Drake Milligan (born June 1, 1998) is an American actor and singer best known for portraying

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

on the CMT series ''

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

'' and starred in a film called “Nobody” where he portrayed a young teen Elvis. He has also appeared on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' and ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

''.

Biography

Drake Milligan was born in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, on June 1, 1998, to James & Angela Milligan. He was inspired by the country music his father listened to, particularly

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

, as well as an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as ent ...

he saw sing at a nearby restaurant. After performing locally as an Elvis impersonator himself, Milligan answered a

casting call In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...

by CMT for the role of

in their TV series ''

''. He ended up landing the part, which required him to move from Texas to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, during his senior year of high school. Milligan competed on ''

'' in 2018 but ultimately dropped out. "I decided that I wasn't quite ready for that platform yet, and that it would be a better step for me to move to Nashville and focus on my music first," he said. While in Nashville, Milligan also auditioned for a recording contract with

BBR Music Group BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

. After initially rejecting him, the label signed him six months later. In July 2021, he released his self-titled debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, which was produced by Tony Brown. On October 22, 2021, he released the Christmas song "Cowgirl for Christmas". Milligan and his band appeared on ''

'' on June 8, 2022, receiving four enthusiastic "yes" votes for his performance of an original song, "Sounds Like Something I'd Do". Drake finished the season in 3rd place on September 14, 2022. Milligan's debut album, ''Dallas/Fort Worth'' was released on September 15, 2022. In 2023, he collaborated with

The Reklaws The Reklaws are a Canadian country music duo from North Dumfries, Ontario, formed in 2012. The duo consists of siblings Stuart and Jenna Walker. They have released three albums, ''Freshman Year (album), Freshman Year'', ''Sophomore Slump (album) ...

on the single "Honky Tonkin' About".

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, Drake American country singers BBR Music Group artists Country musicians from Texas Elvis impersonators Living people American Idol participants America's Got Talent contestants 1998 births