Lionel Richie, Kelly Clarkson et al to Appear on NBC's THE VOICE

NBC's THE VOICE coaches have enlisted multi-platinum singer-songwriters Kelly Clarkson, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds," Jewel, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Ne-Yo, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke to lend their knowledge and skills as advisers to six separate artists on Teams Adam (Levine), Blake (Shelton), Cee Lo (Green) and Christina (Aguilera), respectively, during the "battle rounds" phase of competition on the upcoming season.

THE VOICE premieres on a special night and time, Sunday, February 5, (10-11 p.m. ET; time approximate) following Super Bowl XLVI on NBC before settling into its regular time slot of Mondays (8-10 p.m. ET) beginning Monday, February 6. The adviser and team pairings are as follows:

Team Adam: Alanis Morissette (@morissette) and Robin Thicke (@robinthicke)

Team Blake: Kelly Clarkson (@Kelly_Clarkson) and Miranda Lambert (@Miranda_Lambert)

Team Cee Lo: Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds (@KennyEdmonds) and Ne-Yo (@NeYoCompound)

Team Christina: Jewel (@jeweljk) and Lionel Richie (@LionelRichie)

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

"These renowned musicians will bring their unique and recognizable musical styles to the teams," said Telegdy. "They are well-respected singers whose invaluable experience will be a tremendous asset to Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton's artists."

The battle rounds will pit two artists from each team against each other to sing a duet. At the end of each battle round performance, the artists' respective coach will decide who among their team will move on to the live shows, and who will be eliminated from the competition.

Aguilera (@TheRealXtina), Green (@CeeLoGreen), Levine (@adamlevine) and Shelton (@blakeshelton) each recruited two music industry giants as advisers to help mentor and prepare six separate artists on their respective teams of 12 for the battle rounds. The artists will receive personal one-on-one training with their coach and adviser as they break down their song selection and stage performance. Each artist will also join their coach and adviser for an intimate conversation whereby they will have the opportunity to ask questions of the superstars before them.

Advisers to Team Christina:

Jewel -- Jewel is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, actress, poet, painter, philanthropist and daughter to an Alaskan cowboy singer-songwriter. From the remote ranch of her Alaskan youth to the triumph of international stardom, the four-time Grammy nominee, hailed by the New York Times as a "songwriter bursting with talents," has enjoyed career longevity rare among her generation of artists. Whether alone with her guitar or fronting a band of ace musicians, Jewel has always been a charismatic live performer, earning the respect of other singer-songwriters such as Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, who, not only invited her to open their shows, but mentored her in the early phases of her career. Her singular style and beauty continuously land her on the covers of such diverse magazines as Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, In Style, Glamour and Seventeen. The London Times called her "the most sparkling singer songwriter since Joni Mitchell" while Blender crowned her "rock's sexiest poet."

Lionel Richie -- Richie is an award-winning International singer-songwriter, producer and humanitarian. His touchingly soulful lyrical prowess and crisp, soothing vocals have earned him recognition as one of the most successful and talented balladeers of all time, and he is behind such #1 hits as "Endless Love," (the iconic duet with Diana Ross) "Truly," "All Night Long (All Night)," "Hello" and "Say You, Say Me." Richie has attained long-standing success and international acclaim and has sailed beyond genre to carve out his mark among the best singer-songwriters of all time. A music legend, he has received numerous awards and sold over 100 million albums worldwide. After gaining international fame and widespread recognition as a notable figure in both music history and music present, Richie is now working on his 10th studio album, "Tuskegee," due out in March 2012. Advisers to Team Cee Lo:

Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds - A 10-time Grammy winner with 11 solo albums of his own, Edmonds' impeccably crafted explorations of love, romance and relationships have made an indelible imprint on the evolution of contemporary pop music throughout the world. These include over 125 Top-10 R&B and pop hits, 42 #1 R&B hits, and 51 Top-10 pop hits (including 16 #1's), which have produced single and album sales in excess of over 500 million units worldwide. Just a few of the vocalists from which his music can be heard include Beyonc?, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, TLC, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, John Mellencamp, Brandy, Aretha Franklin, Fall Out Boy, Pink, Charlie Wilson, Chrisette Michele and Anthony Hamilton. Edmonds is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Soul Train Music Awards, BMI Awards, NAACP Image Awards and American Music Awards, and was the recipient of the third BET Walk of Fame Award (previous honorees were Jackson and Houston), and was named BET's "Entertainer of the Year" at the first Annual BET Awards Ceremony.

