‘American Idol’ Contestant Drake Milligan Reveals Why He Exited Show

It just wasn't Milligan's time.

Written by Lauren Laffer
‘American Idol’ Contestant Drake Milligan Reveals Why He Exited Show
AMERICAN IDOL - "105 (Auditions)" - "American Idol" heads to Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City and Savannah, as the search for AmericaÕs next superstar continues on its new home on AmericaÕs network, The ABC Television Network, SUNDAY, MARCH 25 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT). (ABC/Alfonso Bresciani)

When American Idol made its return to television this spring, many of the auditions featured on the series showcased superstars in the making. Among them was Drake Milligan, who blew Luke Bryan away with his cover of George Strait’s “You Look Good in Love.”

The audition earned Milligan, who fans may recognize from his stint on CMT’s Sun Records as Elvis Presley, a golden ticket to Hollywood. But why was he never seen during the process? Well, it’s because he withdrew from the competition. Citing that he wasn’t ready for such a platform, Milligan shared his decision to skip out on Idol with a post to Instagram.

Been getting a lot of questions about no longer appearing on American Idol after my audition, just thought I’d let y’all know what’s goin’ on! 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! It was a very tough decision, and it in no way reflects my experience during the audition process… Everyone on the show was very kind and I feel absolutely blessed and gracious to have been a part of it! Wishing the best of luck to all the talented folks competing on the show. I will be tuning in all season and I hope y’all do the same! Happy Easter 🐇 #americanidol #bringincountryback #cowboycool

A post shared by Drake Milligan (@draketmilligan) on

“Been getting a lot of questions about no longer appearing on American Idol after my audition, just thought I’d let y’all know what’s goin’ on! 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,” he wrote.

He continued, “It was a very tough decision, and it in no way reflects my experience during the audition process… Everyone on the show was very kind and I feel absolutely blessed and gracious to have been a part of it! Wishing the best of luck to all the talented folks competing on the show. I will be tuning in all season and I hope y’all do the same!”

Milligan wasn’t the only country hopeful to pull out of the competition. 17-year-old Taryn Coccia and her sister Payton Taylor also reserved the right to end their Idol journey early. The sisters first caught fans attention with their surprising audition. Coccia was slated to audition for the show, using her sister as her guitar player. The judges had a feeling Taylor could also sing, so they asked her to perform as well. Both sisters ended up getting a golden ticket to Hollywood, but decided the journey had to end there.

“You won’t be seeing my sister, Taryn Coccia, or I on American Idol,” Coccia wrote on social media. “Both of us received tickets! However, after a lot of thought and prayer, we both declined the invitation to go to #HollywoodWeek. Why? We are sisters on a mission. We are both about to launch our singles respectively and are ready to put the hard work into carving our own paths individually… ALWAYS having each others backs. It’s never a competition with us. We are ready to take the leap of faith into our own (extremely different) artistic paths… and we hope you will join us.”

American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8/7c.