Elliott Yamin came frighteningly close to the 8.3 magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile on early Saturday. The season 5 "American Idol" finalist had just performed at the Competencia Internacional in Viña del Mar, Chile, the largest music festival in Latin America, representing the United States with the song "Rock Around the Clock" (see video below).

Mere hours after his performance, Elliott tweeted, "Huge earthquake just now in Chile!!….I swear I thought this was the end of my life!!!!!"

Clearly rattled by the magnitude of the quake, whose epicenter was located near the town of Concepcion, 212 miles from the capital, Santiago, his next tweets described, "complete and
utter chaos on the streets" as the area completely lost power and a tsunami warning was issued. He wrote: "I am only a mile inland!" About an hour later, as dawn was approaching, Elliott and crew had gathered outside, wrapped in blankets from their hotel rooms. "We're all huddled on the street… No aftershox in a while," he tweeted, but three minutes later (around 12:30 a.m. PST), the ground was apparently shaking again.

Earthquake aside, the Competencia Internacional appearance was not all positive for Elliott. According to tweets from earlier in the night, Elliott described the concert as "an awful experience" and an "incredibly huge waste of time," while complaining of "being treated like an amateur."  

We're trying to make contact with Elliott for an update. Check out his Twitter for the latest.

– Shirley Halperin

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