The prepubescent country-singing wonder did his homework for his first Christmas CD. Covering a handful of classics from "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song" to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Jingle Bell Rock," young Mr. Gilman also sets out to make "Warm & Fuzzy" and "There's a New Kid in Town" holiday standards, too. The former is as muslin-soft and sugarcane-sweet as Christmas sentiment can get, while the latter is one of the better-written country Christmas songs of late, and Billy does them up with all the emotion and emoting he can. Producers Don Cook and Blake Chancey manage to keep the big-production sound toned down a bit in order to showcase the kid's pipes, and when he joins classical soul mate Charlotte Church for a go at "Sleigh Ride," you get to hear two prodigies whose voices are as crisp, clear, and clean as a chilly night far north of Nashville. --Martin Keller

List Song:
1. White Christmas
2. Warm and Fuzzy
3. Winter Wonderland
4. The Christmas Song
5. There's a New Kid in Town
6. Jingle Bell Rock
7. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
8. Angels We Have Heard on High
9. Silent Night
10. Away in a Manger
11. Sleigh Ride
12. O Holy Night