Elliott Yamin

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Elliott Yamin
Elliott Yamin performing live at Live & Loud Kuala Lumpur 2007 in at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 1, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Efraym Elliott Yamin
Born	July 20, 1978 (1978-07-20) (age 30) Los Angeles, California, United States
Origin	Richmond, Virginia, United States
Genre(s)	Pop, contemporary R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Label(s)	Sony/ATV Music Publishing, RED Distribution, Hickory, TRP Records, Fontana Distribution

Elliott Yamin (Hebrew: אליוט ימין‎) (born Efraym Elliott Yamin^[1] 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. Retitled Wait for You, the album was released in Japan in May 2008 and certified gold in that country in September 2008.

Yamin also released two Christmas collections: Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection in October 2007 and My Kind of Holiday in October 2008.

His next album is scheduled to be released by March 20, 2009.^[2]

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Yamin was born in Los Angeles, California, to father Shaul Yamin, a Jewish Israeli of Iraqi Jewish descent, and mother Claudette Goldberg Yamin (d. March 31, 2008, age 65), a Jewish American of Ashkenazi (German Jewish) descent^[3] and former professional singer known for her "fiery spirit" ^[4] and for receiving the "Golden Idol for Proudest Family Moment Award" from Ryan Seacrest^[5] during her son's American Idol competition. His family relocated to Richmond, Virginia when Yamin was 11, and his parents divorced when he was 14, his father returning to Los Angeles. Yamin has lived in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, model Jaime Paetz, for over two years, since competing in the fifth season of American Idol.

Yamin has an older half-sister on his mother's side, Jodi Queen, a married mother of two children (Yamin's niece Sophia and nephew Jed) who lives in Encinitas (San Diego), California; and a younger brother, Scott Yamin, in pharmacy school at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.^[6]

A history of ear infections as a child and eardrum replacement surgery at 13 left Yamin with 90% hearing loss in his right ear.^[7] He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 16 and wears an insulin pump to help him manage his diabetes.^[8] Yamin is 5'6 tall.

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^[9] — before auditioning for American Idol.

Yamin's day to day manager and spokesperson is Monet Corso,^[10] who also receives A&R credit on his first album.

[edit] American Idol

Elliott Yamin, 24 May 2006, back stage at American Idol

Yamin auditioned in Boston, Massachusetts, singing Leon Russell's "A Song for You",^[11] 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.^[12]

President George W. Bush welcomes Elliott Yamin in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday, July 28, 2006, along with Yamin’s fellow performers, from left to right, Ace Young, Kelli Pickler, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee.

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".^[13] 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.^[14]

[edit] Performances and results

[edit] After Idol

Yamin appeared on several talk shows, including the Tonight Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and the Fox News Channel program, Dayside. On June 11, 2006, he performed the national anthem acappella at Game 2 of the NBA finals.

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

In December 2006, he announced a music publishing contract with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.^[17] On January 25, 2007, Yamin signed a record deal with Hickory Records, a Sony/ATV-owned imprint set up as a "virtual label,"^[18] and RED Distribution, a leading distributor for independent record labels in the United States.^[19] 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."^[18]

[edit] 2007: Elliott Yamin

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.^[20] The album was certified gold status by the RIAA on October 12, 2007.^[21]

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.^[22]

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."^[23]

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. Yamin's tour ended June 21, 2007, in Anaheim, California.

On May 30, 2007, Yamin achieved a chart trifecta on UU-BRU Internet Radio with "Wait For You" (#1 for two weeks in a row), "A Song For You" (which climbed from #7 to #2) and "Movin' On" (down one spot, from #2 to #3). The only other act to do the same is Whitney Houston, who held the top three spots on UU-BRU Internet Radio for two weeks in March 1993 ("I Will Always Love You", "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing").

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.^[24] 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.

