NBC'S "THE VOICE" GIVES VIEWERS THE CHOICE DURING ELECTION WEEK OF NOVEMBER 5, AS LIVE PLAYOFFS BEGIN AND FANS WILL HAVE THEIR FIRST CHANCE TO VOTE FOR THEIR 12 FAVORITE ARTISTS

Top 20 Artists Compete to Make It to the Top 12

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - October 26, 2012 - During Election Week of November 5, NBC's "The Voice" will roll out of the Knockout Rounds into the live Playoffs - and audience members have their first chance to vote for their favorite artists as the hit vocal competition series must choose the Top 12 singers -- forcing the four coaches to take only three artists to advance.

The announcement was made by Paul Telegdy, President, Alternative and Late Night Programming, NBC Entertainment.

"As 'The Voice' enters the crucial Presidential Election week, our audiences will see yet another twist for this cycle as they get a democratic opportunity to determine the top two singers from each team that will be safe," said Telegdy. "In addition, the coaches get to choose one artist of their own from their teams to continue into the next week as we compile our Top 12 singers."

"The Voice" is the #1 unscripted series of the new fall season in adults 18-49 and total viewers, averaging a 5.2 rating, 14 share in 18-49 and 14.1 million viewers overall with its Monday edition. The Tuesday telecast is delivering a 4.7 rating, 14 share in 18-49 and 12.8 million viewers overall. Counting all primetime series on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox (except sports pre- and post-game shows), the Monday "Voice" is #4 so far this season in 18-49 and #8 in total viewers, while the Tuesday edition is tied for #6 in 18-49 and #14 in total viewers.

During the pivotal week of "Playoffs," each coach will have five artists on their respective teams, who will perform over the live shows during a three-night event on Monday, November 5 (8-10 p.m. ET) and Wednesday, November 7 (8-10 p.m. ET) -- culminating with a Results show on Thursday, November 8 (8-9 p.m. ET) that will reveal "The Voice's" Top 12 artists.

After viewing this trial to see if they have what it takes, America then will choose two artists to be saved for each coach's team -- and the coach will be allowed to choose one final singer to round out each team of three artists - all to be revealed on the Playoff Results show on Thursday, November 8 (8-9 p.m. ET). The four coaches and their teams will move on to regular live shows during the remaining competition of "The Voice."

During the Knockout Rounds on October 29-30 (8-10 p.m. ET both nights), the battle winners and coach steals will have to prove themselves worthy to get to the live Playoffs. They will compete head-to-head in a sudden death vocal matchup. At the start of the Knockouts, each coach had 10 artists left -- eight battle winners and two steals.

The artists will have no clue who they are up against until they are about to perform. Coaches will line their teams up on the stage and call out two artists to go head-to-head immediately. This time the competitors will pick their own song, one which they feel symbolizes who they are as an artist. Each singer will then perform for all of the coaches, while their opposing teammate watches from a stool in the ring. The coach then decides who earns the live show spot and the other artist is eliminated.

"The Voice" features the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show's third season. Celebrity musician coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton return along with Carson Daly as host and Christina Milian as Social Media Correspondent.

In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top artists from each team will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists and the two artists with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week, no matter what team they are on. In the end, one will be named "The Voice" and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

"The Voice" is a presentation of Mark Burnett's One Three Media, Talpa Media USA Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series is created by John de Mol, who executive-produces along with Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Stijn Bakkers and Lee Metzger.

For embeddable clips and more, please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/TheVoice.

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