NBC REVEALS FIRST 12 OF 32 SELECTED ARTISTS/CONTESTANTS WHO WILL COMPETE IN "THE VOICE," NEW VOCAL COMPETITION SERIES THAT PREMIERED APRIL 26 AND OFFERS ENCORE BROADCAST WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 ,9-11 p.m. ET

Viewers and Artists/Contestants Enjoy Rare Access to Each Other Via Twitter and Facebook

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - April 27, 2011 - NBC named the first 12 of its 32 selected artists/contestants who will move onto the Battle round of the new vocal competition series "The Voice" featuring its four musician coaches -- Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Viewers will gain rare access to artists/contestants via Twitter and Facebook.

In addition, NBC will re-broadcast the two-hour series premiere from April 26 on the following night, Wednesday, April 27 (9-11 p.m. ET). "The Voice" will then air Tuesday, May 3 (9-11 p.m. ET) then moves to its regular time period of Tuesdays (8-9 p.m. ET) beginning May 10.

Much like today's music stars, the artists/contestants are encouraged to interact with viewers via social media to build a fan base. The fans will have an important role in the live performance shows, as they will have the opportunity to vote to save their favorites on each coach's team. In the finals, each coach will have one artist/contestant left to represent them and that artist's fate will be in the viewer's hands. One of the four finalists will be named "The Voice" -- and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract with Universal Music Group and $100,000.

The first 12 team contestants - and their assigned musician coaches, music style (if applicable), home towns, Twitter handles and Facebook pages - follow:

TEAM CHRISTINA AGUILERA (@TheRealXtina)

Beverly McClellan -- Pop Gate City, VA @beverlyshane http://www.facebook.com/BeverlyMcClellanTheVoice

Frenchie Davis -- R&B Washington, D.C @FrenchieDavis http://www.facebook.com/FrenchieDavisTheVoice

Tarralyn Ramsey - R&B/soul Melbourne, Fla. @tarralyn http://www.facebook.com/TarralynRamseyTheVoice

TEAM CEE LO GREEN (@CeeLoGreen)

Kelsey Rey -- blues/pop Vero Beach, Fla. @KelseyReyxx0x http://www.facebook.com/KelseyReyTheVoice

Tje Austin -- R&B Sweetwater, Texas @TjeAustinMusic http://www.facebook.com/TjeAustinTheVoice

Vicci Martinez -- soul/blues Seattle, Wash. @viccimartinez http://www.facebook.com/VicciMartinezTheVoice

TEAM ADAM LEVINE (@adamlevine)

Javier Colon -- pop/soul Stratford, Conn. @JavsTwtr http://www.facebook.com/JavierColonTheVoice

Jeff Jenkins -- pop country Freeport, Texas @JeffJenkins88 http://www.facebook.com/JeffJenkinsTheVoice

Rebecca Loebe -- indie Atlanta, Ga. @RebeccaLoebe http://www.facebook.com/RebeccaLoebeTheVoice

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON (@blakeshelton)

Elenowen (Nicole Johnson and Josh Johnson) -- indie music Nashville, Tenn. @elenowen http://www.facebook.com/ElenowenTheVoice

Patrick Thomas -- country Dallas, Texas @ApatrickThomas http://www.facebook.com/PatrickThomasTheVoice

Xenia -- jazzy R&B Temecula Calif. @x3nia17 http://www.facebook.com/XeniaTheVoice

Last night's debut of "The Voice" scored the highest adult 18-49 rating for any series premiere on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox since "Undercover Boss" debuted following the Super Bowl on February 7, 2010. With a 5.1 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49 and 11.8 million viewers overall in preliminary "fast affiliate" ratings from Nielsen Media Research, "The Voice" scored the No. 1 rating of the night in adults 18-49 and prevailed head to head versus Fox's "Glee" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." Excluding sports, the 5.1 rating is NBC's highest in the time period since May 12, 2009.

"The Voice" is a vocal competition series modeled after Holland's top-rated vocal talent discovery show, "The Voice of Holland." Hosted by Carson Daly, the show features four musician coaches, Aguilera, Green, Levine and Shelton, who will coach only the most talented vocalists.

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 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.

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. In the finals, each coach will have one star artist left to represent them. 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 Mark Burnett's One Three Inc., Talpa Content USA, Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series is created by John de Mol, who will executive-produce along with Burnett, Audrey Morrissey and Stijn Bakkers.

For contestant blogs, embeddable clips and full episodes of "The Voice" please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/TheVoice.

Please follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NBCTheVoice and on twitter at @NBCTheVoice and #TheVoice.