Alex Miller: Inspirations

Alex Miller grew up in the heart of Kentucky.

Lancaster, a small town with around 4,000 people, is where Miller learned his love for old country music. He started singing when he was only three years old and started playing guitar when he was just six. His inspirations are old country artists like Hank Williams and Willie Nelson, but his biggest inspiration of all time is someone who could not sing and could not play the guitar. It is someone who loved the old country music that has been created and knew how to play it on the radio better than anyone… his grandpa. Miller tributes a lot of his career to his grandpa. He gives him the credit for being brave enough to pursue a music career.

Miller described his grandpa as a “really great guy.” His grandpa grew up on a farm where he tended to cattle and tobacco plants. When his grandpa was 19, his father, Miller’s great-grandpa, passed away. After that, he had to take over the farm all on his own. Miller exclaimed how inspiring this was, and the way in which he takes everything with grace is a skill he hopes to take from his grandpa. He said, “Everyone needs a grandpa like I had.”

Miller’s mother signed him up for auditions for season 19 of American Idol, where he gained popularity and made it all the way to “Hollywood Week.” In the first show that was aired of his season, overnight his followers on Instagram went up 1,000 people. He was ultimately cut from the show, but he said the experiences and opportunities he gained made it all worth it.

He was cut from the show for a very specific reason; he is a country artist but was told he should sing a song by pop star Shawn Mendes. In his words, “I’ll be honest with ya, I didn’t know who the hell Shawn Mendes was.”

He thought about his country roots when he was deciding what song to play, and decided to go with an old classic country song called “Silver Wings,” and they “sent me home on a pair of them too.” But despite being sent home, Katy Perry, one of the American Idol judges, told him, “Just hold on. You are going to be a rocket one day.” Miller said he has been holding on ever since.

Since then, Miller has been creating more music and trying to reach more people. He has a very strong fan base and has traveled all over the country to play his music. He has been the opening act for several artists and even does shows of his own.

In March, Miller traveled to the town of Paris, Illinois, where he played a concert for his fans. He stated he loves traveling for music, despite all the work that it requires. He puts on his self-tanner, loads up the bus and is ready to perform for his fans.

In the Paris show, he played a song that had not been released yet, called “My Daddy’s Dad.” He wrote this song about his grandpa, who was previously mentioned as his inspiration for music. He said that he noticed a lot of people in the crowd were enjoying this song, and it seemed to help a lot of people. So, in April, he released this song, along with four other songs, and made an EP.

Miller loves what he does and is grateful to America Idol for kickstarting his career. He hopes to gain more and more attention and more fans to be able to share his music and impactful lyrics with more people.