American Idol Season Five finalist Elliott Yamin, who scored a #3 hit in 2007 with Wait For You, has released Three Words, the carrier single of his third CD, Let’s Get To What’s Real. After tasting mainstream success with Wait For You on independent label Hickory Records, Yamin is back on Koch Records – labelmates include Brian McKnight – and ready to make the kind of music he wants to make.
Let’s Get To What’s Real, according to Koch press releases, is Yamin’s most inspired and distinctive collection of music yet, thanks to its honesty and sonic intimacy. Yamin’s faithfulness to the old-school sound of artists like Donny Hathaway guarantees a sound fresh from the synthesized computer-generated music currently making the rounds at Top 40.
So where does that leave 3 Words? Yamin sounds as good as he always has; there was never any doubt the brother can sing. I also like the quality of the production, and the song is easily singable, although it isn’t as instantly catchy as Yamin’s first carrier single, or many of the other tracks on his debut release. Still, it’s very radio-friendly, and in another place and another time, when radio programmers were more open to playing artists attempting to get back into their good graces, 3 Words would have easily made Top 40. Whether it will hit now, however, depends on how much Koch can generate buzz for Yamin, who has remained relatively quiet since Fight For Love, his sophomore release, failed to catch fire at Top 40. Clearly, Three Words is Yamin’s best bet for relevance after tripping over the sophomore jinx, and it’s a strong and solid attempt.
The 3 Words video, by the way, is certainly, um, different. Your thoughts on it?
THREE WORDS Lyrics
Elliott Yamin
Every story has an ending
Ours is just the same
We can’t run away
Where’s the glory in holding onto something
We can’t change
Ooh
There’s a distance between the things you say
And what you do
Let’s just tell the truth
And the resistance
Pretending that our love is bulletproof
When it’s all over
Say it’s all over
You pulled me in and shut me out
But that’s no way to say you need me
You lift me up and let me down
Apologise and say you love me
We need more than 3 words to take us backwards
It’s almost like we’re tryna find another way to say it’s over
To say it’s over
Do you remember the mystery in how it used to be
Or is that just me
Ohh
The feeling lingers
But never long enough to make me believe
That it’s not over
It’s really over
You pulled me in and shut me out
But that’s no way to say you need me
You lift me up and let me down
Apologise and say you love me
We need more than 3 words to take us backwards
It’s almost like we’re tryna find another way to say it’s over
To say it’s over
Tonight we’ll see the last of us
The final scene
Tonight
Tonight
You pulled me in and shut me out
But that’s no way to say you need me
You lift me up and let me down
Apologise and say you love me
We need more than 3 words to take us backwards
It’s almost like we’re tryna find another way to say it’s over
To say it’s over
To say it’s over
To say it’s over
Every story has an ending
Ours is just the same
