Elliott Yamin (hebrew: אליוט ימין) (born Efraym Elliott Yamin on July 20, 1978) is an American singer known for his hit single "Wait for You" and placing third on the fifth season of American Idol.
His self-titled album, released March 20, 2007, debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart and at no. 3 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified gold in the United States in October 2007. Yamin also released Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection in October 2007.
Yamin has an older half-sister on his mother's side, Jodi Queen, a married mother of two children who lives in Encinitas (San Diego), California; and a younger brother, Scott Yamin, in pharmacy school at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
A history of ear infections as a child and eardrum replacement surgery at 13 left Yamin with 90% hearing loss in his right ear. He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 16 and wears an insulin pump to help him manage his diabetes.
Yamin first discovered his vocal talent while singing karaoke in his late teens. Although he had not been musically trained, he sang in a local jazz band and in amateur performance forums emulating Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Donny Hathaway. He attended Douglas S. Freeman High School in Richmond, Virginia. Dropping out of high school in his sophomore year, he later achieved a high school GED while working at Foot Locker (in their management program), a pharmacy, and as an on-air disc jockey for local R&B radio station WCDX/Power 92 FM, using the name E-Dub — before auditioning for American Idol.
Yamin's day to day manager and spokesperson is Monet Corso, who also receives A&R credit on his first album.
Yamin auditioned in Boston, Massachusetts, singing Leon Russell's "A Song for You", but his audition was not aired. He performed the song again in front of the judges during Hollywood rounds, as well as Rascal Flatts's "Bless the Broken Road". During the group auditions, Yamin and his group performed "It's In Her Kiss" (aka "The Shoop Shoop Song") from The Hollies; Simon Cowell disliked the group performance, but Randy Jackson said Yamin was the best one in his group, and Paula Abdul said it was a good thing she could look past two left feet, in a way of saying he did not dance well but he could definitely sing. He was sent through by the judges and made it through to the finals of the competition.
During one weekly rehearsal, guest coach Stevie Wonder told Yamin that he should definitely pursue a career in music. Simon Cowell stated that he thought Yamin was "potentially the best male vocalist" in five seasons on American Idol and later, after Yamin's "A Song for You" performance, he declared that it was a "vocal masterclass." His performance of "A Song for You" ranked third on Entertainment Weekly's countdown of the 15 best American Idol performances in the series history.
On the May 10, 2006 results show Yamin, Taylor Hicks, and Katharine McPhee were announced as the top three finalists. All three returned to their respective hometowns for a day of festivities in their honor. Yamin's homecoming visit included radio and television interviews; performing "Home" for more than 4,000 fans, capped by Mayor Douglas Wilder presenting the key to the city; and meeting Governor Tim Kaine, whom Yamin greeted with a hug. Yamin threw out the first pitch before a sold-out crowd at The Diamond for a Richmond Braves game and sang a verse a cappella of "A Song for You". Video highlights were shown on the top three results show.
Yamin was eliminated from American Idol on May 17, 2006, after the tightest race; each of the three top contestants received an almost exactly equal percentage of the viewer votes necessary for advancement to the remaining two spots.
Semi-finals:
Finals:
Finale: Yamin performed a duet with Mary J. Blige and participated in the Top 12 Burt Bacharach's medley and the 'guys' medley'.
He also appeared in the annual Pop Tart-sponsored national American Idols LIVE! Tour between July and September 2006. During the tour, he got a new girlfriend, a Maxim model named Jaime Paetz. The tour included a sold-out show at the Richmond Coliseum in Yamin's hometown.
On October 8, 2006, Yamin performed at the Virginia State Fair as the closing act. He was the first contestant from Season 5 to have his own solo concert. His backup band was the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra. There was no new material featured in the concert; instead, he sang nine cover songs.
On December 8, 2006, Yamin sang the national anthem, Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" and his newly-released single, "This Christmas", as part of the 2006 Genworth Children's Advantage Classic (sponsored by the Genworth Foundation) at the Alltel Pavilion at the Virginia Commonwealth University's Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond. Proceeds from the tennis event, which featured James Blake, Andre Agassi, Lindsay Davenport, and Steffi Graf, benefited local programs for disadvantaged youth.
