Drake Milligan returned to the America's Got Talent (AGT) stage on Wednesday (Sept. 13) for the live television debut of new single "I Got a Problem."
Instead of channeling his hero Elvis Presley, Milligan crooned with a husky voice in TJ Osborne and Trace Adkins territory throughout the revved-up country throwback. One line in particular sets it apart from the growing list of modern odes to Brooks & Dunn: "I'm a Marlboro Man when I'm holding your hand."
Milligan came across as being ready for prime time, which wasn't lost on one of his longtime supporters, Simon Cowell.
"I want to congratulate you for everything you've done after the show," Cowell said. "We've always said that you would be a real superstar, and you are."
Like many AGT standouts, 2022 contestant Milligan was no novice. He'd already starred as Presley in CMT's 2017 series Sun Records. The role required him to relocate as a high school senior from Texas to Tennessee, where he sharpened his skills as a singer, songwriter and live performer. He dropped out of American Idol in 2018 to focus more on his growth within the Nashville machine. That paid off with a recording deal with BBR Nashville and a self-titled debut EP from 2021 that was produced by Music City mainstay Tony Brown (Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire).
Because of Milligan's prior success in Nashville, Cowell wondered why the 23 year old was auditioning. Milligan responded, saying, "Back in the day. Elvis had The Ed Sullivan Show and The Beatles [did too], and I see this kind of on the same scale of that, almost bigger, way bigger."
Before the 11 finalists learned who'd made the Top 5 on Sept. 14, 2022, Milligan performed on the show one last time, covering Jon Pardi's "Last Night Lonely" as a duet with the man himself. Better yet, both stuck around to play guitar for Chapel Hart and Darius Rucker's cover of Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About."
Chapel Hart finished fifth in a contest won by Lebanese dance group Mayyas.
During Milligan's Sept. 13 appearance on the show, Cowell teased a Milligan return for a future season of America's Got Talent: All-Stars.
