Elliott Yamin finished third on American Idol's fifth season, so it was appropriate his debut self-titled album entered Billboard's Top 40 Albums chart at No. 3, selling 90,439 copies in its first week out.
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"I'm excited to get my music out to my fans, and I'm thrilled to be back in the studio working on original music," said the 28-year-old Richmond, VA native.
Last May, Yamin was a member of Idol 5's Top 3 with eventual runner-up Katharine McPhee and winner Taylor Hicks. He was eliminated during a mid-May live results show when Idol host Ryan Seacrest revealed Yamin received 33.06 percent of the 50 million votes cast following the previous night's performances --compared to 33.26 percent cast for McPhee and 33.68 percent for Hicks -- a razor-thin margin.
However unlike Hicks, McPhee, fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry, and sixth-place finisher Kellie Pickler, Yamin did not ink a record deal with 19 Entertainment, which as part of each finalist's participation in Idol, has the 90-day exclusive right to sign any of the twelve finalists to recording contracts with Sony BMG. Instead, Yamin signed a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing's Hickory Records.
The debut album's first single, "Movin' On," was released digitally in mid-February and made its entered Billboard's Hot 100 Single Chart at No. 61. The song eventually peeked at No. 49. "Wait For You," the album's first radio single, was released in mid-March and has peeked at No. 67 on Billboard's Hot 100.
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Yamin's first-week sales places fourth among debut-album sales of Idol's fifth season finalists. Daughtry's self-titled debut album dropped in October and sold 680,000 copies in its first week; McPhee released her first album in early February and moved 116,000 copies; Hicks' self-titled debut effort was released in early December and sold 298,000 copies; while Pickler moved 79,000 copies of her debut effort "Small Town Girl" in early November.
According to Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Yamin is planning a solo tour for late spring/early summer.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio