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SALT LAKE CITY — Milana Nigro, 10, has had quite the year.
From being featured on the NBC hit show “Little Big Shots” and appearing in a Gwen Stefani music video, her talent is starting to spread across the country.
Milana isn’t your average Salt Lake City kid. She’s been playing the drums since she was 4 years old, according to her mother, Alicin Christensen. She also plays the ukulele, guitar and is learning how to play trombone and bass.
She also prefers to go solely by her stage name: Milana.
In April, Milana got to showcase her drumming talents on season 3 of “Little Big Shots” hosted by Steve Harvey. This might seem intimidating for most 10-year-old performers, but Milana said it was nothing but fun.
“I actually don’t have stage fright,” she said. “The older I get, the more I get a tiny bit of stage fright, but I don’t really have any.”
Harvey surprised Nigro by letting her perform with one of her favorite drummers, Sheila E. Milana had performed with her years before but said that getting to see her again was “the biggest surprise of (her) life.”
Milana’s most recent performance includes performing with Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton in the music video for their song, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”
“Her manager received a request for talented kids that could play '50s style big band music,” Christensen said. “They were looking for a drummer, a horn player, an upright bass. She happened to have a trombone, so they said to bring it. We literally found out on a Monday morning and flew out that night for the video.”
Milana said the experience was so much fun and her favorite moment was seeing Shelton do “the floss dance.”
Even with her busy performing and practicing schedule, Milana makes time to play sports like baseball and soccer. She also loves to draw comics and cartoons.
Her mother mentioned how amazing it’s been to see her achieve her goals.
“She’s been drumming for 6 1/2 years, taking lessons and being really consistent,” Christensen said. “It’s been rewarding to see her hard work pay off because she really puts in the time and challenges herself. It really warms my heart, and I love to see opportunities come her way that showcase her skills.”
You can see Milana perform next on the “Little Big Shots Holiday Special” on Dec. 12 on NBC at 9/8 CST.
