Elliott Yamin

"American Idol" alumnus Elliott Yamin [ tickets ] has been busy supporting his self-titled debut, which surfaced in March and snagged the No. 3 spot on The Billboard 200. The set also hit No. 1 on the magazine's Top Independent Albums chart and No. 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Yamin was the second runner up behind Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee in last year's "American Idol" competition on FOX-TV. Early in the race, the ever-prickly Simon Cowell declared Yamin "potentially the best male vocalist in the history of 'American Idol.'" That was quite a compliment for the 28 year old, who came to the show with no vocal training and no real performance experience.