Nashville, TN (Image Entertainment) -
Billy Gilman spent two days in Nashville last week doing the media rounds for his upcoming, self-titled CD release, set to street
September 5th. Country
Music Across America's Storme Warren covered Gilman's shoot for an upcoming Country Weekly feature and did an interview with the 18 year old artist between set ups. His show will air August 24th on GAC (check local listings for air times).
Ronna Rubin will feature the artist in her August 21st column, which is syndicated through Scripps Howard News Service in 400 plus newspapers domestically. Additionally, Gilman co-hosts GAC Nights with Suzanne Alexander (airing August 30th) and will appear on the GAC program, On the Streets, which airs September 5th.
Gilman spent a morning with CMT Insider, revisiting the Wildhorse Saloon where he did his first interview with the network some eight years ago. The crew also rode with him in his rented 2006 Shelby Mustang to one of his favorite pit stops when in Nashville, Tower Records. CMT Insider will air the interview September 2nd .
Columnist turned television reporter Brad Schmitt also followed Gilman around while he was in Nashville, interviewing the artist during a shopping stop at Flavour on Demonbreun. Airdate on WKRN/Nashville is TBD.
While in Nashville, Gilman chatted about his upcoming CD, and its first single, 'Southern Star,' with several radio services, including ABC Radio, Premier, Huntsman Entertainment, CMT Radio and XRadio.
Gilman, who is National Youth Chairman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) will spend the weekend leading into street date doing what he does best—performing. He will once again co-host segments of what has become a Labor Day Weekend tradition, the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, live from Las Vegas. The artist will perform several songs from his new release, including the single 'Southern Star.' Check local listings for airdates and times for the telethon.
When Billy Gilman made his first impact on country music, he was a mere 11 years old. Now a young man of 18, the artist is about to release a new, self-titled CD that reflects not only a more mature voice, but also an equally mature approach to song selection and delivery. Billy Gilman is, in a sense, an album that has been four years in the making.
Still in elementary school when he debuted on the country charts, the young singer struck a universal chord with the engaging song, 'One Voice,' a recording that went on to earn the vocalist sales in the millions, a shelf full of trophies and a touring schedule that would have made even the most seasoned entertainer wince. But the young artist hit the road hard, and at the age of 14, found himself on doctor's orders to stop the touring, stop the recording, stop the singing. It wasn't exhaustion that sidelined the young entertainer. It was merely Mother Nature taking over. Gilman's voice was changing, and according to doctors at renowned Vanderbilt Voice Clinic in Nashville, Gilman was in serious danger of permanently damaging his voice if he didn't take time off and let nature take its course. Reluctantly, Gilman followed doctor's orders.
Four years later, he's back with a new release that clearly illustrates he's lost nothing but time. With a voice that is stronger than ever, Gilman dives in with an album that still has all the youthful energy and drive that made him a star seven years ago, but now his sound is tempered with the maturity of a performer who almost lost his dream.
'Stepping away from performing was one of the hardest things I've ever done,' Gilman said. 'I may have been young, but I already knew that singing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life – even if it was just for a few people in a club somewhere. To be able to do that, I had to walk away when I was having the time of my life. But it was worth it, because now my voice feels better than ever, and I've learned to have patience. I know it may take time to re-establish myself, and the fact that I'm not a little kid anymore may take a while to sink in for some people. The fact is, I feel like I've already lived a lifetime.'
Billy Gilman will be released on the Image Entertainment imprint.
