This just came into my inbox, I've signed up for Google news alerts for E. I hope it hasn't already been posted here.

American Idol Finalist Elliott Yamin to Land Endorsement Deal?
By Jim Roberts
May 30, 2006
Many fans of the Fox Reality show American Idol were absolutely convinced that finalist Elliott Yamin had the best singing voice in the competition and are predicting great things for his future as he missed the finals by less than 100,000 votes.


Pitchman for Johnson & Johnson?

That's likely accurate, he has loads of talent.

And that first great thing may be an endorsement deal - according to Mike Walker.

***

Yamin, who seemed to make a path from a raw performer with a beautiful voice to a seasoned singer in less than one Idol season, is trying to land a gig as a pitchman with a major firm, The Enquirer reports.

Walker writes in his "All the Gossip" column:

***

Sweet! Aspiring singer Elliott Yamin took the hook on American Idol — but he still looks like a winner!

Elliott, a diabetic who suffers from 90 percent hearing loss in one ear, is deep in negotiations with Johnson & Johnson, who are wooing him to be the commercial spokesman for their newly-designed insulin pump.

***

It would likely be a wise move for both parties as Yamin is now a known brand name and could lend that celebrity for the product.

--Jim Roberts

wow- this would be awesome for E!

I wonder if he can do this-- as long as he doesn't sing?

I know, I know a lot of fans have thought that E would be a perfect pitchman for a diabetes pump, so I hope that he is allowed to go ahead with it too.

Yes- he wouldn't be "taking away" from the top 2- but at the same time he can lend his name to a good cause and keep himself out there until he can go do his own thing-- I hope this works out.

Any deal is a deal at this point, it's great if it will keep him in the public eye. And it's an important product for a problem afflicting a lot of people! GO ELLIOTT!

the full article is posted above, but if you want the link- here it is:

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publi..._27266093.shtml

Wow! This is awesome. What a great match-up.

Don't know if this is true, but I thought I heard Ryan ask Katharine if it was true that she was going to be working with Kentucky Fried Chicken.... no comment on that one. May be some good money, but still....
The main thing, though, is that if Kat can land an endorsement, maybe that frees E up to do the same - and what better pitch-man could they have??????? And for something that is truly a life-saving device for millions of people. Wow!

That would be amazing! Go E!

Endorsement deals are always good. And since he probably won't sing it'd be okay, but I think it's a great idea to keep his name in the limelight so to speak.

I'd read about the possibility of this last week and I really hope it becomes a reality. Like Lene says, it will keep his name out there, but won't cheapen his image (like having to do KFC commercials).

I agree - he would make a marvelous spokesperson for this product !

He already has tons of fans but the added exposure would be great - a perfect person to endorse an insulin pump and a reputable company .

I think this endorsement deal is a good idea. As Elliott may have to wait a while before he can release his CD, this would be able to keep his name out there in the meantime. The product is also a good match for Elliott, I'm happy if he's going to endorse something like insulin pumps instead of fried chicken.

Wow, that's fantastic. I know lots of the athletes that are big money makers are doing so with endorsements. So I was thinking, it might be tough for a 3rd place AI winner to have financial backing to get a good manager or attorney (to get out of any AI contract). That would make it easier for Elliott to succeed and yes, keep him in the spotlight.

Oh boy, we are getting closer to that grammy award winning CD.

That was a great idea! I just did so myself. Thanks for the idea.

Word. I think I'm going to do so myself.

And itslate- I immediately thought of basketball athletes when I saw this. Perfect idea. And Elliott is a basketball fan so maybe he has an idea about this.

Johnson & Johnson is a New Jersey based company and one of its owners owns the Jets! I work for a medical company that deals with doctors, but I don't think J&J is one of our clients. I've only been here for a little over a week. If I find out we have affiliations to J&J I'll see what I can find out.

I really hope he gets to do something like this. If they are looking to market an insulin pump, Elliott seems like an obvious choice. He's got a great speaking voice too! And, he wouldn't be "stealing" anything from the top 2...it's not like either of them are a good candidate to market an insulin pump!

I agree. Endorsements are great and it would keep his name out there. I hope he gets a lot of deals - he certainly deserves them. I'm just waiting to hear about a RECORD deal now!

I really do hope that AI give this to Elliott. He won't be directly competing with either Taylor and Kat, and I think even AI will benefit from having one of its alumni being busy in socio-civic circles. "Not only do we churn out celebrities but we help good causes too!" It would be awful if AI do not let E do this.

And I read where Catherine Zeta Jones is making all her money by endorsing T-Mobile. I'd love E to get what he deserves.

Which brings up a question... how much money does Taylor get for being voted AI?

AMEN TO THAT. THIS WOULD BE PERFECT FOR HIM.

If it's good enough for Patty Labelle, it's good enough for E!

Cool. B)

Thank goodness Elliott doesn't have to cluck his way into fastfood territory.

:rotfl: You are McFunny!

It'd be great if this worked out for Elliott! :)

Yes, it would be diabolical if AI does not allow Elliott to do this. The very idea makes my blood boil.

This endorsement deal would reflect positively on both Elliott AND AI. I hope AI sees that.

It would be really mean-spirited of AI not to let Elliott do this.

The Idol winner supposedly gets a million-dollar contract. BUT contracts like that aren't just, "you sign here and we hand over a million bucks." There are all kinds of clauses and incentives where you get extra money if you have a top ten single or get a grammy nom or go triple platinum and all kinds of things that are never going to happen in, well, a MILLION years. So the signing amount is usually quite a lot smaller, with the million only if ALL those things come to be. Like that's the potential total if your first three albums were hugely successful in ways that no Idol has yet hit, not even Kelly. Considering what they pay for other things, I would guess Taylor probably gets more for the summer tour than the others, so maybe $300,000 for the summer where Kat gets $250,000 and E gets $150,000 and the others go down from there. And then for his album, Taylor would get another 100,000 up front and royalties or something. Not sure how that works. But I do know that a "million-dollar contract" is not at all what it seems. It's all about incentives, just like athletes who get bonuses for making the All-Star team and writers who get bonuses for making the NYT list.

The million doallr contract is an ADVANCE. The CD must make back the million and the artist must repay the studio. The artist's profit is then free and clear after that, whatever percentage they make.

Each contestant is paid $5000 per show for the tour. At 60 shows, each contestant will make $300,000. I suppose they may give Tay and Kat a bonus check or something. Many of the past Idols have said their biggest moneymaker was the tour and allowed them to live comfortably for a while.

WOW. that is freakin awesome.

I saw a site that discussed the evil contract... Poor Kelly Clarkson had to agree to take part in that horrid World Idol thing a few years back for a paltry $1400. Who knows what other lovely surprises await Taylor and Kat now? I'm just hoping that E really can be free to pursue this endorsement deal - sounds terrific for him! And that was a good point earlier in the thread that this would give him some much needed capital as he starts up!