Before Carson Daly began ticking off the results of the second season of 'The Voice,' he told Jermaine Paul that "You are not a background singer anymore." Of course the longtime Alicia Keys vocalist had proven himself as a featured act before being announced the winner on Tuesday night but, his win vindicated a career's worth of hard work and sacrifice.

From the very first week of the NBC reality series, Paul seemed to be on a mission. He took each challenge a bit more seriously than the rest of his competition, often coming across as arrogant or cocky when in truth it was just intense focus. He cemented his win by singing 'I Believe I Can Fly' and then 'Soul Man' with his coach Blake Shelton on Monday night.

Less than four percentage points separated Paul and runner-up Juliet Simms. Tony Lucca finished third, just one-quarter of one percentage point ahead of Team Christina Aguilera's Chris Mann. It was a suspenseful finish to a two-hour long episode that featured pedestrian collaborations and superstar cameos like a performance from Lady Antebellum.

"Thank you for everybody that voted for me!" Paul shouted between tears after Daly read his name as the winner. He was soon joined on stage by his entire family, including a wife that hugged his neck while he tried to get through his victory song, an encore of 'I Believe I Can Fly.'

"God bless y'all man. Nobody but Jesus man! Nobody!"

By winning the singing competition, the New York born Paul receives a $1 million recording contract. It's likely Shelton will bring him to as many shows as time allows like he did with his season one finalist Dia Frampton. Although Paul's schedule may be significantly more full, he's already booked for the 'Today' show on Friday. Perhaps he'll be able to get a few hours of sleep before the whirlwind begins, but he may not want to.

Watch Jermaine Paul React to Winning 'The Voice'

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