Myles Erlick packed his truck in 2024, hitched a U-Haul behind it and headed south from Canada with his dog.
A year and a half later, the 28-year-old performer has a Nashville address, a record deal, a debut album on the way and a girlfriend who inspired much of it.
"I went all in when I moved here," Erlick said at The Tennessean newsroom during a USA TODAY Acoustic session, performing "25 to Life," "Dyin' in This Living Room" and "All I Needed."
The performances preview his 14-track debut album, "Handcrafted," which arrives Sept. 4. The country-rock project was recorded live with musicians at Castle Recording Studios in Franklin, Tennessee.
"I'm so incredibly proud of this album," Erlick said. "This has been the work of the past year and a half
for me."
Making it 'Handcrafted'
At the start of 2026, Erlick was on the phone with his mom trying to figure out the name for his debut record. She asked him to describe how the project had been made.
"We made this by hand from scratch, from the ground up in a real studio with real mixing and real mastering and real gear," Erlick recalled telling her, contrasting the process with the heavy reliance on software and AI tools so common in the music industry these days.
She said to call it, "Handcrafted."
"I was like, 100%," he said.
The album follows the blue-eyed singer through love, ambition and a new chapter in Nashville. He co-wrote "Little Bit More" with his songwriter girlfriend, Heather Carpenter, finishing the song in about 15 minutes.
Then Erlick recorded himself singing another song, "Dyin' in This Living Room," from his couch. Carpenter, in the background, joins in. They posted the video on TikTok, which took off with more than 875,000 views.
"We have these big music videos and everything that I put a lot of time into," Erlick said. "But what's funny is sometimes the most easy, basic things in your living room are the things that just really blow up."
For listeners meeting him for the first time, the rising country star recommended starting with "Gimme Love."
Get Myles Erlick tickets
From Broadway to backflips
The Canadian-born actor, singer and dancer grew up in Burlington, Ontario, where his performance training started early. He studied at Stars Academy and Canada’s National Ballet School while also training in competitive gymnastics. He later graduated from Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School.
By 11, Erlick had landed the title role in "Billy Elliot the Musical," first joining the Chicago production before performing the role in Toronto and on Broadway. He later became known for playing Noah on the dance series "The Next Step." He appeared as Snowboy in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story" and most recently played Noah in the Prime Video series "Motorheads."
"Stepping on stage is something that's always been so exhilarating for me," he said. "I always am just so grateful, if I get the opportunity to step on a stage, whether it's for one person or 100,000 people."
Erlick isn't afraid to throw a backflip between songs, and he draws inspiration from performers like Elvis Presley, whose music he covers with the vocals and dance moves to match.
"I always try to go outside of the box and do something crazy," he said of performing.
His ambitions extend beyond music. Asked whether he would ever chase an EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, Erlick said, "absolutely."
He added that, if he accomplished the musically lofty goal, he would add "EGOT" to his collection of arm tattoos.
For now, his next goal is taking "Handcrafted" on the road and playing as many shows as possible.
As for the hardest part of being a performer?
"I can't do it 24/7," Erlick said. "I can't be on stage all the time. When I go home, I'm like, 'I wanna do it again. I wanna do more.'"
Bryan West is a music reporter at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: From Broadway to country music, Myles Erlick's next big act on USA TODAY Acoustic
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.
