Interview: “The Voice” winner Jermaine Paul talks his coach Blake Shelton, his album plans and coming full circle
Jermaine Paul, right, a finalist of Season 2 of "The Voice," performs the R&B classic "Soul Man" with his coach, Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton. Paul went on to win the title of "The Voice" on the hit reality TV show. Photo by Lewis Jacobs/NBC
From Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Jermaine Paul makes a connection on “The Voice”
The Season 2 winner of the reality TV show credits his coach, Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton, with pushing him to be his best.
He found himself looking into the earnest eyes of Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton and the dark sunglasses of colorful soulman Cee Lo Green.
And that made all the difference for the future winner of the hit reality TV show.
“I’m a huge fan of Cee Lo’s music and Cee Lo. And I was going to pick him. But, you know, I was really looking for a connection and it’s something as simple as the shades that Cee Lo was wearing; he had a pair of dark shades on and I just really wanted to feel a genuine connection. And I just couldn’t really grab a hold of that with his shades on,” Paul told The Oklahoman during a teleconference last week.
“Then I looked at Blake and Blake was just there; he was just like simple but there. … It was just what you see is what you get, you know. And that’s the kind of guy that I want to be. That’s the kind of person that I am. And it just made sense.”
Although Paul, whose musical influences including Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, and Shelton, the down-home country hit-maker who lives in Tishomingo, seemed an odd couple, the reality show’s Season 2 winner said his coach helped him grow as an artist and emerged victorious.
“Blake really challenged me. He really made me feel like he was going to be the type of coach that would definitely push me to be my best.”
As the Season 2 winner of “The Voice,” Paul, 33, from Orange County, N.Y., earned a recording contract as well as a sense of coming full circle.
“I’ve been working 17-plus years on just trying to seal a record deal and possibly get a chance to put an album out and just (achieve) the whole dream of just being an artist. That’s been really my focus since I was about 16 years old, when I signed my first deal,” he said.
“Unfortunately, life takes you through turns and mountains and valleys … but, you know, it just felt like everything just came full circle. For me it was definitely an emotional time and emotional moment. It definitely means the world to me. It just means that everything that I’ve done up to this point it wasn’t in vain; it’s only helped me and prepared me.”
Paul, who is married and has four children, grew up in a musical family of nine brothers and sisters. He previously worked as a background vocalist for Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige, and one of his goals on “The Voice” was to break out as a solo artist.
“Coming out of the back, it’s definitely a change; it’s definitely a big difference.“I think honestly being in the background has helped me. It helped me harness my energy and really hold on to my own truth as far as an artist – my own originality and my own feelings and my own vulnerability,” he said.
“Blake Shelton really helped me kind of find out exactly what I want to say. And this show is so great for a guy like me because I have to deal with so many different opinions and thoughts on what I should do and how I should sound and what I should dress and what I should wear. … And with this show it definitely gave me the platform to do exactly what I want and say exactly what I want to say to the world and to my kids and my wife.”
During the competition, Paul and his coach discussed the importance of choosing songs that he could connect with emotionally. His emotions were often apparent when he belted his soulful versions of anthems like Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly.”
“There was seriously times during the soundcheck that I couldn’t even get through the songs because they just definitely evoked so much emotion and so much real true, honest feeling,” he said. “You know, I’m not one to get crazy emotional. Actually, I don’t like getting emotional at all … but for me all the time the best way for me to sing a song is to be able to relate to it and feel it.”
Now, the singer/multi-instrumentalist turns his focus to recording his debut album as “The Voice.” He hopes to reunite with Keys, has put in a request to work with Tulsa-born Grammy winner Ryan Tedder and wants to do a duet with his coach. While he and Shelton teamed on the show for a rollicking rendition of the R&B classic “Soul Man,” Paul has something else in mind for their next duet.
“We had fun with ‘Soul Man’ but there’s a ballad that I would like to (do); actually, two songs that I think would be cool. And I would definitely let him pick which one he thinks would be more fitting,” Paul said.
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Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts,Thompson Square nominated for Teen Choice Awards
Blake Shelton
The Teen Choice Awards will once again celebrate the hottest teen icons in television, music, film, sports, fashion, comedy and the web in a star-studded two-hour event airing live Sunday, July 22 on Fox.
The supernatural TV show “The Vampire Diaries” leads the Teen Choice 2012 nominees with six nominations, while “American Idol” and Justin Bieber each garnered five nominations. Teen-focuses blockbusters “The Hunger Games” and “The Twilight Saga” also earned multiple nominations.
Not surprisingly, several nominees in the music categories have Oklahoma ties: Oklahoma country music superstar Blake Shelton is nominated for Choice Male Artist as well as Choice Male Country Artist. Plus, his smash single “God Gave Me You” is nominated for Choice Country Song, while the hit NBC singing show “The Voice,” on which Shelton is a celebrity coach, is nominated for Choice Reality Competition Show.
Shelton’s wife, Miranda Lambert, is nominated for Choice Female Country Artist along with Checotah native Carrie Underwood.
