Elliott Yamin

Efraym Elliott Yamin (nicknamed 'The Machine') is an American pop singer and songwriter who is 90% deaf in his right ear. He came to fame during the fifth season of the 'American Idol' TV talent show in 2006. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia he was the lead singer in a reggae-influenced band called Razor Posse, as well as singing with a jazz/funk outfit called Big Pat & Legion. In 2004 he also collaborated with Big Planz on the album 'Sound Doctrine'. It was in the same year that Yamin turned to Terry Thompson of Soul Lovers Entertainment in order to gauge whether he should audition for 'American Idol'. Thompson was positive, and Yamin entered the fifth season of the show, and finished third. Following his 'Idol' appearances, Yamin released his self-titled first LP, which was certified Gold in 2007. He followed this with two albums in 2007 and 2008 released to coincide with the festive period. 2009 saw the release of his second album, 'Fight for Love', to mediocre reviews. He supported this by touring widely. In fact he tours regularly, including gigs with the USO/Armed Forces Entertainment Tours in Guam and Japan in 2009. Two years later his third LP, 'Let's Get to What's Real', emerged initially in Japan and then into the rest of the world in the following months. His fourth album, 'As Time Goes By', was released only in Japan in 2015. Since then, rather than concentrate on solo work, Yamin has written for other artists including Left On Laurel's first album, 'Saved By the Ground' (2019).