Sarina Hager can remember when her son was just 3 years old, sitting in a church pew while members of the children’s choir sang.
She looked over at her son and said something that may have foreshadowed his future.
“I said, ‘Sweetie, wouldn’t you like to sing in a choir like that one day?’ And he looked up at me with those big, beautiful blue eyes of his and shook his head, and he said, ‘No, mommy. I just wanna sing solo,’” Sarina recalled.
Now, 22-year-old Fritz Hager III, of Tyler, is doing just that as he competes as one of the top 7 contestants on “American Idol.”
A toddler humming tunes grew to be an elementary student participating in talent shows. Then Fritz was a middle-schooler whose parents finally gave in and let him take the guitar lessons he had been persistently asking for over a year’s span.
After only one lesson, dad Fritz Hager Jr. said his son learned four chords, came home and wrote a song.
“He had a natural instinct for it,” Sarina Hager said.
The 12-year-old Hager needed only a few months of lessons before he was a master. His teacher took him as far as she could, his parents said.
The road to success
The young musician’s journey was only beginning. Soon he’d teach himself to play piano, and in high school, he began to win and place in competitions, including earning the top spot nationwide in the National PTA Reflections awards and having his self-written musical performed by professionals on the New York City Broadway stage.
Hager III earned a scholarship to Oklahoma City University, which has produced numerous notable alumni, to pursue musical theater and vocal performance. But after only a semester, he decided to call it quits.
“He decided that wasn’t really what he wanted to do,” Sarina Hager said, noting a lot of the focus was put on opera singing which was not his style. “For whatever reason, that was not the choice for him.”
And so he came back to Tyler, bounced around at several odd jobs but continued to pursue music. His parents encouraged him to get involved in local theater which was a successful run and something he enjoyed.
But he craved more. Sarina Hager said her son had always wanted to be in the limelight, even as that bright-eyed toddler.
“He must have been about 15 when he started to become really interested in ‘American Idol,’” she remembered. “He told me that he wanted to audition for the show and I probably laughed at him at the time, but I told him, ‘Absolutely not, you are not going to do anything like that until you’re an adult. When you leave this house, you can do what you want.’”
Hager Jr. explained that he and his wife had previously asked some of their Nashville friends for advice on how to be good stewards of their son’s talent.
“One of the things they said was, ‘Let him be a kid, don’t thrust him into the music business … Let him get some life under him, and if he’s got that kind of talent, it’ll still be there for him,’” Hager Jr. said.
But once he was old enough, the determined Hager III set out to pursue his “American Idol” dream. He auditioned once for Season 19 but didn’t advance to the televised auditions.
That certainly wasn’t the end. He auditioned again in the summer of 2021 and made it through to the televised auditions in front of the celebrity judging panel in Austin in October. After securing a golden ticket, his dream started to unfold before his eyes.
‘Cut out of a different mold’
Hager III’s parents said they are “astounded” at their son’s journey so far.
“We are astounded right now and so humbled and grateful to the Lord honestly, because he didn’t get this from us; he wasn’t born with a guitar in his lap like some of the other contestants were,” Sarina Hager said. “He was literally cut out of a different mold.”
His parents said every step their son has taken has led him to where he’s at today.
Hager Jr. said God has orchestrated every little thing to put their son where he is now, but his experience and dedication over the years has also played a huge role.
Hager Jr. said he once viewed his son’s passion for theater as a “detour from his real gift as a singer-songwriter,” but through watching him perform on the show, he can see how that experience paid off.
“This ability to perform and convey a feeling and emotion through the way he handles himself on stage is very much from his theater experience,” Hager Jr. said. “… His ability to perform and convey an emotion and experience, to tell a story both through music and the way he interacts with the audience, the camera and the band, that’s been astounding to watch and something we’ve never seen in him before.”
Hager Jr. said aside from his musical experience, some “hard-won life lessons” have also played a role in his son’s success.
“His dealing with setbacks has developed mental toughness in him the hard way that has allowed him to withstand the pressure of this competition,” Hager Jr. said. “It takes tremendous courage to chase your dreams, but it takes even more to do it with a television camera on you and five million people watching. And then to open yourself up to criticism from judges, other professionals and everybody on the internet who has an opinion, that takes a lot of courage, focus and grit.”
What’s next?
As for the future, Hager Jr. said whether or not his son has a career in the music industry is no longer a question. It’s been answered – he’s started his career.
The young Tylerite has already hit No. 1 on the iTunes Pop chart and even secured the No. 4 spot on the All Genres chart.
“Now the question becomes what type of artist he’ll be,” Hager Jr. said. “We’re preparing for the future for him, for his career in music. We’re excited to see exactly what God has in store for him but we feel like that’s already happening now.”
From Tyler to L.A.
Traveling back and forth from Tyler to Los Angeles has been challenging for the contestant’s parents, as Hager Jr. works full-time as a pastor and law student and Sarina Hager is busy in court as an attorney and litigator, all while still taking care of their other five children.
Hager III’s siblings include Jack, 24; Henry, 21; Joe, 18; Lucy, 14; and Sam, 12. At least one member of the Hager crew has been in L.A. alongside him since his first live performance, and all of his siblings have been very supportive of their brother’s journey, Sarina said.
The “Idol” contestant’s days are often 12 hours and leave him spent, Sarina said, but she also said he is so happy and fulfilled.
Upcoming episode
Hager III will perform two songs on Sunday night’s live episode of “American Idol,” which will air at 7 p.m. on ABC. Supporters can vote via text message by texting the number 10 to 21523, through the “American Idol” app or at americanidol.com/vote .