Having a persona that is indefinable and a life story so inspiring, Elliott Yamin owns the ultimate combination that makes people grow interest in him. So alluring that he received instant rave reviews for the release of his singles 'Movin' On' and 'Wait For You'. These songs may be released weeks before his self titled album, but the two certainly helped in giving the nice foretaste that people are digging in. In the first week of its release, album 'Elliott Yamin' accumulated 96,000 copies and successively earned the #3 slot on Billboard 200. It was recorded as the highest ever debut for an independent artist in the history of Billboard magazine. That was only the US sale alone. Fame sipping in, he has been attending album signings and TV appearances to promote the album. Under such publication and high motivation, Elliott can easily butter up his way to reign music industry.

Elliott may be in the peak of his career but what he enjoys now was not even thinkable back then. Born as Efraym Elliott Yamin on July 20, 1978, his name easily indicates his family background. He is half Jew of Iraqi and half American. His mother Claudette married a painter named Shaul Yamin that eventually became the father of Elliott and his brother Scott. Having a mother who was a professional singer, Elliott quickly grew interest in the same field. He began singing at the age of 5 and exposed himself to a lot of music genres. Sadly though, in his childhood Elliott had to go through difficult times especially regarding his health. He once said that he was always the kid with allergies and a painful ear that required drops every few hours. This had lowered the self-esteem within him that eventually made him hating to be the center of attention. With that, he buried the passion of singing that required him performing in front of many people.

At 11 years old, he moved from his birth town Los Angeles to Richmond, Virginia where he received a lot Southern influence. Two years living there, the long time pain in his ear came to a terrible end when the right ear burst, causing 90 per cent deafness. Coping with this, Elliott was actually devastated of having people to repeat what they said. This was further worsened by his parents' divorce when he was 14 years old and the Type 1 diabetes diagnose when he was 16. Teenage Elliot still kept his spirit to live normally by attending High School for one year before finally quitting to work in local FootLocker. Seemingly uninterested in education he still received his GED while working in the store with the help of his employer. From then on, he kept getting himself average jobs until his hidden infatuation in music took its toll on him. He began engaging in music-related work which is DJing in a local radio station with a jazz band named Big Pat & Legion. During this time, his friends were aware of his singing talents and encouraged him to do a karaoke contest which he won. It eventually showed him how music was his actual destiny. Working at Westbury Pharmacy, he built the courage to leave the job for American Idol audition. This was when his life flipped upside down for the better.

Initially aiming for Memphis audition, he was obstructed by the Hurricane Katrina. But strong willing, he traveled more than 10 hours to Boston and was the second last contestant to be heard by the judges. Despite the fatigue of waiting more than 15 hours for his turn and forgetting the lyric, he made it through to Hollywood round. Slowly but steady he won the attention from the judges until he made it to the top 24. The judges and also American Idol viewers apparently loved and supported him all along the contest until he was in the big three. On May 17, 2006, he was voted off after 0.20 per cent difference to his competitors Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks. He left the show with a good record though. The crews, the band, his fellow contestants were fond of him and even the acid tongue judge Simon Cowell said that he was the "nicest contestant ever" on American Idol.

Not appearing in the show did not stop Elliott from being popular out there. He was immediately exposed to much publicity including talk shows in Tonight Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and the Fox News Channel program, Dayside. He was even tapped to sing a cappella of national anthem at Game 2 of NBA finals, an event which he took proudly being a basketball fan himself. He was then engaged in several tours with his fellow warriors in American Idol until he got his first solo concert on October 8, 2006 at Virginia State Fair. During these times, his diabetes also received attention from charity organizations that used him as a role model of how a diabetic can actually rise to success. He continued this role by visiting hospitals, and attending events to encourage diabetic people to rise for themselves.

Back to his music career, he released a single called 'This Christmas' in December 2006 through AOL music and his cover of James Moody's 'Moody's Mood for Love'. He announced his music-publishing contract with Sony/ATV Music in the same month and a recording deal with Hickory Records in the next month. Notable musicians such as Stargate, Josh Abraham, DJ Lethal, Michael Mangini and Derek Bramble supported the album 'Elliott Yamin'. It was out on March 13 and quickly gained him a wider reputation. From growing up as a shy boy to a successful and even inspiring person, Elliott says, "When I'm onstage, I'm home. I have a sense of belonging I've never felt before. It feels like what I was born to do. It has put my whole life into perspective. It's like I finally figured it out; I finally got it right: I'm a singer."