Elliott Yamin: Unexpected Idol
By Shirley Kennedy
Sep 5, 2006

Elliott Yamin surprised a few people with his appearance on American Idol. For the most part, viewers of the show never expected Elliott to go as far as he did, all the way to third place. He began the show as the shy kid with the big voice; the one who sang a Stevie Wonder song with such conviction that Randy Jackson described his performance as “brilliant” while Simon Cowell declared him “potentially the best male vocalist we have had in five years.” Each week, he was predicted to be the one voted off, and each week, he turned up like the proverbial bad penny. Elliott found his way to the bottom group of performers several times; yet, each time, he was spared. From “that guy with one of the Brittenum twins” to “when you know my name is Elliott Yamin,” the surprises continue.

Elliott has suffered from diabetes since he was 16 years old, when he was diagnosed on the 4th of July in 1994. His Type I diabetes requires insulin, and a pump delivers his medication. In addition, as a child Elliott endured many illnesses and infections, one of which left him 90% deaf in his right ear. Elliott’s mom believes this works in his favor; she shares that when they are driving together, putting her on his right side, Elliott often uses his partial deafness to pretend not to hear her, especially if she wants to give him advice. “Did you hear what I said?” Claudette Yamin asks her son. “As a matter of fact, no,” responds Elliott. “He has a great sense of humor,” reveals Elliott’s mom. In addition to the illnesses he has had to overcome, Elliott was asked to leave school in the tenth grade, when the principal of his high school determined that Elliott was “taking up valuable learning space.” Elliott went on to receive his GED and is now a very well-spoken young man who does not appear to have been permanently damaged by leaving school at such an early age. The epitome of overcoming adversity, Elliott Yamin dreamed of singing. Elliott has often described driving people crazy with his singing when he was growing up; now, he still drives people crazy with his singing, but that’s a good thing. “Growing up I always had this dream of being a singer. As I got older and a little wiser, I got caught up in the daily grind, paying rent, things like that. The further I got into the daily grind, the further I got away from my dream. It became a pipe dream.” Not anymore.

I caught up with Elliott during a break in rehearsals for the American Idols live tour, to discuss his future dreams and goals. Elliott exudes personality, even through the phone, and he is upbeat and looking forward to finishing out the tour and to his future. While he performed well in each of the many genres imposed upon him by the show, his first love is R&B/Soul. “I’m going to stick to my roots and my style, which is R&B and soul music. I’d like to, one of these days, make a record—an eclectic record—with all types of genres, but I think to start off, I need to sort of stick to one genre, so as to not confuse people.” Elliott will never confuse his fans; they picked his voice out of a little-known gospel CD, produced by an artist of whom none of them had ever heard. Today, thousands of people who would never before be caught dead listening to rap own the CD “Sound Doctrine” and love all of the musical selections on the CD, not just the three on which Elliott lends his vocals. Elliott could likely sing the phone book, and his fans would know without hesitation that the voice they hear belongs to Elliott Yamin.

While Elliott claims his roots in R&B/Soul, he becomes extremely animated when the subject of hip-hop music, one of the largest selling musical genres today, comes up. “I love hip-hop. I’d love the chance to do it. I love to hear it in the clubs, and it’s what I love to dance to.” Go on, you funky white boy. In fact, his voice is made for this genre. Hip-hop showcases both rap artist and singer alike, with the more prominent of the two depending upon to whom the record belongs. In the case of “whatchacomeherefoe,” a cut from “Sound Doctrine,” Elliott sings the hook, and it is a thing of beauty. The weaving of Elliott’s voice behind the masterful rap of artist Big Planz gives but a hint of just how well Elliott will do in this genre. For Elliott, the two are not far apart. “R&B is definitely tied to hip-hop and vice versa. They go hand in hand.” During the conversation regarding hip-hop, Elliott wants it known that he is no rapper. When I mentioned the Ford commercial that he, Katharine, and Taylor filmed during the show that portrayed them as old rappers, he laughed. Though Chris Daughtry had been eliminated by the time the commercial aired, all four contestants recorded tracks for the commercial, as the producers of the show did not yet know which contestant would be eliminated. Elliott’s take on Chris’s rap skills led to almost uncontrollable laughter. “I have a funny story about that. Chris Daughtry was the worst rapper. He was pretty uncomfortable.” When I asked him about Taylor’s rap skills, Elliott believes that Taylor “has got a lot more soul in that regard. It was easier listening to him than it was listening to Chris.” In fact, Chris’s rap skills (or lack thereof) apparently became the butt of jokes between the remaining four contestants. “He never heard the end of it. You guys never got to hear him, but we did. It was not good.” Now, who was it that said this guy has no personality? Look the word up in the dictionary; that’s Elliott’s picture next to the definition.

