Homegrown And Still Growing

There is a long list of child stars who have grown up to be life-long sob-stories. Either they try to make their comeback into the showbiz industry without success of any sort, or they become nutcases, blaming their pre-puberty public life for the childhood they never had. A few hours watching channel E’s True Hollywood Stories ought to be enough to give you an idea of what I’m talking about–pop kings gone mad with silicon, television sweethearts turned rehab regulars, and child wonders astonishingly finding themselves employed in greasy diners waiting on tables. It is the classic tragedy that comes with being in the limelight at a very early age. When you’re young and adorable, you are a commodity in the biz, but upon hitting adolescence, for some reason or another, you become, sad to say, a liability.

If there is an exception to this rule, it would certainly be Billy Crawford. At barely five-feet tall, with only six years of existence, he had survived an eight-year run on a local variety TV show, acted in 10 films and was acknowledged for this with an award. By 12, he and his family had moved to Texas, making everyone think–"Well, that’s it for that Billy Joe Crawford. Another kid to forget." He wasn’t. Before he even had the chance to install those shelves into his newly moved-in room, Billy was well on his way to completing his first album in the US. "I’d go into the studio at four in the afternoon. The producer makes his little beat and lets it keep going. Melodies just start coming into my head and I begin humming things, ad-libbing, then the words start coming. I finish up around seven or eight p.m., record at around 10 and whatever we need to finish, we do the next day," shares Billy. All those hours locked-up in the studio paid off–Billboard Magazine called the first two singles from his eponymous debut album "highly original" and declared that he was "overwhelmingly talented." Spin Magazine admits, "Billy Crawford rocks an album of pop grooves older than he is like each is a new power generation and we were all born yesterday.;" and CD Now raved, "The irresistibly catchy first single, ‘Urgently in Love,’ is funkier than anything in the Backstreet Boys’ dreams."

Since then, homegrown Billy Crawford had become a bigger phenomenon in both the US and Europe than he ever was in the local entertainment scene. He has achieved double platinum for his Pokemon: The First Movie theme song, performed alongside pop hotshots like Monica, 98 Degrees, and N’Sync where, by the way, he got pretty closey-close with pop diva Mandy Moore. And though their relationship had gone downhill in a matter of weeks, his career shot up. Still hung over from his dynamic debut, Billy made his second release, Ride, which went gold the day it came out. Europe had turned Billy Crawford-crazy with the single "Tracking" as every French, Spanish, German, or what-have-you speaking person went rushing to record stores to get a dose of his youthful energy.

He’s grown many inches taller, graced many teen magazines that have turned him into a sure-sell poster boy, and gone many miles further than anyone would have ever expected. Homegrown, Billy Joe Crawford is way past his adolescent years, but he has survived the much-anticipated child star curse. Cross-out the "Joe," as he is now International pop star Billy Crawford. His growing years as a teenager may be over, but his climb to success is still well on its way.