Billy Gilman

William "Billy" Wendell Gilman III (born May 24, 1988) is an American country music artist. In 2000, at the age of 12, he debuted with the single "One Voice," a Top 20 hit on the Billboard country music charts and became the youngest singer to chart a Top 40 hit on the country music charts. An album of the same name was released later that year on Epic Records, and was certified 2? Single-platinum in the United States. Following it was a Christmas album "Classic Christmas" and Dare to Dream, both of which were certified gold. He exited Epic's roster signed to Image Entertainment in 2005 releasing Everything and More. In 2006, he released the self-titled Billy Gilman.

Biography

Born William "Billy" Wendell Gilman III on May 24, 1988, in Westerly, Rhode Island, he was raised in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. Gilman began singing before he was in school, and gave his first public performance at age 7. At the age of 9, Gilman was discovered by Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, who helped him record demos. Gilman was then signed to Epic Records Nashville in 2000.

Gilman released his debut single, "One Voice", in 2000. Twelve years old at the time of its release, he became the youngest artist to chart a single on the Billboard country charts. "One Voice" peaked at #1 late in the year, and was the first single from his debut album, also titled One Voice. This album, certified 2? Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for selling two million copies, also produced the #33 single "Oklahoma".

In January 2002, he was voted the American Music Awards' favorite new country artist, becoming the youngest contender to ever win that prize. He was also given entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest singer to reach #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Gilman was featured on British soprano Charlotte Church's album Dream A Dream and released a Christmas album in 2000 titled Classic Christmas, which was certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2003, Billy released his fourth album, Dare to Dream, which was also certified gold. Although its singles "Elisabeth" and "She's My Girl" both fell short of Top 40 on the Billboard country singles charts.

His final album for Epic was entitled Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek. These songs were based on poems written by Mattie Stepanek, a poet with muscular dystrophy who passed away in 2004.

Gilman signed to Image Entertainment in 2005 for the release of his fifth album, Everything and More. A self-titled album followed in 2006.

Personal life

Gilman lives in Hope Valley with his parents Bill and Fran Gilman and his younger brother Colin, frequently flying back to Nashville to write and record.. He is also Celebrity Ambassador for the MDA Muscular Dystrophy Association

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy Gilman