A strange thing seemed to happen, as viewers chose the first three finalists for "American Idol."

In a way, they chose the same person twice.

Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver come from opposite parts of the country, 1,100 miles apart, but they have much in common. "We definitely are kind of attuned to each other ... We pray together," Sarver said Thursday.

Both men are church worship leaders. Both have done much of their singing in religious settings. Both talk of marriage as a key factor in their lives.

"My wife is my absolute best friend," Sarver said. "If she died, I can't imagine how I'd be able to get up in the morning."

Gokey's wife, the former Sophia Martinez, died in July, during surgery for a congenital heart ailment. "She was spunky and so cute and she just had a little attitude," Gokey said Thursday.

Both men blossomed as church-music leaders, but Sarver said his singing began before that. When he was 11, "a family situation" — he won't be specific — brought pain. "I found joy in music and I found peace," he said.

He also found praise. He sang for his family, in church and in bigger youth-group settings. "I've sung in auditoriums and arenas, but never in clubs or bars."

Gokey also succeeded with Christian music. That grew, he said, eight years ago when he joined Faith Builders. He's been a worship leader at churches in his home town of Milwaukee and in Beloit, Wis.

"American Idol" quickly latched onto both men, featuring them often. It loved reminding people that the beefy Sarver is an oil-field roughneck from Jasper, Texas, with two kids. That's definitely helped get votes, he granted. "The hard-working American (image) is part of the appeal."

And Gokey granted that sympathy has tied into his appeal. "There's no way for him to avoid it," he said. "It's only been seven months since she passed. This is who I am."

The other person boosted into the final 12 comes from a different musical world.

Alexis Grace grew up in Memphis, home of the blues. "When you grew up listening to it all the time, that's what you're used to," she said Thursday.

Now this tiny person -- Grace said she's almost, but not quite, 5-foot and 100 pounds -- has a big, bluesy voice. "My dad and I are in a band together," she said.

She's an experienced singer who changed her look since the auditions. Gokey merely changes his glasses. He has several he hasn't been allowed to wear, he said, because the brand logos are visible.