Born in Rhode Island on This Day in 1988, the Youngest Charting Country Singer Ever and ‘The Voice’ Runner-Up

Released in May 2000, “One Voice” shot to number 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart. This milestone made its singer, a sweet-voiced 12-year-old from Rhode Island named Billy Gilman, the youngest artist ever to crack the chart’s top 20, breaking a 43-year-old record set by Brenda Lee.

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However, the song—about violence from the viewpoint of a child—didn’t only resonate with country audiences, peaking at number 38 on the all-genre Hot 100. And suddenly Gilman—born in Westerly, Rhode island on this day (May 24) in 1988—was a household name. But what happened to the former child star after he grew up? Today, we’re reflecting on the life and career of Billy Gilman as he celebrates his 38th birthday.

The Days of Early Stardom

First of all, don’t ask the three-time ACM Award nominee when he started singing, because he doesn’t remember.

“I literally have no memory of not singing, I started that young,” Gilman said in a 2019 interview. “18 months or something like that. I guess it chose me.”

Indeed, Billy Gilman’s AllMusic profile indicates he was singing before starting school and was seasoned enough to begin performing publicly by age 7. He landed several opening gigs at county fairs, including one with headliner Jo Dee Messina.

At age 9, Asleep at the Wheel singer Ray Benson caught one of Gilman’s performances and encouraged the boy to record a demo, which led to him signing with Epic Records.

[RELATED: ‘The Voice’ Runner-Up, Youngest Charting Country Star, Married in Intimate Rhode Island Wedding]

Success arrived swiftly thanks to “One Voice” and Gilman’s double-Platinum debut album of the same name. The smash hit also earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Where is Billy Gilman Now?

After releasing his sophomore album, Dare to Dream, in 2001, the natural human process of puberty led to changes in Billy Gilman’s voice, forcing him to temporarily step back from singing.

He would release three more albums with Epic Records, with his final, self-titled project coming in 2006.

Out of the spotlight for nearly a decade, Gilman publicly came out as gay in 2014. Two years later, he experienced a career resurgence when he auditioned for the NBC singing reality show The Voice.

Earning a four-chair turn and landing on coach Adam Levine’s team, Gilman sang his way to the season 11 finale, where he ultimately finished runner-up to winner Sundance Head.

Releasing his single “Soldier” in 2019, Billy Gilman married his partner, Anthony Carbone, on August 23, 2024, in Rhode Island. He has spoken candidly about the struggles he faced both as a child star and a gay man in country music.

“If I have children one day, I will beg them not to go into the music business, even if they can sing their face off, because I would never want them to see or face what I had to face,” he told People in 2019.

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