 28, 2015, he performed in Lakewood Ranch, Florida's Winterfest, along with The Doobie Brothers, War, Jefferson Starship, Matt Walden and performers from the Del Couch Music Education Foundation.
Woolf wrote and recorded a five-song EP, Pretend, which he released himself on December 18, 2014. The album was funded in part by crowdfunding, and was produced by Danny Blume who co-wrote some of the songs with Woolf.
On September 1, 2016, Woolf released the standalone single "Stop Thinking About It". On January 1, 2017, he released the standalone single "Fast 'n' Dirty". Music videos were released for both singles. Woolf co-wrote "Fast 'n' Dirty" with Orion Meshorer and Stephen Puthon. Explaining the song, he said, "Never in a million years did I think I'd have a song called 'Fast and Dirty'...I'd just like to say that this song/video is supposed to be a joke, in a way...don't take it seriously." On April 19, 2017, he released the standalone single "Call Me Crazy", which features Christina Galligan. Woolf co-wrote "Call Me Crazy" with Meshorer and Parker James. On August 25, 2018, he released the standalone single "You".
Live at 89 North, a 2015 EP by the Como Brothers, features Woolf on a cover of "Hey Jude". Woolf and the Como Brothers have continued to collaborate. In 2018, they released the single "On It" and announced an upcoming six-track EP titled Backbeat in the Morning. Leading up to the release of their EP, they have released two more tracks: "Diamonds on my Chain" in 2019 and "Twisted" in 2020. Backbeat in the Morning was recorded with Grammy-winning engineer Kenta Yonesaka at Germano Studios in New York City. Music videos have been released for all three songs.
Sam has performed extensively at public and private events in Florida, the Midwest, Northeast and more recently in LA where he currently is based. He has opened multiple concerts for We The Kings. He has also been a featured performer at Dream Fest in Tampa, the Warwick Summer Concert Series in New Your, the Boston Arts Festival and the Riverwalk Regatta in Florida.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

YearSongAlbum
2016"Stop Thinking About It"Non-album single
2017"Fast 'n' Dirty"Non-album single
2017"Call Me Crazy"
Non-album single
2018"You"Non-album single

As featured artist

''American Idol'' digital singles