Presenting...Elliott Yamin

http://guides.clickthecity.com/music/?p=2137
posted on Monday September 17, 2007

MCA Music, Inc., home of music superstars like the Black Eyed Peas, the Pussycat Dolls, Akon, Fall out Boy, Fergie and Gwen Stefani, releases former American Idol Finalist Elliott Yamin’s self titled debut album featuring the phenomenal hit, “Wait For You”.

Elliott’s carrier single “Wait For You” immediately captured the local audience’s fancy. Its climb to the number 1 spot on top CHR stations like Magic 89.9, RX 93.1, Wave 89.1, Hit FM 99.5 and Max 103. 5 happened rather quickly. The Pinoy pop aficionados can’t help but get hooked and be mesmerized by Elliott’s soulful voice. Know more about Elliott; take a peek at MYX’s exclusive up close encounter with Elliott Yamin this September.

Tracks like "Take My Breath Away" and "You Are the One" find him twisting a wrench around love-stained lyrics; "I'm the Man" and "Find A Way" flow with hat-in-hand grace (and, in the case of the latter, a scat worthy of a vintage jazz stage); and opener "Movin' On" immortalizes the season five judges'-table words of Paula Abdul: Ellliott Yamin is "one funky white boy." As he proves with this five-star album, he is also among the most gifted artists ever to a turn a stint on the show into a recording career.

Yamin also entered the Billboard charts at #3, making him the highest new artist debut on an independent label in soundscan history. The CD also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Independent charts and #2 on the Billboard R&B charts.

The achievement represented by Elliott Yamin is all the more significant because the singer co-wrote the lion’s share of its songs. “I’m a baby in this game, and I’m not afraid to admit it,” he says. “Collaborating on the songs with these talented people who’ve been involved in music way longer than me and who share my passion for it has been an incredible experience. I’ve learned so much from them as an artist and as a person.” Among the writer-producers who participated in the creation of Elliott Yamin are the duo known as Stargate (Beyoncé, Ne-Yo, Rihanna), Josh Abraham (Pink, Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars), DJ Lethal (Evanescence, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit), Michael Mangini (Joss Stone, Baha Men, David Byrne), and Derek Bramble (David Bowie, Vanessa Williams, Lalah Hathaway).

Fans of Yamin’s work on “American Idol” will be delighted to find his version of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” which Yamin’s own idol, Donny Hathaway, recorded in 1971. Viewers will recall that Yamin’s smoldering performance brought Paula Abdul to tears – she said he was an American idol – and moved Cowell to liken Yamin’s rendition to a vocal master class, judging it “superb.” Randy Jackson simply called the young man from Richmond, Va., “the bomb.”

Yamin’s story began when he appeared on season 5 of American Idol. The secret was on its way out well before Yamin finished third in the fifth season of “Idol” (in a historically close race behind Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee) when early in the competition, the ever-prickly Simon Cowell deemed him “potentially the best male vocalist in the history of ‘American Idol.’” And after the release of his debut album, Elliott Yamin few could believe this accomplished vocalist was once too embarrassed to sing out in his middle-school choir class.

Perhaps even more compelling than Yamin’s status as an out-of-nowhere vocal powerhouse is the fact that he came to “AI” with no vocal training and no real performance experience. It is his role as the underdog, who as a child had to cope with near-deafness in his right ear and at 16 was faced with Type 1 diabetes.

Catch Elliott Yamin Live in Concert at the Ayala Malls on these dates: TriNoma on September 21, Glorietta on September 22, Market! Market! on September 23, Ayala Center Cebu on September 26, Alabang Town Center on September 28. The event is presented by Ayala Malls and the official music channel partner MYX.

Grab a copy of Elliott Yamin’s debut album now available in all record stores nationwide distributed by MCA Music, Inc.