Drake Milligan Gives Standout ‘America’s Got Talent’ Performance, Prepares To Release Debut Project

America’s Got Talent (AGT) contestant, Drake Milligan is set to release his debut album, Dallas/Fort Worth, in the midst of his fight to win the million-dollar prize. 

The 24-year-old country singer first auditioned for AGT with his original song, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do” and on Tuesday, (Sept. 13), he brought the same exhilarating track back to the stage for his closing performance. 

Milligan had AGT judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel on their feet and by the end of his performance, they were already anticipating his future concerts.  

Vergara gave a standing ovation and announced, “I already want to buy a ticket to your concert,” while Klum dubbed him “the one to beat.” She then added, “you can tell the audience loves you, the camera loves you, I love you.”

While backstage, the singer said Vergara “never has to buy” a ticket to his shows down the line. 

“She can get into any concert she wants to,” he stated. “She gets comp tickets anytime. Anytime she wants one, she gets in for free.”

Singing the same song twice was a risky move, but after seeing the excited reactions from the audience and the judges, he felt he made the right choice. 

“You worry that maybe they’re gonna feel like you should have brought a new song or something different,” he shared with PEOPLE. “It was wonderful to hear their reactions to it and then feel like they understood that I elevated the song and tried to do something new with it.”

Cowell was especially appreciative of his bold choice.

Even before upgrading it, listeners fell in love with “Sounds Like Something I’d Do” at his audition and it quickly rose to the top of the iTunes country chart. 

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“You could have just walked, and you didn’t,” he said on the episode. “You came back and you competed, and I think it was absolutely the right thing to come back with that song with a brilliant performance to remind us of the star you are, because you are.”

“I really think this is going to be the start of your career,” he added.

For his final performance on the AGT Season 17 finale, Milligan will perform with country superstar Jon Pardi. Regardless of the voting outcome, the young singer can say that this experience has “changed everything” for his career.

The show will crown the Season 17 winner on Wednesday night (Sept. 14) and Mandel believes “there is a chance” Milligan could take home the million-dollar prize. 

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“I think you just brought it home and I think you’re a star,” he said on after Milligan’s outstanding performance. 

If he does win, he already has an idea of how to spend his earnings.

“Being on the road is expensive and there’s a lot of gear and a lot of travel expenses,” he explained. “We’re in a van and we’ve got a trailer full of gear, and we need more of it always, so the million dollars would really help to kind of facilitate more stuff on the road and a bigger production.”

Milligan’s single, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do” will be impacting country radio on Monday (Sept. 19), following the release of his studio album that is slated to drop Thursday (Sept. 15).