By the end of 2007, Yamin's single "One Word" jumped from #7 on UU-BRU Internet Radio, where it held for four consecutive weeks, to the top of the chart, becoming Yamin's sixth number one hit on UU-BRU Internet Radio in less than two years. His streak began with a nine week run at number one with "Moody's Mood For Love" during the summer of 2006. Next came a three week run at the top in December 2006 with his cover of Donny Hathaway's holiday classic "This Christmas". In addition to "One Word", his self titled debut album yielded three more number one hits in 2007 including "Movin' On'", "Wait For You" and "A Song For You". Until the last week of 2007, Elliott Yamin was tied with Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey and C+C Music Factory, all of whom had three chart toppers on their debut albums; with four chart toppers from his first CD, Yamin has produced more number one hits from a debut album than any other act in the 30 year history of UU-BRU Internet Radio.

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.^[25] "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.^[26] The song was certified Platinum in digital sales on October 16, 2008.^[27]

[edit] 2008: Appearances and Performances

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.^[28]

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.^[29] The song was honored as one of the most performed songs in the ASCAP repertory during 2007.^[30]

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 made several trips to Japan during 2008 for media interviews and appearances to promote the Japan version of his debut album, which was retitled Wait for You. He performed 10 shows at Billboard Live venues in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka in August. During his October visit to promote the release of the Premium edition of the album, Yamin performed with Japanese singer Yusaku Kiyama, who recorded a Japanese version of "Wait for You". Yamin recorded an English version of Kiyama's hit song "Home" in return.^[31]

On October 27, 2008, Yamin performed in a concert as part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Peres Center for Peace in Israel. The concert was entitled "Believe: Celebrating a Decade of Peacebuilding Activities" and took place at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. Yamin performed "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", and then closed the concert in a duet with singer Liel Kolet, performing "I Wish That...", a song written by Diane Warren. Other artists that were scheduled to perform include Andrea Bocelli, Slash and Dave Koz.^[32]

[edit] Advocacy

As a diabetic, Yamin supports and works as a spokesman for different organizations, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). In October 2006, Yamin sang the national anthem at the Dodger Stadium (LA) and cut the ribbon during the JDRF International Walk to Cure Diabetes. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from his Virginia State Fair concert benefitted the JDRF.^[33] The Central Virginia Chapter of the JDRF honored Yamin for his commitment to diabetes awareness and research at its 8th Annual Spring Gala on March 1, 2008; more than $400,000 was raised at the event.^[34]

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.^[35]

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.^[36]

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.^[37]

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.^[38] 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.^[39]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Pre-Idol Recordings

In 2005, Yamin was featured on three tracks ("Sound Doctrine", "Song of Hope", and "Whatchacomeherefoe?") of Richmond, Virginia gospel musical artist Big Planz's album Sound Doctrine.^[40] Four renditions of another song he recorded with Big Planz, "The Storm", were released on iTunes.

[edit] Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection

On October 14, 2007, Yamin released Sounds Of The Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection, a Christmas album with 8 tracks, including two originals recorded specifically for the album. Distributed exclusively through Target stores during the 2007 holiday season, it sold 81,000 copies.

[edit] Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1

On March 11, 2008, producer Randy Jackson released his first studio album, in which Yamin features in a duet with American Idol co-contestant Katharine McPhee.^[41] The song, "Real Love", is a cover of a Lee Ryan song, using the male/female structure of the Trinity Stone featuring Ne-Yo cover. The song was released as a single for radio airplay on April 22, 2008.^[42]

[edit] DisneyMania 6

Yamin covered Elton John's Academy Award-winning song in 1994, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from Disney's The Lion King, for the compilation album DisneyMania 6, released on May 20, 2008.

