Could Jermaine Paul be ‘The Voice?’

By Nancy Kriz HARRIMAN — Jermaine Paul clearly has an outstanding, soulful singing voice, but only time will tell if he becomes “The Voice.”

The Harriman resident appeared this past Monday on the NBC reality show “The Voice,” and was among the lucky few who survived the “blind audition” before superstars Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton and in front of millions of people worldwide.

His rendition of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” infused soul into the pop song, repackaging it into an entirely new sound.

“I wanted to do something popular and change it up,” said Paul, who has performed for audiences throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. “I didn’t want to be the black dude singing Motown. I wanted to do other genres of music. I wanted to show ‘the soul’ of my voice, the R&B and gospel aspects of my voice.”

His strategy worked. The song caught the attention of Green and Shelton who turned their chairs toward Paul, signaling to him they were interested in having him join their respective teams and move onto the next level of the singing competition.

‘Don’t let me down, brother’ Each “coach” had to make his pitch to persuade Paul to pick him.

“I can hear the ‘swag,’” said Green afterward. “You sung it with a coolness … you sung it with a confidence. I think you have the total package. The people seem to love you, too. I need you on my team. You’re very, very strong.”

Shelton told him he was looking for great, exceptional singers.

“I’d love to be your coach,” he said. “I think you’re awesome. You’re the first time I ever hit my button and when I turned around you looked exactly like I thought you would, because I thought ‘this guy sounds like a muscle-like, bad ass.’”

The country star’s comments were persuasive enough for Paul, who selected Blake. They sealed the deal with a handshake and hug, with Paul telling him: “Another tall brother to another, don’t let me down, brother.”

Paul has an extensive singing background, starting age 12 when he began playing the guitar. At 15, he joined a quartet group named “1Accord,” signing to basketball star Shaquille O’Neal’s label, Twism Records.

Soon, Paul began writing and producing songs of his own. He also began recording backing vocals for Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, Blackstreet and Jaguar Wright.

In 2001 Paul joined a band named Focus. One night, he was picked by Alicia Keys out of the crowd at a New York club for an impromptu performance with her. Keys eventually invited him to become one of her background singers and began touring with her.

A daughter’s encouragement Since then, they have had numerous collaborations. In 2006 Paul was nominated for two Grammy awards for his work with her, including for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” for “If This World Were Mine.”

“This blind audition was the coolest thing I’ve done in my career,” he said. “I was extremely nervous, but at the same time I had a plan. I went to pure emotion. I did what needed to be done.”

Getting to that point was no simple feat.

“My daughter Arealyah encouraged me,” Paul said, who is 1996 graduate of Monroe-Woodbury High School. “She and my wife watched the show last season. A member of my church has also tried out last year.”

Jermaine and Melissa Paul’s daughters Arealyah and Savannah attend Pine Tree Elementary and their sons Christopher and Jeremiah attend Monroe-Woodbury Middle School.

Late last summer, Paul joined thousands at the Izod Center in Newark to audition.

“I auditioned just like a million others,” added Paul. “I didn’t use any connections or anything.”

Eventually, he was in a room with seven other singer hopefuls, with each given a minute to sing in front of two of the show’s staff. He was the only one from his group to be selected.

“They had no idea who I was or what I had done previously,’ Paul said. “I didn’t want Alicia to be involved. This was a real test of my own talent. ”

Later, a second round of auditions was held in Manhattan, where Paul was told he’d be contacted if he made it to the next phase.

After learning he was selected, Paul traveled to Los Angeles in early November for the next set of auditions in front of the show’s producers, who would be narrowing the field down from 200 to 125.

When he made that cut, it was time for the actual blind audition in front of the judges/coaches. That’s what viewers saw on television this past Monday, and done only once with no retakes.

“It’s such a crazy experience, it was almost like a dream,” said Paul. “And this show is so genuine. There is no interaction between the producers and coaches. There are 100 percent not involved with anything. They are sitting there with their backs turned, listening for something they like. It’s a genius concept. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do this show.”

‘Soul in my voice’ And he’s thrilled with his alignment with Shelton.

“I loved what he said,” Paul added. “It made me feel he wouldn’t change me. I hope to learn something from Blake that I wouldn’t necessarily be open to. He’s a good coach from what my wife and daughter have told me from watching. He seems really sincere. I really hope I made the right choice going with him.”

But Paul continues in this competition knowing it represents much more.

“I have the soul in my voice,” he said. “I want to come out of this with a lot more than I came in with. This journey of mine, it’s a testament of faith. It’s validation and I was looking for validation and I’m still looking for validation.”

Paul acknowledged that he’s limited in what he can discuss about his participation on the show, but urged local residents to follow and support him in his quest to be “The Voice.”

“At the end of the day,” he added, “I want to win.”

Stay tuned.