Billy Gilman

“When I was 8, my grandmother and mother took me to this vocal trainer, Angela Bacari. She introduced me to a guy in Rhode Island. He introduced me to a band in Texas, Asleep At The Wheel. They introduced me to my new management company and my managers introduced me to Sony Music,” Gilman told POLLSTAR. “Everything’s been a whirlwind since then.”

Indeed, the singer breezed onto the Nashville scene and last month, not only led the nominees for the Billboard Music Video Awards but also swept four categories. His debut single, “One Voice,” won best country/new artist, contemporary Christian, contemporary Christian/new artist and jazz/AC/new artist clips.

Next month, he vies for the favorite new artist/country music title at the American Music Awards.

The young force has also strong-voiced his way onto the charts with his platinum debut CD, One Voice, and October’s gold-selling follow-up, Classic Christmas. When the song “One Voice” entered Billboard’s country singles chart last May, Gilman, then 11, became the youngest person to chart a country hit, displacing Brenda Lee, the titleholder since 1957.

Besides making history, the homeschooled falsetto has performed on the George Strait Country Music Festival, and appeared with Asleep At The Wheel, John Michael Montgomery, Reba McEntire, Charlotte Church, and his hero, George Jones.

Billy the kid resides in Rhode Island where he grew up listening to Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline and Jones. He remains starstruck about meeting the Possum six months ago. “I met him at the ACM awards and he goes, ‘Boy, I want to shake your hand because someday, you’re going to become a legend,’ and my mouth dropped 15,000 feet. It was so emotional,” Gilman said.

The little boy with the big voice gets emotional about his kin, too. If he could shed one thing about the business, it would be “the family part. I miss my family,” he drawled. “There’s a lot of sacrifices you have to make and that’s one of them. … I start to get a little homesick but we keep as busy as possible, so I don’t think about it.”

He thinks about touring, though. “It’ll be really good and I’ll finally get to meet all the fans,” he gushed. It will also be a new experience for the pint-sized singer, whose managers have kept him off the road for extended periods.

“The plan is not to tour him real hard,” Gilman’s responsible agent, Rod Essig, told POLLSTAR. Next summer, the artist will be in concert with Olivia Newton-John, he said, and will tour with two other young acts, Jessica Andrews and The Clark Family Experience.

“What works best for him is to tour in the summertime and try to avoid doing dates in the normal school season,” Gilman’s manager, Scott Siman, explained to POLLSTAR. In the meantime, the artist can be seen on TNT’s “Christmas In Washington” December 17th and Disney’s “Twas The Night Before Christmas”on ABC Christmas Eve.

Siman added that he handpicked Essig for their team a year ago based on their working relationship, the agent’s experience with LeAnn Rimes, and CAA’s film and TV connections.

Gilman is “the first artist I’m aware of in the modern history of country music that has broken through media and not through radio,” Siman said. His strategy is guided by two principles. “It’s a balancing act between opportunity and being a kid,” he said. “We are paving the way for a long-term career but I’m showing him that there’s exit ramps along the way.”

More specifically, “I don’t think of Billy’s career in financial terms first, because he’s such an unusual situation. I don’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s plan Billy’s financial year,'” Siman said. “What we sit down and say is, ‘What is appropriate in terms of making music?’ and then, ‘What is appropriate in terms of supporting the music that we’re gonna release next year?'”

Touring costs are “greater than with a normal artist because of the family and tutor commitments,” Siman added. “We’re totally thinking outside of the box. You find yourself wanting to fall back into the traditional modes and if there ever was a project that screams out, ‘Don’t do that!’ this is it.”

Long-range plans are questionable, too, because the singer’s calling-card voice will change soon. “I’m a little nervous about that, that’s for sure,” Gilman said. “But I do vocal exercises, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and hopefully, that will smooth out the break.”

Siman isn’t stressed. “If he came to me tomorrow and said he doesn’t want to record, I’m at peace with that,” he said. Either way, “I actually listen to the artist. I try to take their lead on artistic vision. If you don’t understand it, you have to ask them. If you’re willing to do that, you’re going to come out a better executive with a stronger artist. … That’s one of the things that’s always been lacking in our industry real, meaningful communication with artists about their artistic vision.”

In the meantime, Gilman is heading home for the holidays, content to leave his career in the hands of his decision makers. “I feel totally safe and comfortable because I trust them,” he said.