NBC is planning to add a third singing competition to the airwaves in early 2011 to compete with American Idol and Simon Cowell's The X-Factor. Produced by reality show mavens Mark Burnett ( Survivor ) and John de Mol ( Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ), the new show, The Voice of America, is reportedly modeled after a Dutch show, The Voice of Holland , which has beaten the Dutch versions of Idol and X-Factor. As the title implies, the show is primarily about the voices of the talent, and in the initial rounds, the celebrity judges, who also act as mentors, hear only the voices of the singers performing the same song and never see them. In a statement, Paul Telegdy, head of alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios, said, "The celebrity coaches are passionate about discovering, developing and nurturing new talent. As soon as we saw the Dutch format, we knew this was completely different and really exciting."

14/12/2010