Although he had not been musically trained, he sang in a local jazz band and in amateur performance forums emulating Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Donny Hathaway.

Yamin was eliminated from American Idol on May 17, 2006, after the tightest race; each of the three top contestants received an almost exactly equal percentage of the viewer votes necessary for advancement to the remaining two spots.

Proceeds from the tennis event, which featured James Blake, Andre Agassi, Lindsay Davenport, and Steffi Graf, benefited local programs for disadvantaged youth.

He also signed CDs at the New York Times Square Virgin Megastore across from the TRL studio and at Circuit City in his hometown, Richmond, Virginia, where the line went around the building.

[20] During April and May 2007, Yamin embarked on a radio tour which included interviews and acoustic in-studio performances, accompanied by guitarist Russel Ali.

Yamin performed in Washington, DC, at the country's biggest Independence Day celebration, "A Capitol Fourth", televised live on PBS on July 4, 2007, singing "In Love with You Forever" and "America the Beautiful".

During his press conference at the Glorietta Activity Center, Yamin expressed his excitement at being a part of the "warm and friendly...Filipino culture" and his desire to return with his full band for a concert tour.

On December 1, 2007, Yamin performed at the Live & Loud 07 Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was the opening act for one of his personal idols, Whitney Houston.

Footage of the pair distributing mosquito nets to villagers as part of the Malaria No More program was shown on the American Idol Season 7 Top 11 results show (March 19, 2008).

Retitled Wait for You, the album included bonus tracks "Believe" and "In Love With You Forever", the latter song featured in a Toyota Vitz commercial airing in Japan.

Yamin made several trips to Japan during 2008 for media interviews and appearances to promote the album and performed 10 shows at Billboard Live venues in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka in August.

[29] Yamin was named one of the Best 3 New Artists (International) by the 23rd Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards along with Leona Lewis and Flo Rida.

[33] The song, co-written and co-produced by Johntá Austin, became available at iTunes and other digital outlets on March 10, 2009;[34] and was officially released for Top 40 and Rhythm radio airplay the same day.

[33] Yamin recorded 35 songs from which to choose the final track list and worked with various producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Eman, Harvey Mason, Jr., Steve Russell and Stargate.

[39] During March through early June 2009, Yamin promoted the new album with acoustic performances on air at radio stations and at radio-sponsored concerts, as well as a few club shows with his full band.

[40] Yamin and his band began their second USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour on October 7, 2009, performing four concerts for troops and their families over 10 days in Guam and Japan.

[45] During his performance at the 1st Annual Washington Ideas Forum on October 2, 2009, Yamin had announced a $100,000 grant to the Saint Isabel Orphanage and School in Luanda, Angola, from ExxonMobil as part of their malaria prevention program.

[46] Video of Yamin and DioGuardi visiting the ongoing construction of the school dormitory, as well as distributing bed nets, was shown on the American Idol Season 9 Top 9 (second week) results show (April 14, 2010).

Later that week, Yamin performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" in honor of World Malaria Day at Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox baseball games.

From February 22 to 27, 2010, Yamin represented the U.S. in the international competition of the LI Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar (LI International Song Festival of Viña del Mar), in Chile, against interpreters from Argentina, Chile, Cuba, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Spain and UK The competition's theme was "Songs with History", and Yamin performed "Rock Around the Clock".

A May 2011 interview with American Idol blogger Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated Yamin was no longer with Hickory Records and had not signed with another US label.

[50] In January 2012, it was announced that his third studio album, Gather 'Round, would be released in the United States under the title Let's Get to What's Real on April 10, 2012, on the E1/Purpose Music Group label.

[53] The Japan Exclusive Edition of the album was released on December 10, 2008, and includes three bonus tracks: "Sharing the Night Together", an acoustic version of "Home", and "Wait for You (The Standard Club Piano Dance Remix)".

[39] On March 11, 2008, producer Randy Jackson released his first studio album, in which Yamin features in a duet with American Idol co-contestant Katharine McPhee.

[55] Yamin covered Elton John's Academy Award-winning song in 1994, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from Disney's The Lion King, for the compilation album DisneyMania 6, released on May 20, 2008.

[citation needed] Yamin collaborated with jazz musician Phil Lassiter in his second album Party Crashers, released digitally on July 6, 2018.

In October 2006, Yamin sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Dodger Stadium (LA) and cut the ribbon during the JDRF International Walk to Cure Diabetes.

[58] The Central Virginia Chapter of the JDRF honored Yamin for his commitment to diabetes awareness and research at its 8th Annual Spring Gala on March 1, 2008; more than $400,000 was raised at the event.

[62] During his fall 2007 concert tour, Yamin announced that 100% of proceeds from the sale of designated T-shirts and pins would benefit the Life for a Child Program, which provides insulin, as well as diabetes-related care and supplies, for children in developing countries.

[64] Following the World Diabetes Day ceremonies, Yamin taped a segment of the Montel Williams Show during which he shared his experiences learning to live with the disease and performed "Wait for You".