Rascal Flatts, which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney, and Thompson Square, which consist of Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson and his wife Shawna, are nominated for Choice Country Group.
Also, “Pretty Little Liars,” on which Choctaw native Ryan Merriman has played a recurring role, is nominated for Choice TV Show: Drama.
In addition, new categories added this year include Choice Book and Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist.
Fans ages 13-19 can vote once each day per category for their favorite Teen Choice 2012 nominees at www.teenchoiceawards.com. Hosts, performers, presenters and additional nominees will be announced soon.
See the list of the first wave of Teen Choice nominees after the break.
NBC bringing “The Voice” back for new fall edition
NBC has confirmed that it’s adding a new fall edition of the red-hot musical competition “The Voice” to its upcoming autumn schedule.
Highlights of the peacock network’s new schedule include an expansion of comedy to Tuesday and Friday nights for a total of five full hours of primetime comedy; new dramas from J.J. Abrams and Dick Wolf on Monday and Wednesday nights, respectively; and the first fall cycle of the hit competition “The Voice,” according to a news release.
The season’s new fall comedies are “Go On,” “The New Normal,” “Animal Practice” and “Guys with Kids.” Other mid-season comedies include “Save Me,” “1600 Penn” and “Next Caller.”
The new fall dramas are “Revolution” and “Chicago Fire,” while “Do No Harm,” “Infamous” and “Hannibal” also will join the lineup in mid-season.
In addition, new alternative series include “Stars Earn Stripes,” “Howie Mandel’s White Elephant,” “Ready for Love,” and “Surprise with Jenny McCarthy.”
NBC’s returning shows are highlighted by “The Voice,” which returns from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays and 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
Other returning scripted series are “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Community,” “Parenthood,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Whitney” and “Up All Night.” The alternative series returning are “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “Fashion Star,” “The Biggest Loser” and “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.” Also renewed are “Dateline NBC” and “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” “Smash” and “Grimm” were given pickups earlier in the season.
“We’ve taken a few first steps toward a turnaround over this past season and now we’re seeing a real opportunity to accelerate that process,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment, in the news release. “We’ve got a lineup of new shows that will really get people to sit up and take notice. And with the Olympics coming this summer and two nights of ‘The Voice’ in the fall, we’ve also got the tools we need to give our shows the kind of launch they deserve.”
In February, TheWrap.com reported that all four celebrity coaches on “The Voice” – Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Oklahoma country music superstar Blake Shelton – have signed on for the third season of the show airing in fall. TheWrap.com reported then that Green, Levine and Shelton will see their pay roughly doubled to $6 million, while Aguilera will make a cool $10 million for the season.
Earlier today, I had the chance to chat by phone with “The Voice” Season 2 winner Jermaine Paul; look for that feature in the coming days.
See the full NBC fall 2012-13 primetime schedule after the break.
Hall and Oates, Heart to play return engagements at Tulsa Hard Rock Casino
Hall and Oates (AP file)
Heart
TULSA- During the first eight months of performances at The Joint, few were anticipated more than the performances by Daryl Hall and John Oates and Heart. Due to overwhelming demand, both sets of performers will return to the music venue inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
Daryl Hall and John Oates return to The Joint on Sept. 12, with tickets starting at $60. Heart returns Sept. 15, with tickets starting at $45.
Tickets for both shows go on sale Aug. 2, according to a news release.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa is off of Interstate 44 at exit 240. Ticket prices and information on upcoming shows are available online in The Joint section of www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com. All guests must be 21 years of age or older.
Heart returns to the Joint after performing a sold-out show on April 8, 2011.
Led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart has sold more than 35 million albums and achieved platinum status 20 times since the 1976 debut “Dreamboat Annie” launched the band into instant stardom behind the success of early singles “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man.”
To date, Heart has charted 31 tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Barracuda,” “Straight On,” “Tell it Like it Is,” “What About Love,” “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You,” and the No. 1 hits “These Dreams” and “Alone.”
Daryl Hall and John Oates originally played for a capacity crowd inside The Joint on Oct. 22, 2010.
Recognized in 1987 by the Recording Industry Association of America as the No. 1-selling duo in music history, Daryl Hall and Oates have released six No.1 singles: “Rich Girl,” “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” “Maneater” and “Out of Touch.” To date, the band has had seven albums go platinum and charted 34 singles.
The duo is fresh off a sterling performance of “Rich Girl” on Tuesday’s Season 2 finale of “The Voice”:
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Jermaine Paul, finalist for Blake Shelton’s team, wins “The Voice” Season 2
Jermaine Paul
Jermaine Paul, the finalist for Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton’s team, won Season 2 of “The Voice” live tonight on NBC.
Paul, a former backup singer for Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige, proved he was ready to take center stage over the course of the hit reality TV show’s sophomore season. He came on particularly strong during Monday night’s final performance show with his soaring rendition of R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” his playful duet with Shelton on the R&B classic “Soul Man” and his coach tribute, a heartfelt version of Shelton’s smash “God Gave Me You.”
