Editors note: Stars and Stripes chatted with Elliott Yamin before he went onstage. Click here to read Q&A.

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Jessica Bertschy skipped watching “American Idol” on TV Wednesday to see an American Idol perform live.

The Air Force spouse has seen every season of the popular show and doesn’t plan to stop watching — even if Elliott Yamin, the third-place finisher in Season 5, was in town.

“I’m missing (“American Idol” on TV) tonight, but I’m going to watch the replay on Saturday,” said Bertschy, who was the first person in line at 5:15 p.m. for the 8 p.m. concert.

Bertschy and about 325 other fans (mostly women) were treated to the soulful sounds of Yamin. The R&B singer has transcended his “Idol” fame with the help of his 2007 single “Wait For You.”

Yamin’s hour-long performance capped a 10-day, United Service Organizations/Armed Forces Entertainment tour in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Ramstein Air Base’s enlisted club. The tour had Yamin playing at RAF Lakenheath, England; Chievres, Belgium; and Stuttgart, Germany.

Since the 2006 season of “Idol,” Yamin has stayed in the spotlight. “Wait For You” received tremendous play on the radio, and the Ramstein crowd sang along loudly when he performed the hit, holding out his microphone to the fans during the chorus. Yamin sang other tunes from his self-titled debut album, including “One Word” and “Free.”

Early in his set, Yamin sang “Find a Way” — a song he co-wrote and dedicates during live performances to the military. Lines in the song talk about the military without getting too political, Yamin said.

“It’s [the troops’] job to protect us and enable us to go about our daily lives freely,” said Yamin in a preconcert interview. “I’m always conscious of that. To be able to come, give back to them and say ‘thank you’ in person really means a lot to me.”

On stage in between songs, he said it was sad to see his USO/AFE tour coming to an end but promised that it wouldn’t be his last. He alluded that his next USO tour may take him to Iraq.

Q&A with Elliott YaminQuestion: Tell us about “Find a Way” – a song you dedicate during live performances to the military.Answer: It’s amazing because I never thought I’d be able to actually dedicate it to them in person like we have been this whole tour. It’s a very special feeling. It’s almost like it was meant to be. Of course, writing this song I had no idea I was going to get these kinds of opportunities. That’s kind of the story of my life the past couple years – all the stars have been aligned and everything I’ve been through and are going to get to go through moving forward is what’s supposed to be happening is meant to be, for me in my situation. I try not to take it for granted and enjoy every second of it. I realize how lucky I am. There’s a million other people who would kill to be in my shoes.Q: What’s Simon [Cowell, a judge on the show] really like off camera?A: He’s a good guy. He’s nice. He’s really an approachable guy. A lot of people fail to realize it’s a TV show first, a popularity contest second and a singing competition last. Of course, we as contestants know that. We’re in the bubble. People always ask that. He’s a really nice guy.Q: In the midst of all your travels have you found time to watch the current season of “Idol”?A: I’ve only seen the first episode because there was a guy who came on and auditioned with my song “Wait For You.” I wasn’t planning on watching it. I even forget that it’s on sometimes. I was in L.A. at the time, where I live now. I’m from the East Coast. I was upstairs doing something in my bedroom and I left my phone downstairs and just heard it going berserk, just chirping all over the place, going off. I come downstairs and there’s like three missed calls and 20 text messages – all kinds of voice mails from my buddies back home because it airs three hours earlier, telling me I gotta watch the show tonight. One of my best friends actually called me and played me the voice mail of the guy because he was Tivo’ing it, played me the guy actually auditioning with “Wait For You.” That’s the best form of flattery. Of course, I had to check it out myself with my own eyes.Q: How’d you think he did?A: Oh, he was pretty bad. Nevertheless, it was pretty cool to see. Last season, I know a lot of people auditioned with “A Song for You,” which was my audition song, which was pretty cool to see. This year, the fact that I have my own music now and people are using that to audition it’s just great. It’s just the best form of flattery out there.Q: Anything else you’d like to say?A: Just thank you guys for all the love and support out here on the bases. I just want to give my heart-felt, warmest, kindest thank-yous from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of my entire band and crew. We’ve been accommodated above and beyond. It’s just been great to come over here and see the love. I just want to thank all the military and all their families for the many sacrifices that they’ve made to make this world a better place – not just talking about the war and fighting but just all the humanitarian efforts that the services make all over the world. Keep up the great work. This hopefully won’t be my last USO tour. I’m looking forward to getting back and maybe visiting other bases and maybe even going to Iraq.