Monday, April 30, 2001
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Moderator: Sorry for the delay. Billy is having problems connecting. Please be patient. We hope he will join us in a moment.
BillyGilman: Hi, y'all! It's Billy Gilman here, and I'm going to answer some of your exciting questions! Guest232: Did you write or have any say in the songs on your upcoming CD? BillyGilman: Well...I did have a little say, so...it was really fun doing all the recording. I had some say as to whether the song was too old or too young for me. Guest232: What is your favorite song on your new CD? BillyGilman: That's a good one. That IS a good one! Probably number seven, and it's called "She's Everything You Want." It's a real hip-hop/Michael Jackson song. guest232: What is the biggest thing you wish to achieve in your singing career BillyGilman: Probably the biggest thing is to either be nominated or win a Grammy Award. That'd be the pinnacle of my career. Guest337: Are you exited about your upcoming tour? BillyGilman: I AM! It's going to be really exciting...I'm doing the tour with my buddy Jessica Andrews, and this is going to be really fun and I can't wait to go out on the road June 17. Guest335: I want to be a singer too. Can you give me any advice? BillyGilman: Well, it has to be a real passion. Otherwise, you won't like it, because there's so many sacrifices, like you can't eat a certain type of food before you go onstage, which is always a bummer. BillyGilman: And you have to do 30-minute vocal exercising before you go onstage...it has some setbacks. Guest326: How is home-schooling going? BillyGilman: It's going great! I do about three to four hours a day, every day that I'm home. BillyGilman: I'm studying math...all the regular curriculum subjects that a regular 7th grade class does. Guest303: Do you have a tutor on the road? BillyGilman: No! I don't have a tutor on the road; she's home-based. BillyGilman: I love my tutor. She's like my grandmother. She's sixty something years old...she's a hip woman, I'll tell ya that! Guest353: Will you bring along some books (besides school books) when you're on tour? And what storybooks are you reading now? BillyGilman: The story book that I'm reading is called the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. BillyGilman: The book is good...I saw the movie before I read the book, so I know what the book's about. BillyGilman: Right now I'm reading about Celine Dion and how disciplined she is with her vocal chord...it's very very interesting to read about what she does before going onstage. Guest232: Do you EVER get homesick when you're out on the road? BillyGilman: Sometimes, if we're just sitting around doing nothing, I get homesick. But I bring pictures on the road and that helps me get through it. I like to look at a picture of me, my little brother, my parents, and my dog, Wizzer. Guest307: Hey Billy! Congrats on being selected as a student advisor for Junior scholastics. What does this honor mean to you? BillyGilman: It's really cool! Me and my teacher signed up. Probably they get thousands of emails a day, so they can't read all...when I got a letter saying that I was an advisor, it was really cool.i Guest289: What is a typical day on the road like? BillyGilman: You get up at like, three o'clock in the morning! Some days, when I have to do interviews, you have to get up really early, at the crack of dawn. BillyGilman: But a regular regular day, like if you're doing a night show, is you get up at around 1030 or 11:00 in the morning, and then you just putter around and then you go to the venue. You do your soundcheck with the band, and then you go backstage and do your meet-and-greet, and then you do the show! Guest232: Do you plan on singing when you get older? Or will you leave the singing business to pursue an occupation? BillyGilman: Then you fly home and go to a hotel room. I love to take the night flight--they're so comfortable. BillyGilman: I will NEVER leave the singing career because I just love it so much...I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't sing. I want to sing for the rest of my life. Guest340: Are you happy with what you are doing? BillyGilman: I am so thrilled at such a young age to do what I want to do. Singing onstage...pleasing the crowd...meeting all the awesome stars... BillyGilman: it's really cool. Guest319: Is all this star experience maturing you in any way? BillyGilman: Well, a little. I have to admit. Because I'm always around adults. But I love that, talking about adult stuff, and I laugh. Guest302: What are you going to do when your voice changes? BillyGilman: Well, to tell you the truth--it's already started changing. It's gotten lower. BillyGilman: I can hit some of the low notes now that I couldn't. Some artists say to me that since you're so small, you're voice won't change that much. So I'll keep my fingers crossed. Guest284: Who first discovered your talent? BillyGilman: My grandmother and mother. They were the ones. BillyGilman: I'd try a different style if my voice gets really deep. BillyGilman: I just loved to sing! And I'd do parties for people who came over to my grandmother's house. When I was 8, my grandmother and mother took me to a local trainer in Westerly, Rhode Island, which is about 10 minutes from my house. After working with the trainer for a year, she introduced me to a guy in Rhode Island, he introduced me to a big band called