Elliott Yamin

Elliott Yamin lives out his dream thanks to 'American Idol'

By Chris Betros

TOKYO —

Elliott Yamin remembers the first time he turned up to audition for the 5th season of popular American reality TV program “American Idol” in January 2006. “It was really crazy, wild. It was like an open cattle call,” he says, during his 2nd visit to Japan in three months. “When I went, there were 10,000 people. It was kind of shocking to see all those people there and see how they sift through them all in such a short period of time. I guess I was one of the lucky ones.”

Performing “A Song for You,” Yamin and his group progressed to the Hollywood rounds where they advanced with “It’s in Her Kiss.” By May, Yamin was one of the three finalists before being eliminated. However, that wasn’t the end of his career. He has since performed on several talk shows, gone on tours and concluded a record deal. On May 21, his debut album, “Wait for You,” was released in Japan. Yamin, 29, looks back on it all as an incredible experience. “I didn’t have any musical training when I was young. I’ve enjoyed every second of it.”

Born in Los Angeles, Yamin says he discovered his vocal talent during his teens while singing karaoke songs of Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. He suffered a setback at 13 when surgery to replace an eardrum left him with 90% hearing loss in his right ear. Then at 16, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “I wear an insulin pump all the time to help me manage diabetes, but other than that, my health is quite good. I can’t play sports as much as I used to because I travel a lot, but I can always do pushups and run.”

Yamin is happy to finally be in Japan from where he receives a lot of fan mail. American Idol has become one of the Fox network’s most popular shows in Japan, airing every Saturday and Sunday at 8pm. The grand finale of Season 7 will air on June 15.

Yamin says he still watches the show whenever he is home in LA. He enjoys watching other contestants go through what he went through with host Ryan Seacrest and judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. When he was on, Cowell disliked his group, Abdul said it was a good thing he could sing because he couldn’t dance, while Jackson liked him. “I’m lucky I didn’t get ragged on too much,” he says. “You definitely have to develop a thick skin on that show. I’ve gotten to know Randy pretty well. We’re good friends and keep in touch.”

He also credits Stevie Wonder with giving him the impetus to keep going. “While we were having a Stevie Wonder week on the show, I spent about two hours with him and he told that I should definitely pursue a music career. “I never forgot those words and here I am with my debut album.”

In between his touring and promotional appearances, Yamin does a lot of advocacy work for various causes, chiefly diabetes. So far this year, he has been to Angola to help fight malaria as part of the Idol Gives Back program, and has entertained U.S. troops in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.
“It’s very flattering going to different countries and being recognized,” he says. “Music is such a great equalizer. It can break barriers and is one of the few things that can bring people and cultures together. ‘American Idol’ is one of the very few shows on TV, at least in America, that the entire family can watch together. There is so much garbage on TV and radio these days. ‘American Idol’ is just a fun musical show that transcends all borders. And because of it, a regular guy like me gets to live out his dream.”

9 Comments

Everton2 at 08:19 AM JST - 9th June

How does Paula abdul to keep her job? Under any other circumstance a person with as many gaffs as she has amassed on this program would certainly be on their way out.
rjd_jr at 10:36 AM JST - 9th June

Ha ha, it's always nice to go to Japan to further your fan base.
taj at 11:11 AM JST - 9th June

So, when and where is he performing?

Or is it already over and done with?

Moderator: He was here to promote his debut album.
Hughgarse at 01:42 PM JST - 9th June

How does Paula abdul to keep her job? Under any other circumstance a person with as many gaffs as she has amassed on this program would certainly be on their way out.

it makes for better entertainment, so they keep her on.
PrinceskaNo1 at 10:27 PM JST - 9th June

American Idol is quite boring.
KaptainKichigai at 01:12 PM JST - 10th June

A glorified Karaoke contest. How about an American Idol where they play original songs they wrote and play a musical instument with accompanying music that they also wrote? I would watch it. Full respect to real musicians. A voice is like an --s--l-, everbodys got one.
SushiSake3 at 03:01 PM JST - 10th June

Elliott Yamin can sing waaaaaaayy better than anyone posting on JT, so it's probably best not to hassle him.

I know for a fact he can sing better than I ever can!
KaptainKichigai at 08:43 PM JST - 10th June

Sushi, try reading the posts before you comment on them. Nobody said anything about his ability or inability to sing. Your retort is irrelevant.
GW at 10:03 AM JST - 11th June

american idol??? Heard of it, never seen it, who cares, life is good without tv, the internet is good enough for wasting yr life away as I am doing right now, dont need tv to add to it