Country Music Star Drake Milligan Builds His Own Persona
"I took it all the way when I was a kid," Milligan says. "Once I turned about 13 or so, I said I better stop wearing the jumpsuits and tried to hone my stage presence around looking a lot more like Elvis when he was younger. So, I did the fifties Elvis, and me and my mom would travel around and do that. That was my summer gig. My summer job was traveling around as Elvis."
After a few years of doing Elvis tributes during his summer breaks between classes at Legacy High, Milligan says an opportunity came up that tapped into his years of impersonating the rock icon on the road.
In 2017, CMT was looking to cast an actor that could portray a young Elvis Presley for a new series it was producing titled, "Sun Records." Many would audition for the role; however, Milligan, only 17 at the time, would be picked not just because he looked like Elvis, but because he also sang, played guitar, and moved like him too.
"I studied him a lot," he says. "Elvis was one of the best entertainers ever and I spent a long time trying to replicate his look and sound. Elvis has always been a north star as far as entertainers go for me."
Following that light meant relocating from Mansfield to Nashville, Tennessee, smack in the middle of Milligan's senior year of high school. However, this move proved crucial to the young singer's career, given he had to be close to the set of "Sun Records" to portray Elvis.
"Of course, I don't think I realized either how much my life was going to change," he says after finding out he landed the role. "I ended up leaving high school and going out to Memphis and starting this big TV show. So, I was kind of really just more focused on the task at hand. And I said, "All right, now it's game time. I've got to make sure I do well at this job.'"
After Milligan had completed his stint on the series, he tried out for the 17th season of American Idol in 2018. Milligan actually got in and competed, but decided he wasn't quite ready for that style of platform and ultimately dropped out.
Milligan would resurface again three years later with the release of his self-titled 2022 debut album as well as the release of his first Christmas song, "Cowgirl for Christmas." One year later Milligan would be back on television, appearing on America's Got Talent, this time backed by a full band. Milligan would receive four "yes" votes for the performance of his original song, "Sounds Like Something I'd Do." He would ultimately end up in 3rd place by season's end.
Since then, Milligan has been busy touring, writing new songs, and collaborating with several Nashville songwriters. The result of this work would culminate in Milligan's latest EP titled "Jukebox Songs," released on February 16. This EP's latest single, "I Got A Problem," cracked the Billboard top 100 coming in at No. 62.
Not moving far from the platform of TV, Milligan is also part of a new YouTube series titled, "Livingroom Sessions." The young twenty-something singer is also embarking on his first headlining tour after a stint on the road opening for Country Music Star Cody Johnson. One of Milligan's first shows as a headliner kicks off this Saturday, September 28, at Billy Bob's Texas.
But if there's one thing this country singer has learned during his years as a performer, it is the value of being able to work with others as well as learning to rely on yourself.
"On my first record, I co-wrote all 14 of the tracks. On this EP, I wrote some of the songs and some of the songs were written by Nashville songwriters. And it was my first experience kind of doing that, taking a new song and trying to make it my own," he says.
Once he had all of the songs in place for his latest EP, Milligan says he didn't have to look very hard for a title. In fact, it would be a line from one of the songs on the EP that would stand out to him.
"Anytime I'm looking for songs, writing or listening to songs, I'm kind of always looking for those songs that feel instantly classic; songs that feel like they're timeless and can transcend eras," he explained. "For me that's like one of those old jukeboxes in a corner of a bar somewhere and they've got 'Neon Moon' or all the way back to Roy Orbison songs, or Elvis songs, Buddy Holly songs, or old Hank Williams songs."
Milligan says this is what sticks out to him when writing or auditioning a new song. He looks for tunes that are "Going to stick around a while."
When asked what sticks out more to him during the songwriting process, melody or music, Milligan says it really depends, although he is guilty of leaning into one over the other.
"I love just good solid melodies," he says. "All my favorite singers and artists throughout time, like Elvis, are known for having great melodies. Lyrics, obviously, go along with that, but for me, it's just finding a melody that can catch your ear, and turn your head."
