Adam Levine & Cee Lo Green to Join NBC's 'Idol' Rival, The Voice

Mark Burnett and NBC pulled it off: Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine have signed to join the singing competition series The Voice.

The pop star duo will give NBC a chance to steal some thunder from Fox’s American Idol when the new series debuts this April. “I am so happy that Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green have joined the coach panel for The Voice,” executive producer Mark Burnett tells Entertainment Weekly. “Aside from being incredible voices, they bring years of experience in the music industry and a really cool vibe that has never been seen before on a music competition series.”

“We want The Voice to be a search by relevant artists for relevant artists,” added NBC’s Executive VP of Alternative Programming Paul Telegdy. “Every person who sits on our panel can do what it is that they’re judging.”

NBC has also set a premiere date for the show: Tuesday, April 26th at 9:00 pm (ET), in a two-hour debut. The show will shift to its regular time period on May 10th at 8:00 pm (ET).

Entertainment Weekly first reported that the singers were in negotiations for the gig last week. There’s still two seats left to fill, and that judge/coach may be the most intriguing of all: Christina Aguilera remains in talks to join the show.

Telegdy says he was impressed with Levine after seeing the Maroon 5 singer visit Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. “His voice and versatility was incredible, and he had a great sense of humor and interplay with Jimmy,” Telegdy says.

“I was absolutely thrilled to be invited by Mark Burnett to join The Voice as a coach,” said Adam Levine in a statement. “I look forward to working with these singers and helping them push forward throughout the competition to make their musical dreams become a reality.”

Cee Lo has been an impressive media presence in recent months, with Telegdy citing the artist’s “willingness and braveness to do so many things, and his DNA at moment includes all sorts of people who are relevant to the music industry.”

“It’s an honor for me to be able to help mold a malleable and new talent in such a fashion as The Voice,” said Cee Lo Green in a statement. “Being a coach on The Voice is a substantial responsibility, and I take it with sincerity and distinction.”

NBC’s overall goal with The Voice is to sign big-name performers who are also popular music fans and a bit more youthful than, say, Steven Tyler. “Not to diminish other people on other shows, but it’s a different job to break through the clutter now than it was 10, 15, 20 years ago,” Telegdy says.

While taking a break from his work on Gnarls Barkley, Cee Lo has been on a star-making run with his hit single “F**k You” and his Grammy performance with Gwyneth Paltrow (during which he was dressed, appropriately enough for a man judging a show on NBC, as a peacock). Meanwhile, the L.A.-based band Maroon 5 released their most recent album last fall and played Fox’s Super Bowl pre-game earlier this month.

The Voice is based on a Dutch hit in which contestants audition while judges face the other direction, unable to see the contestants. The judges make their verdicts based on the singer’s vocal talent alone rather than being influenced by the contestant’s physical appearance. After the audition rounds, the judges will coach the contestants. The Voice will debut sometime this spring.

Cee-Lo Green & Adam Levine May Host Mark Burnett's Singing Competition Show "The Voice"

Grammy scene-stealer Cee-Lo Green and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine are in serious discussions to join Mark Burnett’s singing competition The Voice for NBC.

Producers also considered Lenny Kravitz, Roger Daltrey, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Enrique Iglesias about occupying a judging seat on the show. Plus, there’s a major-name female star who’s in talks to join as well, but is not yet close to a deal (according to two unconfirmed sources, it’s Christina Aguilera, which would obviously be an enormous name for any talent show).

Deals are not signed and things could still change. But NBC hopes to close deals with the male singers within the next few days, and then sign another judge sometime next week. While taking a break from his work on Gnarls Barkley, Cee-Lo has been on a star-making run with his hit single “F-You” and Grammy performance with Gwyneth Paltrow (during which he was dressed, appropriately enough for a man who may judge a show on NBC, as a peacock). Meanwhile, the LA-based band Maroon 5 released their most recent album last fall and played Fox’s Super Bowl pre-game earlier this month.

As Fox discovered last year when trying to fill spots on Idol, securing high-profile judges can be difficult as pop stars tend to come with prior commitments. Signing with a network for a TV show often means canceling other obligations, sometimes at a price.

Clearly NBC is going after pop stars instead of record label suits for their judges spots, and is hoping to land current and relevant artists. If hired, Cee Lo and Levine, along with the third judge, should lend some name recognition and industry experience to the show, as well as generate press interest.

The Voice seeks to gain market share when it launches this spring in the toughest of reality genres just as Idol is ramping up for its Top 12. It’s a high stakes plan, especially since Idol has already bested one competitor this season, CBS’ performance series Live to Dance starring former Idol judge Paula Abdul. But NBC has proven it can draw a good ratings with a singing competition with its winter a cappella competition The Sing Off.

The Voice is based on a Dutch hit where contestants audition while judges face the other direction, unable to see the contestants. The Susan Boyle-friendly format has judges making their verdicts based on the singer’s vocal talent alone rather than being influenced by the contestant’s physical appearance. Once they hit a button deciding whether to accept the performance, their chairs swivel around. Unlike Idol, contestants will not be sequestered during the competition, but will be free to interact with fans and perform on their own (such as doing club dates) while trying to build their fan base.

Last week NBC announced The Voice will take the unique step of opening its audition process to any singer with a web cam.

Carson Daly will host.

NBC Develops Singing Competition for Spring 2011

Let the inevitable comparisons to American Idol begin!

NBC announced today that it is developing a singing competition dubbed The Voice of America for spring 2011. The show, from uber-reality producers John de Mol (Big Brother) and Mark Burnett (Survivor) is based on De Mol’s successful Dutch format The Voice of Holland that just launched in September. Viewers will have a say in determining finalists, who will compete for a recording contract. Four celebrity artists will head up teams of singers and provide coaching and mentoring throughout the competition.

Participants are eliminated until each celeb has only one team member left who will compete in the finals, when a winner will be named “The Voice of America.” To guarantee that participants are judged on their talent only, the celebs will have their backs turned during the initial auditions. In all, the show features three stages of competition – the blind audition, the battle phase, and the live performance shows.

There have been numerous attempts by competing networks over the years to steal some of Idol’s thunder. (Remember The One, Nashville Star, Rock Star and Duets?) But no competition show has managed to last as long as the Fox juggernaut. Still, NBC is bullish about its new show because of the success of all music-based programs – not just Idol. “There seems to be a real demand for music, between Glee, The Sing Off and Idol,” Paul Telegdy, NBC’s executive VP, alternative programming, tells EW. “People are consuming more music than ever before. There is room for all the shows.”

And Telegdy insists that Voice is a far different format from Idol or even The X-Factor. Unlike those two shows that go out on the road to find good, bad and – yes, even ugly – talent, Voice will recruit budding singers from talent schools, clubs, colleges – you name it. As for the mentors, Telegdy said “household name” recording artists are used in Holland, and that American audiences will be “pleasantly surprised” by who NBC selects to serve. The gig will require a huge time commitment, given the amount of mentoring that’s required for the show.