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North Texan Drake Milligan makes a repeat impression on ‘America’s Got Talent’

In reaching next week’s finals, both of Milligan’s songs rocketed to No. 1 on iTunes’ country music chart

Update:
Updates with Wednesday's fan voting results.

When Mansfield-born Drake Milligan finished singing “Kiss Goodbye All Night” and the ovations had settled Tuesday night, America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel had this prediction:

“Tomorrow that song will be No. 1 on the country chart again, I promise you,” Mandel said. “You have a good chance of winning this whole thing.”

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When Mansfield-born Drake Milligan finished singing “Kiss Goodbye All Night” and the ovations had settled Tuesday night, America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel had this prediction:

“Tomorrow that song will be No. 1 on the country chart again, I promise you,” Mandel said. “You have a good chance of winning this whole thing.”

Sure enough, “Kiss Goodbye All Night” made it to No. 1 on iTunes’ Top 100 country songs chart Wednesday.

It was a lot like June 9, the day after Milligan performed “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” which rocketed to No. 1 on the iTunes chart. That America’s Got Talent performance earned him a spot in Tuesday’s semifinals.

In Wednesday’s fan voting results show, Milligan advanced to next week’s final.

“I feel like you’re America’s Got Talent’s biggest story already,” judge Heidi Klum told Milligan after the announcement. “You’ve only performed twice — and both songs are No. 1.”

His fans can get a closer look at his up-tempo style Friday night at Southern Junction Live in Royse City as part of his tour promoting his full-length debut album, Dallas/Fort Worth. He’ll also be at Billy Bob’s Texas on Sept. 23.

In a statement introducing his EP, which arrives Sept. 15, Milligan said it was so named because he was fascinated by the distinctions between Dallas and Fort Worth.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Milligan, 24, lives in Nashville, Tenn., today, but he still carries a fondness for Dallas-Fort Worth. He grew up in the Fort Worth area, listening to his parents’ collection of country music. In his preteens, he discovered Elvis Presley and performed as an Elvis tribute artist and began acting on Country Music Television’s Sun Records.

In Tuesday’s America’s Got Talent semifinals, judge Simon Cowell called Milligan’s performance the best of the night. Cowell said he was glad Milligan returned for the live show.

“A lot of people after performing on the auditions and the song goes to No. 1, they would just walk and not compete,” Cowell said during the judge’s comments. “The fact that that happened and you still came back to this competition … I was concerned about that.

“In my opinion, you are the real deal. You are a great songwriter. You have charisma.”

Milligan said in a post-performance press conference that skipping the show wasn’t a consideration.

“From the first moment I stepped on that Got Talent stage, all I wanted to do was come back and be in front of that crowd and be in front of the judges again,” he said. “It’s so much fun to feel that energy from the crowd and to know that millions of people are watching. I couldn’t wait to come back.”

Drake Milligan and his band perform Tuesday night on the semifinals of NBC's "America's Got Talent." (NBC / Trae Patton/NBC)