DRAKE MILLIGAN - Don't Leave Me Loving You - Stoney Creek Records

With his breakout single “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” Drake Milligan grabbed the audience that he earned through his appearance on America’s Got Talent and took them along for the ride as he refreshingly crafted a neo-traditional sound that perfectly balanced a honky-tonk attitude, 90’s country flare, and his Texas roots.

Appearances on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the release of his debut album Dallas/Fort Worth, and addictive fan favorites “Hating Everything She Tries On” and “Bad Day To Be A Beer,” all subsequently worked together to continually elevate Milligan’s status while earning him the tag of emerging artist to watch.

He now offers us our first glimpse at his highly anticipated new EP, Jukebox Songs (dropping February 16, 2024), with teaser track “Don’t Leave Me Loving You.”

The song, co-written by Music Row hitmakers Bobby Pinson, Matt Rogers, and Ben Stennis, is built as a classic country styled ballad that transports us to a dusty honky-tonk on the back of a modern edged, crying in my beer melody which accents the natural drawl of Milligan’s voice as he leans into the emotional grip of the losing out on love lyric.

Travelling through the small-town rumors that the girl he’s crazy for is skipping town with no intention of ever coming back, Milligan drips his hurt into the pain filled lyric where quizzingly asks of her, “don’t you owe me at least a bad goodbye?” as he lands at the chorus, pleading with her to break his heart before she goes so that he can stop loving her:

“Come leave me hurt
Come leave me mad
Come leave my heart broken in half
Leave me like someone I never knew
Hatin' the hеll you put me through
Just don't leave mе loving you”

Specifically spelling out a how-to checklist for the many ways that she can break his heart, Milligan encourages her to slam the door on her way out, tell him that she never loved him, and to make his heart-broke teardrops fall.

With the strong amount of buzz already surrounding Drake Milligan combining with tour dates with Cody Johnson and a signature style that matches a vibe that so many are clamoring for from country music right now, “Don’t Leave Me Loving You” is clearly just the tip of the iceberg of things still to come from Milligan as he sets his sights on elevating his status another level in 2024, moving from one to watch to one who has arrived.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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