Michael Becker/FOX; Harper Smith/NBC; Trae Patton/NBCJust in time for new seasons of The Sing-Off and American Idol comes word that there will be yet another singing competition to watch out for in a few months.
From the multifaceted mind of reality-TV über-producer Mark Burnett, it's...The Voice of America!
Which, alas, has nothing to do with international broadcaster Voice of America.
Instead, The Voice of America is modeled after The Voice of Holland, which, according to NBC, is more popular in the Netherlands than the country's version of X-Factor and, er, Dutch Idol.
Four celebrity team captains will coach and mentor groups of aspiring singers throughout the season. Teams will be formed during a blind audition, in which the coaches can only hear a wannabe contestant and then presses a button to say "yea" or "nay." If two or more coaches want the same singer, then the contestant gets to pick which team he or she wants to be on.
Then comes the scrimmage round, with the coaches pitting team members against each other and picking winners.
Finally, once the teams are set, the live performance round starts and it will be up to the fans to vote each week. The last singer standing wins a recording contract.
Actually, depending on who the host and celebrity judges are, it all sounds kind of fun. Go Dutch!
The Voice of America premieres on NBC this spring. Burnett, who's best known for Survivor and The Apprentice, has ventured into the music world with Rock Star: INXS and Supernova, P. Diddy's StarMaker and the ongoing Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp on VH1 Classic.