One of the most telling things about Elliott Yamin is his gratitude. He is grateful for his gift of singing, and he is grateful to American Idol for introducing his talents to the public. “One of the great things about the show [is that] we were able to showcase our versatility with different genres. I stayed in long enough to experience a lot of different genres.” Experience he indeed did. Whether the choice was country, rock, or soul, it didn’t matter; Elliott sounded different—and very good—in each genre. He is a vocal chameleon, with likely one of the most versatile voices I have heard in a long time. A close look into Elliott’s love for music of all kinds reveals the reason for his versatility. In addition to Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, Elliott shares that “[t]here are a lot of different artists that have influenced me. I have an eclectic ear. I love all kinds of music. I love southern rock—Steely Dan; jazz, Joe Sample. I love Sting. All [of] these artists, they’ve all paved the way for guys like us. So, you know, music imitates life. I’ve grown up with it my entire life. In every way you can be influenced. I don’t know if I can pinpoint one particular person or one particular influence. People like Elvis, people like Barry Manilow, they’ve already reached that iconic status. I’ve learned a great deal. I soak it all up. Yeah, I’m a sponge.” Elliott has learned much from his experience on American Idol; he’s even grateful for the criticisms.

“It’s an alternative perspective, and everybody’s entitled to their opinion. That’s what’s great about it. Sometimes, what you may perceive as bad can be good. You’ve got to positively spin everything.” I asked Elliott whether he would agree that criticism actually helps an artist. “Absolutely. You have to learn to accept the criticism and grow from it. Absolutely, without a doubt, I’ve changed, grown, and evolved [from the criticism]. This [experience] definitely validated my artistry. I’ve never had a career. To be actually working toward it is a great feeling. I’m living out my dream. Ninety-nine percent of us don’t get to live out and get to experience our dreams, and we’re, like, in that one percent of the world that gets to actually follow through with our dreams.” A big dream came true for Elliott when he was invited to sing the National Anthem at the Dallas/Miami game two of the NBA finals. I asked Elliott what, in retrospect, the experience did for him. “It was amazing. Very nerve wracking. This was the first taste of what it’s like to sing in front of 15,000 people. I was nervous. It was just an honor to get the reception I got and to get to sing our National Anthem. It was awesome. What a rush! It’s like a kid riding a roller coaster. You get scared, but then, you can’t wait to go and ride it again.” Yes, his gratitude shines like an ever-burning star, which is what he is going to be. In addition to his great singing voice, Elliott is also a songwriter. When asked about writing music, Elliott responds, “I do. I have written stuff before. I’m in the process of writing a few things down now. I’m going to get a lot of writing done on the road. I plan on showcasing that on my own album.” Elliott cannot get that album out fast enough; his fans can hardly wait.

Even though Elliott is grateful for the opportunity to showcase his musical talents, he is even more grateful that being thrust into the spotlight has given him the opportunity to champion some very personal causes. Elliott has been extremely instrumental in garnering donations to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), both directly and indirectly. As a gesture of their love and devotion for Elliott Yamin, fans have donated in excess of $20,000 to JDRF, as well as making a gift to the ADA. In addition, a fundraiser organized by the administrators of an Elliott Yamin fan site, yaminmachine.com, was held in Richmond prior to the American Idols tour stop to raise additional funding for this worthy cause. Yet another fan has created and sold green bracelets similar to the one Elliott wears, which symbolizes support for the JDRF and is inscribed with the phrase “Care like Yamin it.” All proceeds for the sale of this bracelet benefit JDRF. Whether directly contributing or leading others to contribute, Elliott will leave his mark not only on the musical community but on those in need.

Having overcome much adversity with his health and involuntary withdrawal from school at an early age, Elliott Yamin is now a healthy, well-spoken young man, eager to begin this next phase of his life. Given his ability to sing in any genre with total conviction, Elliott should realize success in the music industry. His performances and reception during the run of the tour have been amazing, and Elliott continues to work toward his ultimate goal of a full-time career in the music industry. In an industry that cries out for substance over style, for pure talent, for a person as big as his talent, Elliott Yamin nicely fills those voids.

Shirley has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with an emphasis on Creative Writing, from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.

ROFLMAO! SOMEONE MUST FIND THAT VIDEO! Isn't that the one where they're all old people?

Imagining Chris rapping makes me laugh every time I think of it.