First Look: Let The Voice's Battle Rounds Begin!
The Voice
Now that the blind auditions have swiveled to a halt, it's time for The Voice's four coaches — Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera — to put their teams to the test. The crop of singers will be narrowed down as they face off head-to-head for the final spots on their coach's team. "The big difference this year is it's way more competitive," says exec producer Mark Burnett. "The contestants are much wiser to the format, which means everybody's very focused on excellence."
The coaches are even able to enlist help from two advisers as they mentor their team members before they enter the ring. Artists such as Alanis Morissette and Robin Thicke (Team Adam), Ne-Yo and Babyface (Team Cee Lo) and Jewel and Lionel Richie (Team Christina) lend their expertise in everything from song selection to stage presence. Shelton enlisted the help of his wife, former Nashville Star competitor Miranda Lambert, and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. "Individually, they are unique, great artists and they both brought the same perspective of having survived music reality shows," says Shelton.
As for the battles themselves, expect more drama, tears and nail-biting performances. "When it comes down to it, it's really how you do in that moment [on stage], and it's so intense," says Burnett. "It was hard to believe that any of them were going home. People were that good."
The Voice airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.
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