Asleep at the Wheel, and they introduced me to my new management company... BillyGilman: and they introduced me to Sony Music...it's like a little chain, you know? It's a story. Guest339: How did your video shoot go for your new song? BillyGilman: It went AWESOME. We did it in my hometown, and we did it in a big theater. A lot of people came, it was a good turnout. Guest359: Do you listen to rap and pop? If so what artists?? BillyGilman: Well...I listen to Aaron Carter. I listen to Little Bow Wow, and all that stuff. BillyGilman: I listen to the Supremes...I like Barbara Streisand! Oh, I love Barbara Streisand. Her talent is just overwhelming. BillyGilman: I also like "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"... I can't remember who it's by. Guest237: You have a great singing style. Who are the influences on your singing style? BillyGilman: Again, I love all the powerful singers, like Frank Sinatra. Let's see...for country...I listened to a lot of Tim McGraw, since 1994 when he first came out, I listened to him. Guest268: Who is your biggest role model? BillyGilman: Faith Hill too...She's a good friend...I don't have a crush on her. I used to, before I met her, but now we're good friends. BillyGilman: My role models are...oh my word! I don't know how to answer that question! Guest353: What is the biggest thing you wish to achieve in your singing career? BillyGilman: Probably build my own recording studio. That'd be cool. I record now in a studio called Sound Shop in Nashville. It's really comfortable--it's all wood, and plush, plush chairs, it's really comfortable. Guest335: Who do you wish to do a duet with? BillyGilman: I would love to do a duet with either--but he's dead--Frank Sinatra...also Tim McGraw. BillyGilman: Probably my favorite would be Leeann Rimes, because our voices sound alike. BillyGilman: I'd like to do a nice, slow, easy, strong ballad with her. Guest367: Hard questionwhat was the single most memorable event in your life over the past year? BillyGilman: That's an easy one! Probably getting a standing ovation at the American Music Award. I'm telling you...that night there were some different kind of people there! BillyGilman: I mean, little Bow Wow, and Sisqo, and little Kim...and Kid Rock...and they were all standing for me! I literally filled up with tears. It was overwhelming. BillyGilman: FRANKIE LYMON! That's right! That's who sang "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" BillyGilman: My dream cover would be "ABC," by Michael Jackson. I'm going to ask, next album. I'll have a lot more say, because it'll be my fourth album. Guest369: Now that you're a singer and getting all the fame, is it all that you hoped for, anticipated, and expected? BillyGilman: It's all of that and more. I'm telling you that right now. It's more than I dreamed of. People are so nice...they don't go, "Oh, hi," they go, "HI! How are you!" like you've known them for years. Guest374: What is your favorite thing about going on tour? BillyGilman: My favorite thing is the tour bus! BillyGilman: I love to lay in the bunks at night while the bus is moving...it just soothes me to sleep. People think ugh! I'll get sick! But the bunks are like coffins...your body just sinks into them. They are so comfortable. With a TV and everything...they are really cool. Guest284: Is your tour bus decorated on the outside? BillyGilman: Yes it is. It has all these...it's blue, and it has all these white and black squiggles on it. It's really cool. Swirls. Guest268: Do you get recognized a lot in public? BillyGilman: Yes. I do. But it's fun. I'm a people person, I love to talk to people. I never want to be left alone, I love to talk to people. BillyGilman: People are like...oh! It's Aaron Carter! Sometimes I get called Aaron Carter...which is a compliment in and of itself. BillyGilman: He gave me my American Music Award and told me that he gets called Billy Gilman a lot, so it's vice-versa. Guest253: Is it hard to make new friends because you are famous? BillyGilman: No. Not at all. Because my friends are true friends...they can't be more nice. Probably these new people that want to be my friend think I know Britney Spears, her phone number, instant messenger...but I don't. Guest383: HELLO BILLY I AM FROM VENEZUELA, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU ARE PLANNING SOME TOUR AROUND LATIN AMERICA? BillyGilman: Oh, cool! I don't know. Honestly. But that'd be cool to go there. I've always wanted to visit...two of my best friends are going down there in a few weeks, so I'm jealous. Guest235: hey billy! happy 13th b-day ( early) what is your main b-day wish?? BillyGilman: That's a good one. Probably to get my own car...no, just kidding. I've got all I asked for. Probably just friends around me and just having fun for the day. That's what counts. Guest268: I know it's a little early to be asking, butDo you have plans for ANOTHER new album? BillyGilman: Oooh...that's very early, because my new one's just coming out! But no we don't. I have no plans yet for a new album. BillyGilman: Thank you so much, guys! You can look me up and see where I'm going at www.billygilman.com, and all your questions were great! Hopefully I'll meet you sometime in the future. Thanks! Moderator: Thank you for joining us for this live interview. Please check back in a few days for a transcript of the interview. |
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