Elliot Yamin
Singer Elliott Yamin rose to the public's attention when he was crowned the second runner up in the popular fifth season of American Idol. Born in Los Angeles, California to Israeli and Jewish-American parents, Yamin moved to Richmond, Virginia with his family when he was 11 years old. He first learned that he had a talent for singing as a teenager, while performing karaoke. He eventually earned his GED after dropping out during his sophomore year of high school. He was diagnosed with diabetes (Type II) when he was 16 years old, and currently uses an insulin pump. He is also 90% deaf in one ear.
Yamin auditioned for American Idol in Boston. His audition wasn't actually aired on the show. During the group auditions in Hollywood, he stood out from his team members and the judges sent him on to the final rounds. He was a hit with the judges -- Simon Cowell stated that he might be the best male vocalist to ever appear in the competition and referred to one of his performances as a "vocal master class". Yamin was even a hit with guest judge Stevie Wonder, who encouraged Yamin to pursue a music career.
Yamin made it to the top three in the competition, where he was eliminated in one of the closest votes in the show's history. He went on to appear on a number of talk shows and also sang the national anthem in the second game of the NBA finals. He was the first season five contestant to have a solo concert when he performed a set of nine cover songs at the Virginia State Fair.
At the end of 2006, it was announced that had signed a music publishing contract with Sony. Under the virtual label of Hickory Records, Yamin will have a partnership deal. His self-titled debut album and the single "Wait For You" were both released in March of 2007 with strong sales, the best release for an independent artist in the history of Soundscan. Yamin has been touring to promote the album.
Yamin continued to record independently after the success of his self-titled debut album. Fight for Love was released in 2009, featuring many songs co-written by Yamin. The album failed to have the commercial impact of Elliott Yamin, reaching No. 26 in the Billboard 200 while selling one-tenth of the units of its predecessor. Yamin has also released two collections of Holiday music, Sounds of the Season and My Kind of Holiday.
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