[edit] Wait for You (Japan album)

A Japan edition of Yamin's debut album was released on May 21, 2008, by Avex Trax. Retitled Wait for You, the album includes bonus tracks "Believe" and "In Love With You Forever"; the latter song is featured in a Toyota Vitz commercial airing in Japan.^[31] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in September 2008.^[43] A Premium Edition was released on October 8, 2008, which contains additional bonus tracks: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "I'll Make You Dance", plus Yamin's cover version of "Home", originally from Japanese singer Yusaku Kiyama, who recorded a Japanese version of "Wait for You" in return.^[31] A standard edition and a special edition with different bonus tracks were released in Taiwan in July and September 2008, respectively.^[44]

[edit] My Kind of Holiday

On October 7, 2008, Yamin released another holiday album titled My Kind of Holiday.^[45] It includes the 8 tracks from Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection, plus 2 new tracks: "Back Door Santa" and "Christmas Without Carol", which he co-wrote.^[46]

[edit] Future Releases

Yamin began working on his second album in early 2008.^[47] He is again working with Norwegian producers Stargate and hopes to have more uptempo songs on the album.^[48] In addition, Jermaine Dupri has been recruited to assist with production.^[47] Collaboration with Midi Mafia has also been reported.^[49] Diane Warren has written a few songs for Yamin's consideration.^[50] The album is due to be released some time during March 2009.^[51] In November 2008, a new song titled The Bridge Is Burning leaked onto the internet. It is currently unknown if this is a future single or album track. ^[52]

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] Others

Notes

• A ^For the issue date of April 7, 2007, Billboard reports that first week sales of this album made him reach the #3 position on the Billboard 200.^[57] Billboard also announced that his album debuted at #1 over all Independent Albums.^[58] Selling close to 100,000 copies on its first week is the greatest accomplishment for an indie release thus far, making him the highest new artist debut on an independent label in SoundScan history. The album also debuted at #2 on the Urban charts and at #11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[59]
• B ^Yamin's cover of Donny Hathaway's song "This Christmas" was originally released as a single online to AOL Music and iTunes on December 6, 2006. The rendition was later included on Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection, released in October 2007.
• C ^"Wait for You" was the first official single released from his self-titled debut. It was aired on radio for the first time on March 1, 2007, and released to iTunes on March 13, 2007. The song was added to Z100 NYC's (the most listened radio station in the U.S.A.) Top 40 list in late May 2007. This made Yamin one of the few independent artists to be played on that radio station.
• D ^"Wait For You" has been included in the Now That's What I Call Music! 25 collection, the Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 10 compilation, and the Kidz Bop 13 album. The Jason Nevins GTR Mix of the song has been included on Ultra.2008, a collection of dance club remixes. An instrumental version of the song has also been included in the Strung Out Vol. 2: The String Quartet Tribute to Modern Rock Hits album.
• E ^On August 16, 2007, Yamin announced his second radio single, "One Word", on Fox 5 News in Washington, DC.^[60] It was released to radio on October 16, 2007.^[61]
• F ^"Moody's Mood for Love" was not released as a standard single in the United States; no songs from the American Idol Season 5: Encores CD were made available as singles for radio airplay. The chart position was attained strictly from sales of the individual track from various Internet music download sites. It peaked at #1 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart thus equaling a U.S. chart position of #101.
• G ^"Movin' On" wasn't released as a single, but was released as a pre-album track release to U.S. online music retailers on February 13, 2007.

[edit] Music videos

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Elliott Yamin at MySpace
• EtrainStation - Official Elliott Yamin Forum
• Elliott's Ticketing Page - Via MusicToday
• Elliott Yamin at American Idol
• Say It Like Yamin It! Interview with Tokyo Families Magazine
• The Official Elliott Yamin Street Team on I-Squad
• Only Elliott Yamin LiveJournal Community
• Elliott Yamin at the Internet Movie Database
• Mason Employee Mentors American Idol Top 24 Finalist, Broadside (George Mason University student newspaper) interview, February 20, 2006
• Elliott Yamin at the Open Directory Project
• Elliott Yamin Songs on AOL Music
• Elliott Yamin on American Idol at American Idol Watch
• Yaminions Y-Pod