Ne-Yo -- This Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, composer, and producer is one of music's most talented and prolific artists and a man who needs only one name: Ne-Yo. In less than five years, he's produced three #1 albums, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and collaborated with everyone from Michael Jackson to Tim McGraw. After taking a few years off to work on several films, Ne-Yo's back with his fourth project, "Libra Scale," a stellar effort that's sure to race up the charts and catapult the R&B superstar to even greater heights.

Advisers to Team Adam:

Alanis Morissette -- Since 1995, Morissette has been one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians in contemporary music. Her deeply expressive music and performances have earned vast critical praise, 12 Canadian Juno Awards, seven Grammy Awards (with an additional 14 nominations), and sales of over 60 million albums worldwide. Morissette's 1995 debut, "Jagged Little Pill," was followed by such eclectic and acclaimed albums as "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" (1998), "MTV Unplugged" (1999), "Under Rug Swept" (2002), "So-Called Chaos" (2004), "Jagged Little Pill Acoustic" (2005), her greatest hits album, "The Collection" (2005), "Flavors of Entanglement"(2008), as well as musical contributions to theatrical releases. Morissette is currently in the recording studio working on her sixth studio album which is due out this spring. For more information, see www.alanis.com.

Robin Thicke - Thicke's breakthrough release, 2006's "The Evolution of Robin Thicke," produced the mega-hit "Lost Without U," which became the #1 most played song in Urban Adult Contemporary BDS and topped four Billboard charts simultaneously as he established himself as one of the most-respected singer-songwriters in soul and R&B music today. By 2007, his awards included the VH1 Soul/Vibe award for Best Breakthrough Artist and nominations from BET (Best Male R&B and Viewer's Choice), Soul Train (Best R&B Soul Album, Male), MTV VMA (Male Artist of the Year), MOBO (Best Song, "Lost Without U"), the American Music Awards (Favorite Breakthrough Artist) and the ASCAP Song of the Year for "Lost Without You." The award-winning multi-platinum superstar returned to center stage in 2008 with "Something Else." Debuting at #3 on The Billboard 200, "Something Else" is Thicke's highest-charted album to date. Thicke obtained yet another Top-10 hit single with "Magic" hitting #2 on the urban charts. In December 2009, Thicke released "Sex Therapy," an album that created a fantasy world of eroticism, while still dealing with the honest struggle a man has with seduction, loneliness and betrayal. The title song, "Sex Therapy," was hailed by critics as "the sexiest song of the year" and went on to be #1 on the R&B/ Hip Hop charts and also won an ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Award. Thicke recently released his fifth studio album, "Love After War."

Advisers to Team Blake:

Kelly Clarkson -- Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, Clarkson has released five studio albums ("Thankful," "Breakaway," "My December," "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stronger"), sold over 20 million albums worldwide, 10 million albums in the U.S., and has had nine singles in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is the recipient of two Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, two MTV Awards and 11 Billboard Awards. Clarkson's most recent effort, "Stronger," debuted at #2 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Digital Albums Chart. The album produced the single, "Mr. Know It All," which marks her ninth Top-10 hit.

Miranda Lambert - Lambert is country's reigning Female Vocalist of the Year, as bestowed by both the Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music (ACM). She's won the prized Album of the Year trophy from both organizations, as well as from the ACMs, her second record, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," and from the CMAs and ACMs for her third, "Revolution."

She received the top country female vocal performance honor at the most recent Grammy Awards for "The House That Built Me." She's also been named one of People magazine's Most Beautiful People and one of Maxim's Hottest Women of Country. Lambert recently released her fourth studio album, "Four the Record," which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart and established her as the first country artist in the SoundScan era to have each of her first four albums debut at #1.

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

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.

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.

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 artists from each team will compete against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite talent, leaving the coach to decide live who they want to save and who will not move on. In the end, each coach will have one star artist left ready to compete against the other teams' finalists to be named "The Voice" - the winner will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

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