William Wendell Gilman III, known professionally as Billy Gilman, was born on May 24, 1988, in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. He gained recognition at age seven when Angela Bacari discovered his vocal talents and became his manager. With the help of Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel, he recorded his first songs, including "Roly Poly", and signed a contract with Sony Records two months later.
His debut album One Voice was released in June 2000 and achieved significant success. He followed this with Classic Christmas later that year and participated in Michael Jackson's 30th Anniversary Celebration concerts in 2001, performing "Ben" and contributing to the charity single "What More Can I Give". His subsequent albums include Dare To Dream (2001), Music Through Heartsongs, inspired by the poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek (2003), Everything and More (2005), and Billy Gilman (2006). In November 2014, he shared that he is gay in a personal video. He is known for his philanthropic work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), where he has been a prominent ambassador since September 2003. He also collaborated on the charity single "The Choice" in April 2012 to support Soles4Souls. In November 2016, he competed on The Voice, impressing all four judges with his performance of "When We Were Young". Despite being a favourite, he finished as the runner-up in the final.
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