Billy freaking Gilman auditioned for "The Voice" on NBC for this upcoming season. My inner-self is fan-girling to the max. He was my very first concert and it was a graduation present for graduating kindergarten. Before I get ahead of myself, lets learn a little bit about everything that is William Wendell "Billy" Gilman III.
First things first, if you don't know who Billy Gilman is you must have lived under a rock in the early 2000s. He released 6 albums, one being a Christmas album. When he was just 11 years old in 2000, he had a Top 20 Billboard Country hit with the single, One Voice. The album was released with the same name and it was certified double platinum in the US. His Christmas album was released soon after that with Dare to Dream following. Both of those albums reached Gold in the US. His final album for his first record label was Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek. All of these songs were based on poems written by the poet Mattie J.T. Stepanek, whom died of Muscular Dystrophy in 2004.
In 2005, he signed with a new record label and released the album Everything and More. On a personal note, my aunt and uncle walked down the aisle to Gilman's song Everything and More. Following this album, he released a self-titled album in 2006. He took a hiatus from music until releasing his first single since 2008 in 2014 with "Say You Will."
On August 22nd, 2016 us twitter followers of Billy Gilman's got to see this image.
Now, I'm someone who usually watches "The Voice" for the auditions. The people, their voices, and their stories are amazing and I've been known to shed a few tears when hearing them. I was already pumped for this season because of the beautiful Miley Cyrus becoming a judge. Upon seeing this photo, I was so excited to see that this amazing artist took the step to do this. I have the utmost confidence that he will get past the audition and make it to the lives. His presence will ensure that I stick with the entire season. I can't wait to see where this takes him.
I've been a Billy Gilman fan since I can remember/since I could sing, it is something that will never fade. Thank you "The Voice" for allowing this to happen and thank you Billy Gilman for believing in yourself and your dreams.