A dose of Yamin-spiration

Miracles happen to those who refuse to be told./They can happen when we least expect. — Free

I pretty much lost interest in watching American Idol (AI) when viewer voting knocked off my favorite Elliott Yamin from the finals two seasons ago in favor of Taylor Hicks (I like) and Katharine McPhee (I don’t). It was arguably the best season yet, and millions of us were riveted and naturally drawn to Elliott.

Yamin’s tale is as much about being blessed with peerless singing prowess as it is about bucking the odds. The diminutive singer was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 16. Today, he wears at all times a small insulin pump attached to his stomach. Elliott is also almost deaf in the left ear.

At American Idol, Elliott didn’t assume the swagger of his contemporaries. What he had was a warmth that shone through his ready smile and affable manner. And when he sang, we could conveniently forget our own worries, if but for the proverbial moment, and marvel at his voice that gave deep emotion to every piece he sang. We would stay tuned and stay up for the replays just to catch his performances on TV.

So we held Elliott up as an inspiration for a better life —  a success story that shows you can do a lot with whatever hand that has been dealt you. His shining moments at AI were the moments that made us believe there’s more in store for each one of us in his little corner of the world; in his own little cubicle in life.

During his press conference at the Glorietta Activity Center of Ayala Center Makati, Elliott was clearly aware, and grateful, for how far he had come. “I have experienced working in different places, washing dishes, selling sneakers at Foot Locker. I had a lot of menial jobs that really helped teach me responsibility and helped make me who I am today.

“I have only dreamed of visiting places like the Philippines and different parts of Asia. My favorite thing about the music business is that it has afforded me to travel all over. So that is a very special thing to me, along with being able to share my music while doing so,” he said.

With the much awaited release of his self-titled debut album, Elliott is now his own man in the record industry — truly weaned from the bosom of the American Idol juggernaut.

And now he wants to make it on his own terms in every sense of the word.

You see, while Elliott could have partnered with major record labels, he decided on a DIY approach to maintain control and artistic integrity of his first effort. “I put my record out independently. Me and my business management team, we sort of created a new business model for a new recording artist. That’s what I am really most proud of. I don’t have to rely on big labels like some of the other Idol contestants. We had an outside marketing team and we had to work with different distributors,” he explained.

That meant he had attend to a lot of things himself —  things that Elliott was only too willing to do —  such as meeting with people from retail giants Wal-Mart and Target for distribution. He reaped the benefits of being his own boss by maximizing the latitude the project afforded him. “I played for them my songs and introduced the idea of selling my CDs with exclusive bonus tracks for every store. They liked what they heard and they offered to have exclusive rights to the album and some of the bonus tracks,” Elliot said.

Of course, Yamin exercised artistic fiat on his record itself, hailing it as “one of the luxuries” of going independent.

And no, he doesn’t think that a DIY ethic limits the promotion or success of his album. “We went outside and hired companies with the same resources as anyone else does. I think that as big as AI is, there is still a gap or a void between my face, my song and my music. And I think that this one of the biggest things that we have been trying to work on as far as putting the song with face. I think we have done everything right and I am not complaining at all. We’re just going to keep on hustling. And that is one of my favorite parts about this. This is all about making that kind of connection with people and leaving an indelible imprint everywhere you go,” he shared.

Which is not to say Elliott didn’t make a connection with the Filipinos before his AI season was finally over. Yamin is flabbergasted by all the attention he has been getting — particularly from the fanatical, devoted “Yaminoys,” who even wore “I (heart) EY” and the trademark blue and green baller IDs. They certainly shrieked the loudest at the Glorietta stop of Elliott’s Ayala Malls tour. We were treated to performance-level Elliott, who easily filled the venue with his arresting, distinctive chops. Malling throngs crowded the periphery of the cordoned-off site, riveted by the impressive vocals that led the usually unimpressed AI judge Simon Cowell to declare Elliott “potentially the best male vocalist in the history of American Idol.”

Yamin’s acoustic renditions of his original hits were spot on — translating well from the soulful, R ’n B flavor pervading the CD effort. Hysterical fans went nuts over the lead single Wait for You, as well as Elliott’s signature cover of Leon Russell’s A Song for You — the track that carried him past the grueling AI auditions (“My lucky song,” he said).

The Filipino love affair with “Yamin” is certainly not unrequited.

“I have got some Filipino friends back home, people I have grown up with. I just know how warm and friendly the Filipino culture is. Everybody is so warm and so accepting. I’m just thrilled to be a part of it,” he said.

It’s refreshingly apparent that Elliott’s feet are firmly planted on the ground. One cannot overly state that success is littered with people who have been consumed by their celebrity. “It’s just made me a better person,” he admitted. And with nary an arrogant tone: “I think that it really was my calling to go through that experience and to share my voice with the world. I have been able to do a lot of great things, aside from music, since my departure from the show.”

One of these great things was to be able to help other people with diabetes, who naturally gravitate to him as shining role model. Elliott realizes this and doesn’t shirk from the responsibility. He asserted he wants to be a good person so he could be a positive influence. “I think the fact that I get to play music and travel and touch people through music is just more like a bonus,” he enthused.

Elliott looks forward to doing a “proper” concert for the Filipinos. “I would love to come back and bring my whole band with me,” he said excitedly.

We would love that too, Elliott.

(Catch the tail end of Elliott Yamin’s Ayala Malls tour tonight, Sept. 26, 6 p.m. at Ayala Center Cebu and on  Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. at Alabang Town Center.)