Elliott Yamin: Full album stream

"My friends kept saying I had nothing to lose," says singer-songwriter Elliott Yamin of his decision to audition for American Idol, "and I really didn't. I was at a point in my life where I had no direction. I was just scraping by at my job. I thought, I'm 27 years old and what do I have to show for it? I was lost. Deep down inside, I wondered if by trying out, I could somehow put myself on a path to something I'd always longed for but never admitted to anyone."

The secret was on its way out well before Yamin finished third in the fifth season of "Idol" (in a historically close race behind Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee); early in the competition, the ever-prickly Simon Cowell deemed him "potentially the best male vocalist in the history of 'American Idol.'" With the release of his debut album, Elliott Yamin (due March 20, 2007, on Sony/ATV Music Publishing's Hickory Records), few will believe this accomplished vocalist was once too embarrassed to sing out in his middle-school choir class.

"I only took that class because there were a lot of cute girls in there," he says with typical candor. "I pretty much just lip-synched my way through it."

Perhaps even more compelling than Yamin's status as an out-of-nowhere vocal powerhouse – he came to "AI" with no vocal training and no real performance experience – is his role as the underdog, who as a child had to cope with near-deafness in his right ear and at 16 was faced with Type 1 diabetes.

Asked how he's coped with sudden fame, he points out: "A lot of young people with diabetes have said I've given them hope and made them believe in the power of music. They've told me how they've struggled and gone through difficult changes in their lives, and that seeing how I was able to achieve something through 'Idol' has inspired them to go for what they want. It's amazing to me that I've played that role in someone's life."

The achievement represented by Elliott Yamin is all the more significant because the singer co-wrote the lion's share of its songs. "I'm a baby in this game, and I'm not afraid to admit it," he says. "Collaborating on the songs with these talented people who've been involved in music way longer than me and who share my passion for it has been an incredible experience. I've learned so much from them as an artist and as a person. The key to writing is to come from the heart. People relate to real feelings."

Among the writer-producers who participated in the creation of Elliott Yamin are the duo known as Stargate (Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Rihanna), Josh Abraham (Pink, Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars), DJ Lethal (Evanescence, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit), Michael Mangini (Joss Stone, Baha Men, David Byrne), and Derek Bramble (David Bowie, Vanessa Williams, Lalah Hathaway).

Yamin describes "Wait for You," the first single off the disc, as "a ballad about a man losing the woman he loves but hoping she will come back someday and vowing to wait for her until she does." The ability to convey the emotional essence of a love song is one of Yamin's key strengths, as is his versatility. "The album is very eclectic," he says, "with bluesy elements and some pop/R&B, club bangers with hip-hop beats and very heartfelt ballads."

Fans of Yamin's work on "American Idol" will be delighted to find his version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You," which Yamin's own idol, Donny Hathaway, recorded in 1971. Viewers will recall that Yamin's smoldering performance brought Paula Abdul to tears – she said he was an American idol – and moved Cowell to liken Yamin's rendition to a vocal master class, judging it "superb." Randy Jackson simply called the young man from Richmond, Va., "the bomb."

Also making an appearance on Elliott Yamin is "Movin' On," which the singer co-wrote and which is likely to remind "AI" devotees of the time Abdul called him "one funky white boy." The song was previewed on AOL's First Listen Program, which landed it on AOL Music's home page throughout Grammy weekend. Hundreds of thousands of visitors listened, many of whom posted rave reviews.

Yamin's whiskey-soaked tenor – an instrument he characterizes as "raw" and "gritty," more Wilson Pickett than Sam Cooke – unifies the disc's disparate flavors. The record is also commendable for capturing the immediacy of Yamin's live performances and his palpable joy in singing.

Listening to the album today, it's hard to believe that Yamin kept his vocal gifts under wraps for most of his life.

His mother, on the other hand, did aspire to be a professional singer, moving to Los Angeles from Virginia to further that aim. Elliott was born in L.A. and lived there until the age of 10. He says music was always a presence at home, particularly what he calls "the golden oldies." By the time he was eight years old, people began to notice his natural abilities, but, he confirms, "I was always shy about my singing."

He credits Whitney Houston as the first performer with whom he was "absolutely infatuated," declaring, "Whitney was my girl." "I'd put on her records and try to hit those notes – my voice was a lot higher then," he continues. "She has definitely been an influence." Huston is joined in that category by Stevie Wonder, about whom Yamin says, "He was the guy I tried to emulate vocally. Growing up, I was in love with Stevie Wonder, and I always will be."

Still, unlike a lot of kids whose vocal skills are detected early on, Elliott did not take voice lessons, did not appear in school talent shows, did not practice his Grammy speech and was not stage-mothered. "My mom was always supportive, but she didn't try to push me," he notes. "She knew I hated to be the center of attention and she respected that."

Shadowing the development of Elliott's clandestine talent was his struggle with what he calls "bad tubes in my ears." "That part of my childhood was very difficult," he confides. "My ears always hurt, and I was the kid who always had to put drops in his ears. I was in and out of the hospital. When I was 13, my right eardrum burst and I had to have eardrum-replacement surgery. But I still can't really hear in my right ear." Doctors estimate that he has, in fact, suffered 90 percent hearing loss in that ear. "It's always been a part of my life," Yamin says matter-of-factly, having never allowed his hearing deficit to become a hindrance. "It's just annoying to have to say 'what?' all the time."

When Elliott was 10, his family moved to Richmond, because, as he explains, "My mother wanted to be near her family." He reveals: "Moving to the South was such a culture shock for me; it felt like everything about it was different from what I was used to in L.A. It took me a while to adjust. But after that, I just loved Virginia. I'm so proud of where I come from. I miss Richmond every day [Yamin returned to L.A. after the 2006 "American Idol" tour to pursue his recording career]. I am most definitely a southern boy."