Jermaine Paul
Jeremiah Jermaine Paul is an American R&B singer. He is best known for his backing vocals on Alicia Keys' singles "Diary", "Unbreakable", and her cover of Marvin Gaye's "If This World Were Mine". The former of which received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. Paul was initially a member of the short-lived R&B group 1Accord, who signed with Shaquille O'Neal's T.W.Is.M. Records in 1994.
In 2012, Paul won season 2 of American reality competition series The Voice. That same year, his cover of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Early life
Jeremiah Jermaine Paul was born on July 26, 1979, in Harriman, New York, and was raised in Spring Valley, New York, the fifth of 10 children. His father encouraged his involvement in music by "turning their living room into a musical performance area". "It was loaded with instruments—piano, drums and guitars—and some of the kids, including Jermaine, formed a group to perform gospel songs in local churches." By the time he was 12 years old, he began to acquire a reputation for singing at local churches and talent shows with his family. Jermaine joined numerous adult choirs.At the age of two, Jermaine and his brother moved to Alabama with their grandfather. There, he was introduced to the guitar. He played his step-grandmother's old Gibson guitar at the local church. With some knowledge of the guitar, and the yearning to go back to New York, he wrote his first song.
At the age of 14, he moved back to his birthplace in up-state New York to Harriman. There he attended Monroe-Woodbury High School and was introduced to rock and jazz. While taking guitar lessons he was selected to join the all-state, all-county chorus, and the classically trained high school voice ensemble.
Career
At 15, Paul joined a quartet group named 1Accord and signed to basketball star Shaquille O'Neal's label, T.W.Is.M Records. He began writing and producing songs of his own. Paul auditioned for the first season of American Idol but did not receive any callbacks from the producers. He began recording backing vocals for artists such as Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, Blackstreet and Jaguar Wright. He had a Grammy nomination at the 48th Grammy Awards in the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category by Alicia Keys featuring Jermaine Paul. The track was from the J Records album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.''The Voice'' (2012)
In 2012, he auditioned for the 2nd season of The Voice singing "Complicated" from Avril Lavigne. Two of the four coaches turned their chairs, with Paul opting to be on Team Blake. He was the eventual winner of the second season.After ''The Voice''
His winning song, a cover of "I Believe I Can Fly" made it up to #83 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up, "Soul Man", with his coach Blake Shelton did not break the Hot 100, reaching just #108.His single "I Believe in This Life" reportedly taken from his forthcoming album premiered on The Voice on November 8, 2012.
Personal life
Since 2012, Paul has been an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. As of 2025, he is the pastor at Golden Hill United Methodist Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut.Discography
Singles
- ADid not enter the Hot 100 but charted on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
Appearances
;Singles as backing vocalist| Year | Song | Album |
| 1996 | "Don't Wanna Be Alone" | You Can't Stop the Reign |
| 1997 | "Don't Stop, Don't Quit" | Booty Call Soundtrack |
| 1998 | "Rivers" | Respect |
| 2003 | "Diary" | The Diary of Alicia Keys |
| 2005 | "Unbreakable" | Unplugged |
| 2005 | "Gold Digger" | Late Registration |
| 2005 | "If This World Were Mine" | So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross |
| 2008 | "The Preamble" | The Preamble |
| 2009 | "Airplane" |