In December 2006, he announced a music publishing contract with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. On January 25, 2007, Yamin signed a record deal with Hickory Records, a Sony/ATV-owned imprint set up as a "virtual label," and RED Distribution, a leading distributor for independent record labels in the United States. Yamin has stated that "Sony invested in [him] as a partner" as part of a 50/50 deal, which means that "[they] both stand or fall."
As a teaser, Yamin released the song "Movin' On" from his self-titled debut album on AOL's First Listen and iTunes. His first radio single, "Wait For You", was released on March 13.
Elliott Yamin was released on March 20, 2007, debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart with sales of 90,000 copies in its first week. The album was the highest new artist debut on an independent label in SoundScan history. The album was certified gold status by the RIAA on October 12, 2007.
To promote his album, Yamin made TV appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "Rachael Ray", Jimmy Kimmel Live, and TRL, where the video for the song "Wait For You" was premiered on March 20, 2007. He also signed autographs at the New York Times Square Virgin Megastore across from the TRL studio. At the CD signing at Circuit City on March 21 in his hometown, Richmond, Virginia, people started lining up at 7:00 AM and the line went around the building.
During April and May 2007, Yamin embarked on a radio tour which included interviews and acoustic in-studio performances, accompanied by guitarist Russell Ali. Mark Gorlick (VP Artist Development & Marketing, Sony/BMG RED) emphasized the importance of this type of promotion: "We put together a five-week promo tour across the country, and just worked it...When programmers saw that the Elliott in person was consistent with the Elliott they saw on television that was huge.
On May 16, 2007, Yamin performed his hit single, "Wait for You", on the American Idol Season 6 Top 3 results show. The song jumped 60 spots on iTunes in a few hours as well as from 80 to 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also, following the performance, sales of his self-titled album increased, jumping 47 spots on the Billboard 200, from 67 to 20.
Yamin started his first solo national tour on May 17, 2007, in Alexandria, Virginia, with pop/R&B singer Josh Hoge opening for him. On June 13, 2007, he took time between California shows to team up with Oscar Mayer to launch the 2nd annual "Sing The Jingle, Be A Star" contest in Los Angeles. Yamin's tour ended June 21, 2007, in Anaheim, California.
On July 4, 2007, Yamin performed in Washington, DC, at "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS--the country's biggest 4th of July celebration--singing "In Love With You Forever" and "America the Beautiful". Others performing at the celebration were: Tony Danza, Yolanda Adams, Little Richard, Dierks Bentley, and Hayden Panettiere.
In August 2007, Yamin visited local television morning shows in South Florida, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston for interviews and performances. He also appeared as himself on the television soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (aired August 24) and the television drama Lincoln Heights (aired September 20), performing "Wait for You."
Yamin flew to the Philippines in September 2007 for a free mall concert tour of the Ayala Malls to promote his self-titled album. During his press conference at the Glorietta Activity Center, Yamin stated: “I have got some Filipino friends back home...I just know how warm and friendly the Filipino culture is...I’m just thrilled to be a part of it.” He also expressed a desire to return with his full band for a concert tour. Following his TriNoma show on September 21, members of his fan group Yaminoys presented him with a "mini-me" Elliott doll. During the last concert held at the Alabang Town Center, Yamin accidentally stepped on the cord of his microphone while performing "Wait for You", inadvertently unplugging his microphone from the cord. A video of this can be seen on YouTube
Yamin continued his North America tour in the fall, again with Josh Hoge opening and adding the rock band The Last Goodnight. Drummer Glen Sobel replaced Felix Bloxsom in Yamin's band, and fellow American Idol 5 alumnus José "Sway" Penala was added to provide backing vocals. The tour kicked off on October 5 in Chicago and ended on November 26 in Washington, DC.
On December 1, 2007, Yamin performed at the Live & Loud 07 Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was the opening act for one of his personal idols, Whitney Houston. However he did not meet Houston.
