The three-time Emmy Award-winning "The Voice" returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show's new season.

Grammy Award-winning artist Gwen Stefani returns as a coach this season, joining megastars Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly.

The show's innovative format features five stages of competition: the first begins with the blind auditions, followed by the battle rounds, the knockouts, the live playoffs and, finally, the live performance shows.

During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don't get to see them - thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist's voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes his/her button, the power then shifts to the artists to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes his/her button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice and sharing the secrets of their success, along with help from their celebrity advisors. During the battle rounds, the coaches 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 battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals available during the battle rounds.

At the end of the battle rounds, only the strongest members of each coach's roster remain and proceed to the knockout rounds. Here, the artists are paired against a teammate once more, but this time, they select their own songs to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach's confidence and decision to take them to the live shows. One superstar, universal advisor is on hand to work with all of the coaches and their teams as they prepare the artists for this challenge. But the coaches alone choose the winner, and the artist not selected is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has one steal available during the knockout rounds.

In the live playoff rounds, the Top 20 artists compete to secure a spot in the live shows. Artists perform live, and America votes to save their two favorite artists from each team. The coaches then save one remaining artist to complete their roster. The remaining contestants move on to the final phase of the competition - the live shows.

In the final live-performance phase of the competition, the Top 12 artists compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience votes to save their favorite artists. The three artists with the lowest number of votes are eligible for the "Instant Save." These artists each perform a new song that represents why they should earn the save. Then, America has the opportunity to save their favorite performer by tweeting #VoiceSave along with the artist's name. The singers with the lowest number of votes are sent home each week. In the end, one is named "The Voice" and receives the grand prize of a recording contract.

"The Voice" is a presentation of MGM Television, Talpa Media USA Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as executive producer along with Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Lee Metzger, Chad Hines, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Jay Bienstock.

CREDITS

Host

Carson Daly

Coaches

Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani

Executive Producers

John de Mol, Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Jay Bienstock, Lee Metzger, Chad Hines, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson

Developed By

John de Mol

Director

Alan Carter

Segment Director

Alex Van Wagner

Supervising Producers

Anthea Bhargava, Keith Dinielli, May Johnson, Clyde Lieberman

Senior Producers

Ashley Baumann, Brittany Martin Porter, Kyley Tucker

Producers

Carson Daly, Amanda Borden, Bart Kimball, Dan Paschen

Supervising Casting Producer

Michelle McNulty

Supervising Digital Producer

Amanda Horning

Consulting Producer

Melissa Wong

Production Designer

Anton Goss

Off-Stage Production Designer

James Connelly

Lighting Designer

Oscar Dominguez

Origination

Los Angeles, California

Produced By

MGM Television, Talpa Media USA Inc., Warner Horizon Television

Format By

Talpa Content, B.V.

S12 E2305/08/17

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