A song from Elliot

By Dinna Chan Vasquez
When Elliott Yamin sang the Stevie Wonder hit “If You Really Love Me” in the fifth season of American Idol, British judge Simon Cowell said the Richmond, Virginia native was “potentially the best male vocalist” in the show’s history.

When Yamin, a Type 2 diabetic who is 90-percent deaf in one ear, did “A Song for You,” he brought judge Paula Abdul to tears. More importantly, Cowell compared the experience to a “vocal master class.”

Female fans all over the world cheered for Yamin and cried with him when he said he was “so lost” before American Idol. And it wasn’t because he was the fifth season’s heartthrob. Short and snaggle toothed, Yamin did not have the good looks of Ace Young or raw sex appeal of Chris Daughtry but the Yaminions, as his fans are called, loved him unconditionally.

Before Idol, Yamin sold shoes at Foot Locker, washed dishes and was a sales clerk at a pharmacy. He was a slacker who loved to sing at karaoke bars. Until American Idol, Yamin was just a young man with a wonderful voice.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife1_sept28_2007