Elliott Yamin placed on four year-end Billboard charts for 2007, ranking at number 3 on the Top Independent Albums chart and at number 114 on The Billboard 200 chart. "Wait for You" placed on six year-end Billboard charts for 2007, ranking at number 11 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart and at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart.
Yamin traveled to the United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland and Germany to entertain service members as part of a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour from February 12 to February 21, 2008.
On March 2, 2008, accompanied by Fantasia Barrino and a film crew, Yamin went on a four-day trip to Angola as a guest of Idol Gives Back sponsor ExxonMobil for the "Idol Gives Back" special. Footage of the pair distributing mosquito nets to villagers as part of the Malaria No More program was shown on the American Idol Season 7 Top 11 results show (March 19, 2008). Fantasia sang "Amazing Grace" and, following the local custom of naming a newborn after a visitor, a baby boy was named "Elliott". Yamin appeared on the Idol Gives Back show on April 9, 2008, as a member of the audience.
Yamin performed "Wait for You" at the 25th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards on April 9, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The song was honored as one of the most performed songs in the ASCAP repertory during 2007.
On April 16, 2008, Yamin performed on the American Idol Season 7 Top 7 results show — dedicating the song "Free" to his late mother, Claudette Yamin (See Personal Life).
Yamin travelled to Japan in March and late May 2008 for radio interviews and appearances to promote the Japan version of his debut album, released May 21, 2008, by Avex Trax. Retitled Wait for You, the album includes bonus tracks "In Love With You Forever" and "Believe". The album debuted at no. 11 on the Japan Billboard Top Albums chart and the following week rose to no. 8. He returned on August 22, 2008, for 10 shows at Billboard Live venues in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
In August 2007, Yamin visited Capitol Hill as International Celebrity Advocate Co-chair of the Promise to Remember Me Campaign to petition Representatives for their support to extend the Special Diabetes Program, which provides federal funding for type 1 diabetes research.
In October 2007, Yamin was named Global Ambassador to promote the Inspired by Diabetes Creative Expression Competition, a global contest in which people with diabetes, as well as their friends and families, can share through art, music, or essay how the disease has impacted their lives.
During his fall 2007 concert tour, Yamin announced that 100% of proceeds from the sale of designated T-shirts and pins would benefit the Life for a Child Program, which provides insulin, as well as diabetes-related care and supplies, for children in developing countries.
On World Diabetes Day, November 14, 2007, Yamin was joined by children with diabetes for a performance of the song "Promise to Remember Me" in the United Nation's Rose Garden. Following the World Diabetes Day ceremonies, Yamin taped a segment of the Montel Williams Show during which he shared his experiences learning to live with the disease and performed "Wait for You." The 30-minute segment was aired on November 29, 2007.
| Album Information |
|---|
Elliott Yamin
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Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection (EP)
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| Year | Song | Album | U.S. | U.S. Pop | U.S. A/C | Mediabase | CAN | RIAA certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | This Christmas"[[#endnote_B>[B]]] | Non-album single | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | Wait for You"[[#endnote_C>[C]]],[[#endnote_D|[D]]],[[#endnote_H|[H]]] | Elliott Yamin | 13 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 | Gold |
| One Word"[[#endnote_E>[E]]],[[#endnote_I|[I]]] | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2008 | Real Love" (with align="center" rowspan="1">[[Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 | - | - | - | 71 | - | - | |
| Year | Song | Album | U.S. | U.S. Pop | RIAA certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Moody's Mood for Love"[[#endnote_F>[F]]] | American Idol Season 5: Encores | 101 | 73 | |
| 2007 | Movin' On"[[#endnote_G>[G]]] | Elliott Yamin | 61 | 49 | |
| 2008 | "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" | DisneyMania 6 | - | - | |
| Date | Song | Director | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Wait for You" | Nick Spanos | The video debuted on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on June 16, 2007, at number 1 and spent 17 weeks on the countdown, 8 of those in the top spot. It was number 19 in VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2007 countdown. | |
| "One Word" | Shaun Peterson | The video debuted on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on December 8, 2007, at number 20. |