Elliott Yamin

In retrospect, it's hard not to wish that underdog Elliott Yamin won the fifth season of American Idol. Ever a likeable, humble soul, Yamin never had as clearly defined a personality as Taylor Hicks, the white-haired leader of the Soul Patrol who wound up besting Elliott. If Hicks seemed like a bit like a seasoned bar band pro, Elliott always seemed like the neighborhood boy made good, a guy with a cockeyed grin (sadly now corrected with veneers; thanks cosmetic dentistry for all your modern wonders!), a guy with a fixation on Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder who felt more comfortable slyly delivering the jazzy soul of "Moody's Mood for Love" than belting out barroom blues-rock à la Taylor. In other words, not only was he kinda shy but his gifts were subtle too — the perfect ingredients to be a beloved underground on a televised competition, but not quite enough to push him into the winner's circle. But if he had won, he would have been well suited to the adult contemporary soul that producers would have pushed on him, the kind of soul that Taylor shunned in order to deliver a record that would have been more welcome in 1986 than 2006. Yamin, however, would have been willing to work with the powers that be, as he clearly demonstrates on this eponymous debut, which positions him as product instead of a personality.