As a child actor, he received repeated acclaim for his performances in films such as Lost Command and Sandakot Na Bala (both 1988) and television programs such as Lovingly Yours, Helen.

Following his eventual graduation from performing arts high school, and subsequent return to the Philippines, Billy Crawford: It's Time was staged at the Araneta Coliseum as his homecoming special.

[1] Having sold an estimated 2 million records worldwide, Crawford is among the best-selling Filipino artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

He became a series regular on an afternoon GMA Network television show called That's Entertainment under the name Billy Joe.

Afterwards, he acted in various screen works such as the films Lost Command and Sandakot Na Bala and the anthology drama series Lovingly Yours, Helen, with his performances being consistently acclaimed.

[4][5][6] For his performance in the latter's episode "My Brother, My Friend" in 1988, Meg Mendoza of the Manila Standard stated that Crawford was "the most natural child actor we've seen after Jay Ilagan", though she noted that his Tagalog can be improved upon.

[6] He attended the Imus Unida Christian School in the Philippines until his departure for the US when he was 12 and balanced both his professional acting and his studies.

His early career started in Dallas, Texas, where he lived and performed his singing and then moved to New York City.

In 1995, when he was 13, he landed his first professional gig as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson for his performance of Dangerous at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.

[8] In 2002, Crawford also appeared at a popular Filipino-American event called "Fiesta Filipina", held in San Francisco, California.

Crawford's music video for "Steamy Nights" was shot in Los Angeles, California, and was produced with the same people who worked on the Destiny's Child single "Lose My Breath".

Actress Jenna Dewan, who was one of the main characters in the popular 2006 film Step Up, was featured as Crawford's dance partner.

That same year, he was recorded a cover of Super Freak by Rick James from the French animated film Asterix and the Vikings.

The program aimed to select six backup dancers, known as The Movers, for his inaugural Philippine concert, 'Billy Crawford: It's Time,' held at the Araneta Coliseum.

The official dancers for Crawford included Darcy Godoy, JM Vergara, Aizel Moñeva, AJ Sarate, Jobel Dayrit, Daniel Agbisit, and Mich Garong.

He became a regular on the Sunday variety show ASAP and later hosted Pinoy Dream Academy Überture, a reality search that involves the skill of singing.

In 2013, he launched his initial EP, "Sky Is the Limit," under the independent label Jackpot Records, marking his return to music since 2009.

In 2017, during the promotion of a Soul Brothers concert featuring him, he performed his latest single, "Future," dedicated to his wife, Coleen García.

[11] In September 2020, Crawford transferred to TV5 Network, as he hosted the Philippine version of The Masked Singer and the noontime variety show Lunch Out Loud, which later reformatted to Tropang LOL and simulcasted to Kapamilya Channel and A2Z in 2022 until its conclusion in 2023.

[15] Crawford, who had no prior history of legal incidents, has since issued an apology to his fans and to the officers whom he crossed paths with,[16][17] though mischief and assault charges have been filed against him.

[44] Crawford's life story has also been shown on the Philippine television drama show Maalaala Mo Kaya.