Elliott Yamin: The sound, the story, the sensation

Acrooning sensation: that’s what he is. His is a voice with audible soul — lingering and captivating, every single time. Elliott Yamin sings in a way many could listen to forever. It must be that “crossover appeal” that he often talks about: his ability to incorporate different influences from different genres and make his music the sound of today.

It’s a sound fans have indeed come to love, even during Elliott’s early days on the fifth season of American Idol. That may all be in the past for him, but nobody can forget the remarkable twenty-something who finished third. That was accomplishment enough.

Another accomplishment is Elliott’s determination to follow his dream despite the odds. Little known is the fact that Elliott travels with an insulin pump to control his type 1 diabetes. He also suffers from near-deafness in his right ear. But being the kind of guy that he is, nothing will ever stop him and his music.

His musical career has also hit a high note. After signing with Hickory Records, he released a self-titled debut album and has been touring the US since. Right now, he’s on a brief tour of Asia, including the Philippines, where his Pinoy fans can’t seem to get enough of him.

Well, hear this: in cooperation with Ayala Malls, Elliott Yamin is serenading his Filipino fans from Sept. 21 to 28, touring the Ayala Malls in Makati and Cebu.

Here are some excerpts from our brief chat with Elliott Yamin:

YOUNG STAR: You came right off American Idol. Do you think there’s a particular music that fans expect from you because of AI?

EllioTT yamin: Umm... no, I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t even know what to expect to kinda come out with and what to sound like. So, no, I don’t know if there’s a certain sound they expected from me. And I think I surprised a lot of people by coming out and having songs that have some crossover, mainstream appeal, you know. Very unlike the winners of the past, including my season with Taylor (Hicks). Unfortunately, other winners haven’t really gotten a chance to shine under that kind of light. And so, I am very fortunate to have that kind of appeal and have that kind of music out there being played, and I’m surprised myself. (Laughs.)

And during AI, you actually had to mix a lot of genres, right?

Right.

Which was the hardest for you, the kind of thing that you swore to yourself you’d never sing again?

Um, there really wasn’t one, to be honest with you. I have grown up but still do listen to every genre of music and have been a fan of it all... I was thinking, what if they were to have a genre that would have been like show tunes, like some kind of Broadway songs? I probably would have had a hard time picking what song to do because I’m not that familiar with those show tune-type songs, but it would have been fun and challenging nevertheless.

How do you feel about pop music?

I like pop music. I think a lot of it can be pretty trashy, though. There’s not a lot of integrity in a lot of pop music, you know what I mean?

These days, it may be a little harder to fit into the pop genre because it’s all so contrived. It’s all so young. I don’t really know what the word is, but I think I want to be successful in pop music but without compromising the integrity of my music.

So it’s gonna be creeping into your album somehow?

Yeah, absolutely.

And your song, Wait for You, did you write that yourself?

No, that was written by a really talented writer named Taj Jackson. He’s written a lot of other big hits.

But what made you decide to make that your debut song?

I think because we knew that it had probably the most radio appeal. Probably one of the most radio-friendly songs on the record. And when we first got the song as a demo, everybody on my team kinda felt that it was going to be a hit, we felt it was really special. But it took a little more convincing on my part, for me to really think of it as a hit. I didn’t really particularly care for it as much as I do now, of course. It wasn’t until I actually went to the studio and recorded it that I knew it was going to be something pretty special.

On the album, what’s your favorite song?

Train Wreck. I’m a big fan of Train Wreck.

Kinda like that one. I listened to that on your MySpace.

Oh, you did?

I checked it out, it was good.

I wrote most of the song’s lyrics and some of the melody. And, uh, I love the concept of it and it was just a lot of fun to do it live with my band.

How do you think the world sees Elliott Yamin right now and how does that differ from how you see yourself?

Ah, I guess most people see me as, say, there’s a kid that kinda just really went for his dreams and look at him now, he’s really succeeding and doing what he set out to do. And I think a lot of people get inspired by that. That has been my main connection with people in the outside world. But people who don’t know my story, who don’t know that I come from Idol just appreciate my music, they just appreciate hearing good music on pop stations, good music they can really enjoy without having to worry “Oh, can my kids listen to this?” Or, “Does it sound like a lot of the other kind of trash that’s on the radio these days?” I think people just appreciate good music and good, real genuine appeal. 

What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you since you became famous?

Hmm ... (laughs) There’s been a lot of weird things so it’s hard to narrow down to just one. I think the craziest thing is becoming a household name.

It’s like your name’s becoming a brand.

Yeah, almost. And I think that’s kinda been the trippiest thing about the whole experience...

Which artist do you dream of writing a song for?

I’m kinda new at writing so I haven’t been writing all my life... I like to work with a lot of people like D’ Angelo, I like to work with hip-hop artists, I like to work with anybody. I’ll write a song for anybody. I’d love to (chuckles) write a song for Stevie Wonder, but I don’t know how... that would be when pigs fly by (laughs). To get hold of a song written by someone else, I don’t think he does. He doesn’t need it, but that would be amazing.

You have type 1 diabetes. What lessons/advice can you give people with the same condition?

First and foremost, test your blood sugar all the time. Make sure your blood sugar levels are okay ’cause sometimes, no one knows your own body like yourself. Sometimes, your body can be feeling one way and your blood sugar can be totally out of whack. So I would just say, stay on top of your tests. Test your blood sugar as often as possible. And just stay active, exercise a lot. The best way to keep your blood sugar intact is through exercising and keeping your diet the way it should be. And to never stop dreaming big. Diabetes should never hold you back from doing anything you want to do. I’m a prime example of that and I think people see that. The greatest joy I have is to just inspire one person with diabetes and say, “Look, I’m doing my thing. You can do yours, too.”

As you become more and more famous, what’s that one thing that will remain unchanged in your life?

Probably just the keen sense of appreciation that I have, knowing how blessed and fortunate I am to be in this position. This business is very fickle and I understand that it can be gone just like that. So I think that the one constant that will remain is you’ll always see me and say, “He’s a grounded person, he knows where he comes from, he knows where he’s going.”

And I try not to take any of this for granted. I want to enjoy every second of it and still continue to work hard — that’s how I’ll always kind of approach this whole gig, you know.

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For more on Elliott Yamin and his touring schedule, visit www.myspace.com/elliotyamin.

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E-mail the author at ravin.facts@yahoo.com.