The Voice Australia contestant and former America’s Got Talent performer Dakota Striplin claims he might be a lost grandson of the late Elvis Presley.
Striplin, a 24-year-old singer from Queensland, told Women’s Day his grandmother worked for Presley in Hawaii, around the time his father was conceived. He also claims recent DNA testing proved his father was not directly related to his siblings.
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“Mum started looking at dates and associations and stuff,” Striplin told Women’s Day on May 20. “And she saw that it could be a possibility, because my grandma used to work for Elvis and apparently had met him and knew him. And around that time, my grandfather was away.”
His father frequently went on trips to Hawaii with only his mother. His father’s siblings did not go on these trips.
“She used to take him on trips to Hawaii by himself all the time, without the other brothers and sisters,” Striplin said. “No one really thought anything of it until later that maybe he was going to visit someone.”
Unfortunately, Striplin’s grandparents died before tests could be done to prove his father’s real parentage. But he says his mother still sends emails to the Presley estate to see if they would be interested in finding the truth.
“My mum has tried to email [Elvis’ Estate], and been like, ‘We are just trying to figure this stuff out,’” Striplin said. “Obviously we don’t want anything, and it’s not a publicity thing or whatever, but we are just trying to find out whether this is a possibility. But we get no replies.”
Striplin also claims he has the same blood type as Presley, and no other member of his family has that type.
“If you look at the DNA, my dad had the same blood that Elvis had, which no one else in his family had. And there was that connection with my grandma. It was all like, ‘Wow, it could be a possibility,’” Striplin told 9Honey Celebrity.
The singer, who said he is the only musical one in his family, is a big Presley fan, so he never had any issue with the idea he might be his idol’s grandson.
“It’s kind of a cool thought just because I’ve always loved hearing his music, and I’m sort of the only one in my family that’s gone into music,” he explained. “So much of your heritage is passed down through generations and I think [this talent] may come from my dad’s real father, whoever that person is.”
Striplin referenced the perceived similarity between himself and Presley in a May 20 Instagram post. He posted for a black and white photo with a guitar on his lap, sitting in a pose similar to the classic Presley photo of him wearing his Army shirt, holding a guitar.
Striplin also performed “Love Me Tender” during his blind audition and earned a spot on Kelly Rowland’s team.
If Striplin looks a little familiar to America’s Got Talent fans, he should. In 2017, he reached the Judge Cuts, where he performed Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.”
Photo credit: Instagram/Dakota Striplin; Getty Images