He and Shelton embraced on “The Voice” stage after the big announcement that Paul had defeated Tony Lucca, the finalist for Adam Levine’s team; Juliet Simms, the finalist for CeeLo Green’s team; and Chris Mann, the finalist for Christina Aguilera’s team.
“You did it!” Shelton said over and over as he hugged the victorious Paul.
Shelton, the country singer from Tishomingo, and Paul, whose musical influences include Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, were an odd pairing. Both Shelton and Green turned their giant red chairs for Paul’s blind audition, a soulful version of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated,” and argued persuasively to have the big-voiced crooner join their teams. But Shelton seemingly won Paul over with his honesty, telling the hopeful basically that whether he avoided elimination was up to how hard he worked and how well he performed.
“I just want to thank everyone who supported me from Day 1. Nobody but Jesus, man!” Paul said as he thanked his wife, four children and parents tonight from center stage.
As the winner, Paul wins a recording contract. The four finalists also received new cars from Kia.
Here’s a look back at Paul’s blind audition:
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Video: “The Voice” Season 2 finale airs tonight
Classic covers, tributes and more drama between celebrity coaches Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine and her former “Mickey Mouse Club” co-star/Team Adam finalist Tony Lucca were all part of the big two-hour final performance show Monday on “The Voice.”
Jermaine Paul, the finalist for Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton’s team, let his big voice and even bigger soul shine on a cover of R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and a thank-you cover of Shelton’s smash “God Gave Me You.” For their duet, Paul and Shelton joined forces for a fun rendition of the Sam & Dave classic “Soul Man.”
The other “The Voice” Season 2 finalists are Chris Mann for Team Xtina and Juliet Simms for CeeLo Green’s team.
The live two-hour season finale of “The Voice’s” second season, which will include Justin Bieber performing his new hit “Boyfriend,” airs at 8 tonight on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City).
Video: Previewing the Season 2 finals of “The Voice,” which begin tonight
The two-night finale for the second season of the hit reality TV show “The Voice” begins tonight on NBC.
The show’s social media correspondent Christina Milian sat down with each of the four celebrity coaches – Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green and Oklahoma country music superstar Blake Shelton – to chat with them about the finals. I love what she has to say about going over to a party at Blake’s house in Los Angeles and finding several of his now-eliminated team members hanging out there. He admitted he cares about his team members “to a fault sometimes.”
“I like to be around good people,” Blake says.
Blake even admits he has been a bit intimidated by his finalist, seasoned backup singer Jermaine Paul, who has toured a lot of with Alicia Keys.
The other “The Voice” Season 2 finalists are Tony Lucca for Team Adam, Chris Mann for Team Xtina and Juliet Simms for Team CeeLo.
The final live performance episode of “The Voice’s” second season will air at 7 tonight, with the two-hour season finale showing at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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Wednesday Video Spotlight: Season 1 finalists perform on “The Voice”
Before naming its Season 2 finalists Tuesday night, the hit reality TV show “The Voice” welcomed back its Season 1 finalists for special performances
Oklahoma country music star Blake’s Season 1 finalist, Dia Frampton, performed her single “Don’t Kick the Chair,” featuring Kid Cudi. The song is off her debut album, “Red.”
Vicci Martinez sang “Come Along,” featuring her former coach, CeeLo Green.
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper graced “The Voice” stage for the first time to perform her classic hit, “Money Changes Everything,” alongside Coach Christina Aguilera’s Season 1 finalist, Beverly McClellan.
And reigning champ Javier Colon, from Adam Levine’s team, performed his new single, “A Drop in the Ocean,” off his current album, “Come Through for You.”
Shelton will be a guest tonight on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which airs at 10:35 p.m. weekdays on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City). The other interview guest will be “The Avengers” star Scarlett Johansson, while K’Naan will be the musical performer.
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Wednesday Video Spotlight: Final four named on “The Voice”
The hit reality TV show “The Voice” selected its final four Tuesday night.
Check out these videos as the four teams – representing celebrity coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton – as they select their finalists.
The final live performance episode of “The Voice’s” second season will air at 7 p.m. Monday, with the two-hour season finale showing at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Shelton will be a guest tonight on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which airs at 10:35 p.m. weekdays on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City). The other interview guest will be “The Avengers” star Scarlett Johansson, while K’Naan will be the musical performer.
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Blake Shelton to appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” tonight
Blake Shelton (AP file)
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton will be a guest tonight on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which airs at 10:35 p.m. weekdays on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City).
The Tishomingo resident is one of the four celebrity coaches – along with Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green and Adam Levine – on the peacock network’s hit reality TV show “The Voice,” which selected its final four Tuesday night. The finalists are Tony Lucca for Team Adam, Chris Mann for Team Xtina, Juliet Simms for Team CeeLo and Jermaine Paul for Team Blake.
The final live performance episode of “The Voice’s” second season will air at 7 p.m. Monday, with the two-hour season finale showing at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The other interview guest on Jay’s coach tonight will be “The Avengers” star Scarlett Johansson, while K’Naan will be the musical performer.
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