NBC ANNOUNCES GRAMMY WINNER CHRISTINA AGUILERA AS MUSICIAN COACH OF NEW SERIES "THE VOICE"

Aguilera Joins Previously Announced Musician Coaches Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - March 2, 2011 - Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and actress Christina Aguilera ("Back to Basics," "Burlesque") has been named as a musician coach on NBC's new musical competition series "The Voice," premiering on Tuesday, April 26 (9-11 p.m. ET). Aguilera joins previously announced musician coaches Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine. The announcement was made by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

"Christina has a once in a generation talent -- her voice is phenomenally distinctive and instantly recognizable," said Telegdy. "Her journey as an artist, who started so young in the music business, will be an inspiration to the talent she coaches on the show."

"I am so excited to be part of such a wonderful project that celebrates music and the talent behind it," said Aguilera. "To be given the opportunity to help shape new artists' careers and mentor them to see their dreams come to fruition is a task I welcome with open arms.I am so happy to be working with fellow Grammy Award winners Adam and Cee Lo as I feel there is so much we can all bring to 'The Voice.'"

"When I decided to produce 'The Voice', I immediately knew that my first choice for a female coach had to be Christina Aguilera," said executive producer Mark Burnett. "Christina has a perfect voice and is an undeniable force in the music business. She is the epitome of 'The Voice'."

Aguilera first achieved prominence as a singer after the release of her album "Christina Aguilera" in 1999, which sold over 17 million copies worldwide and yielded such hits as "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants" and "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)." As a result, she won her first Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her rendition of "Genie in a Bottle." Aguilera's second album, "Mi Reflejo," earned her a Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album.

Later, Aguilera teamed with Mya, Lil' Kim and Pink to perform their version of "Lady Marmalade" as a single from the feature film "Moulin Rouge" that soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts for five weeks. Each performer received a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song. Aguilera's next album, "Stripped," gave the world the hit singles "Dirty," "Beautiful" (which won her another Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), "Fighter" and "The Voice Within." She also toured with Justin Timberlake in 2003 on the Justified/Stripped tour.

Among Aguilera's other albums are "Back to Basics," "My Kind of Christmas" and "Bionic." Also included in her many hit singles are "Hurt," "Candyman" and "Ain't No Other Man" (which earned her another Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocalist), "Not Myself Tonight" and "You Lost Me." She has performed numerous times on the Grammy Awards and has hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Aguilera was also the only artist under 30 years of age to make Rolling Stone Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

In 2010, Aguilera added a new role to her list of accomplishments as an actress. In November, she starred in her first feature film, "Burlesque," opposite Cher and Stanley Tucci. Aguilera played Ali, a small-town girl with a big voice who escapes hardship and an uncertain future to follow her dreams to Los Angeles. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her Original Song, "Bound to You," which she co wrote and performed.

In addition, Aguilera had a cameo in "Get Him to the Greek."

On "The Voice," four famous musician coaches - including Aguilera -- will each select singers to mentor into artists during the blind auditions. Once they have their teams, the star coaches will bring in their personal songwriters, producers, and high-powered friends to help their teams evolve. Ultimately, America will decide which singer will be worthy of the grand prize.

Hosted by Carson Daly, the show's innovative format features three stages of competition. The first begins with the blind audition, then the competition enters into a battle phase, and finally, the live performance shows. The show's casting team is working with the music industry and searching the country for the best singers to bring to the blind audition process. During the blind auditions the decisions from the coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the contestants perform but they don't get to see them thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the contestant's voice, he/she pushes a button to select the contestant for his/her team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that he/she can face the contestant he/she has selected. If more than one coach selects the talent, the power shifts to the contestant, who may choose which coach he/she wants to work with throughout the competition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their singers, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success. During the battle rounds the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal face-off, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance.

At the end of the battle episodes, only the strongest members of each coach's roster remain and proceed to the live stage shows. In this final performance phase of the competition, the top contestants from each team will compete against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save one talent on each team, leaving the coach to decide live who they want to save and who will not move on.

At last, each coach will have their best contestant left standing to compete in the finale. From these four, one will be named "The Voice" -- and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract and $100,000.

"The Voice" is a presentation of Talpa Productions, Mark Burnett and Warner Horizon Television. The series is created by John de Mol, who will executive-produce along with Burnett and Audrey Morrissey.