All things entertaining in Westchester, Rockland and the Hudson Valley

& Tuesday June 12, 2012 12:31 PM& By Kirthana Ramisetti&

Photo credit: Faye Murman

If you want to give your dad the gift of music for Father's Day, Jermaine Paul, the Harriman resident who recently won season 2 of "The Voice," has released a new single for the occasion. The father of four recorded a cover of Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses," a song about the relationship between daughters and their dads, now available for digital download.

Paul told Newsday that he decided to record this track because "I thought it would be a great gift for my daughters, and all the fathers in the world." He also said he thought the country-tinged ballad would be a good song to follow up his last single, a cover of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," which spent several days topping iTunes' R&B chart after his "Voice" victory.

Paul knows from experience how important fathers can be in influencing their children's lives. The fifth of ten kids, he recalled how his father worked hard to keep his children from falling prey to negative influences, which were often right outside their doorstep in Orange County.

"Growing up as a kid, we lived in the Highview Apartments, a place they called 'The Hill,' [which was] a really tough neighborhood in Spring Valley," Paul said. "My dad had keyboards, drums, mics ... he really went all out for us. To just be inside the house and singing all day -- it kept us out of trouble."

He credits his parents with getting him interested in music at a young age, an early passion that has led to him to a professional career as a backup vocalist for stars including Alicia Keys and Jordin Sparks. And thanks to his "Voice" win, he's now a rising star himself.

Paul's music video for "Butterfly Kisses," which features his daughters and other real-life father/daughter pairs, was filmed in New York City in late-May. Besides acting as a Father's Day tribute, the single also serves as a preview of Paul's first album, which is slated to be released later this year.

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