Drake Milligan and his record label BBR Music Group/Stoney Brook Records used America’s Got Talent to market his next single and album. The new 14 song set, Dallas/Fort Worth is out on Thursday September 15, the day after the AGT finale.
The country singer reprised his audition song, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do” for his final performance. While judge Howie Mandel said of the choice, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the thinking probably had to do with the song impacting country radio as Drake’s latest single on Monday September 19.
At the end of the competition, and after a total of three performances, Drake finished America’s Got Talent season 17 in the Top 3. On the finale Wednesday night, the singer duetted with country music star and five-time Billboard Chart topper Jon Pardi.
Dallas/Fort Worth sits at No. 1 on the iTunes All-Genre Top Albums chart
After the album’s release early Thursday morning, Dallas/Fort Worth sits simultaneously at No. 1 on the iTunes All-Genre Top Albums and iTunes Top Country Albums charts. The single, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do” is currently at No. 5 on the iTunes All-Genre chart after previously hitting No. 1 after his audition performance. For his semi-final performance, Drake performed another cut from the new album, “Kiss Goodbye All Night,” which also hit No. 1 on iTunes the next day.
Along with the all-genre chart, both tracks also hit No. 1 on the iTunes Country Songs. Additionally, his previous self-titled EP went to No. 1 on both the iTunes Country Albums and the All-Genre iTunes Album chart, among other stats. At one point, Drake held the Top 4 spots of the iTunes Country Videos chart, and occupied seven of the Top 30 spots All-Genre, including #3 (“Sounds Like Something I’d Do”) and #5 (“Kiss Goodbye All Night”).
Starting September 16, Drake is hitting the road for a fall tour, which begins in Los Angeles at the Desert 5 Spot. Check out his tour dates HERE.
Dallas/Fort Worth features 14 tracks
Featuring 14 tracks produced by Tony Brown (George Strait, Reba McEntire) and songwriter/producer Brandon Hood, Drake “uncorks exuberant themes of trouble-making fun, young romance, life-sustaining love and more,” according to a press release.
“As a lifelong Country music fan, it has been my dream make a full-length record that pays homage to traditional Country roots, while still bringing new sounds and energy to the genre,” says Drake.
“As a native son of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I’ve always been intrigued by the difference between the two cities. First there’s Dallas: a city determined to prove that everything really is bigger in Texas. Then, just 30 miles to the west, there’s Fort Worth: a city that holds true to its Stockyard roots with a taut rope around its cowboy brand,” Drake’s statement continues, “My goal was to bring those same distinctions to the two parts of this album. On Dallas, the songs have a little more polish on their boots. On Fort Worth, there are nods to those traditional Honky-Tonkin’, Western swingin’, cowboy culture roots that I’m based in.”
Drake auditioned for American Idol season 16 and then quit
Some of you may remember Drake from his 2018 American Idol audition. The 19 year old singer from Fort Worth introduced himself as an Elvis Presley super-fan and impersonator. He sang “You Look So Good In Love” by George Strait for judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. Luke called him “Cowboy cool.” Katy called him “a star in the making.”
However, Drake disappeared after his audition, never to be seen on the Idol stage again. Drake he explained in an Instagram post, “After my audition 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!”
