Elliott Yamin is the self-titled debut album by American pop singer Elliott Yamin, released on March 20, 2007 by the independent label Hickory Records and distributed through Sony BMG-owned RED Distribution. Yamin collaborated with Sony/ATV Music Publishing to write, produce, and market the record. The album includes 11 tracks, although several bonus tracks are offered at different retailers. Elliott Yamin debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three singles : "Movin' On", "Wait for You" and "One Word". It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in the United States. To promote the record, Yamin went on a world tour across North America and Southeast Asia that consisted of clubs, small theatres and radio-station holiday shows. On Billboards end of decade charts, the album placed at number 39 on the top independent albums of the decade list.
Background and development
Yamin commented on the album: Yamin described his CD as "a vocally driven mix of r & b/pop crossover material with hints of blues and a few club-bangers."
Promotion
Previews of four songs were made available on AOL Music First Listen on February 13, 2007: pre-album promo single "Movin' On", a full version of his acclaimed cover of "A Song for You", a love song titled "You are the One", and "Find a Way". The radio premiere of the first official single, "Wait for You", was on March 1, 2007, on KIIS-FM. The song was released to online music services, including iTunes, on March 13, 2007. Yamin promoted the album during 2007 with a nine-month tour of clubs, small theaters and radio-station holiday shows across the United States, plus shows in Canada, the Philippines, and Malaysia. The album was released in Japan on May 21, 2008 by Avex Trax. This version was retitled Wait for You and includes "In Love With You Forever" and "Believe" as bonus tracks. It was certified Gold there in September 2008. On October 8, 2008, a Premium Edition of the album was released in Japan, including 2 more tracks: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "I'll Make You Dance", plus Yamin's cover of "Home", originally from Japanese singer Yusaku Kiyama, who recorded a Japanese version of "Wait for You" in return.
Critical reception
Daniel Wolfe of About.com praised both the genre variety on the record's track list and Yamin's vocal talents over them, saying that, "Whether it is his transcendent vocal on the choir-backed "Free" or his show-stopping cover of Leon Russel's "A Song For You," Elliott Yamin proves on his debut album that he is one of the most talented recording artistsAmerican Idol has produced." In a dual review with Paris Bennett's Princess P, Vibe writer Sean Fennessey noted how Yamin maintains his vocal identity when performing traditional tracks and the album's more "vibrant and modern" material. Entertainment Weeklys Dave Karger described how to approach the record: "To get the most out of Elliott Yamin, the debut CD from last season's scruffily soulful third-place finisher on American Idol, treat each track like a different episode of the show. "Wait for You" is ballad week: "You did your thing, dawg," Randy might say. "Alright" is hip-hop week: "It sounded like last call at some ghastly karaoke bar" would be Simon's reply. And "A Song for You," the Leon Russell/Donny Hathaway classic Yamin performed at his first Idol audition, is standards week: Cut to Paula, in tears." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was mixed about the album, noting how the tracks can be hit or miss at times with either misplaced styles or manufactured production but gave praise to Yamin's performance for having enough personality to sell the lyrics, saying that "He still sounds effortless and charming, which is why it's a shame he doesn't have the support he would have had if had won Idol: he would have had the biggest budget and the best collaborators, something that would help him make a record as distinctive as he is." Elysa Gardner of USA Today found the album to be a typical Idol release with adequate but generic tracks that are competently performed by Yamin's technically sound delivery, saying that "To his credit, he apes Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway as adroitly as Taylor Hicks does Michael McDonald. If that passes for interpretive singing these days, we have Idol, and ourselves, to blame."
Commercial performance
The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at number three, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. It was certified Gold on October 12, 2007. As of March 2010, the album has sold 527,000 copies in the United States.
