Drake Milligan

One Liner: Rockin' country with a young ex-Elvis impersonator.

Wikipedia Genre: Country (but its got a real rock bent to it!)

Home: Nashville (but originally Mansfield, TX)

Poster Position: small Type 
Sunday.

Thoughts:  Remember that Whiplash movie with the abusive drum teacher and Miles Teller as the abused pupil?  Good movie overall, but there was something weird to me about the juxtaposition of Teller's looks and his role in that movie.  It just didn't click.  And the same thought crossed my mind when I saw the pictures of this fella, crossed with his deep, smooth voice.

I mean, look at this pretty fella.  And then his voice is creamy smooth baritone out of no where.  I actually dig it, I just had a weird expectation about what he was going to sound like, based on that photo.

He first rose to fame by portraying Elvis in a CMT series called Sun Records, and then after that he appeared on both American Idol and America's Got Talent.  He had performed as an Elvis impersonator in his hometown of Mansfield, Texas (up by Fort Worth), auditioned for the role in the TV show, and ended up having to move to Nashville for the part when he was still in high school.  After that, he went on American Idol in 2018, but dropped out to focus on his music for a while.  In 2022, he went onto America's Got Talent and ended up finishing third.

One album, 2022's Dallas/Fort Worth, and a handful of songs that bring other songs to my mind.  His big hit is "Sounds Like Something I'd Do," which makes me think of that other country song called "What Was I Thinkin'."  

That is a fun tune.  Rock and roll based, with some 90's Nashville flavor in there too.  A little Brooks & Dunn, a little Garth Brooks, and hell, a little Elvis in there too.  I could absolutely see that being a great dance song at a honky tonk.  If you wanted to do some serious two step and whipping your lady over your shoulder and launching her into the air, that is the jam for you right there.  "Bad Day to be a Beer" has some Alan Jackson undertones to it.  "Kiss Goodbye All Night" is cheesy as all get out, but at the same time, it is endearing and sticks in my brain the same way that some of those goofy latter-day George Strait songs do.  "Goin' Down Swingin'" (which features Vince Gill) has some Bob Wills flavor as well as a hint of Dale Watson's "South of Round Rock Texas" in it's melody and tempo.  The other most streamed track is "Over Drinkin' Under Thinkin'," with just over 2 million spins.

Classic sounding drinking tune.  Referencing Willie, sounding like he's winking when he sings, the whole package.  Again, I could see this being a fantastic song to dance to at a honky tonk.  I'm actually curious about his Elvis performance as well, let's see what we can see.

I know I mentioned it before, but that movie (not this CMT show, the full length movie that came out recently) was crap.  We didn't even finish it.  The part that I enjoyed was the concert footage, which looked a lot better than this.

Strange that I have been giving cheesy stuff like this a roast for the folks from the 90's who originated it, and yet I am ready to give this fella a pass on it, but I have enjoyed listening to this album today.  He even has a Christmas tune!  I'd go see him.