Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine named first two musician coaches of 'The Voice'

Musical competition series will have two-hour premiere on April 26

Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green - the popular singer-songwriter-producer - and fellow Grammy Award winner Adam Levine (Maroon 5) have been named as two of the four musician coaches on NBC's new musical competition series "The Voice," a show about real vocal talent that will premiere on Tuesday, April 26 (9-11 p.m. ET). Following the premiere, "The Voice" will air on Tuesday, May 3 (9-11 p.m. ET), and then move to its regular time period beginning May 10 (8 p.m. ET). Paul Telegdy, executive vice president of alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios, made the announcements.

"Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine represent the essence of 'The Voice.' They are two of the hottest music artists right now and their voices are instantly recognizable," said Telegdy. "These amazing artists are the perfect inspiration for our contestants to look up to as they begin their journeys from "voices" to true artists - and any hopeful singer would be incredibly lucky to have either one as their coach."

"It's an honor for me to be able to help mold a malleable and new talent in such a fashion as 'The Voice'," said Cee Lo Green. "Being a coach on 'The Voice' is a substantial responsibility, and I take it with sincerity and distinction."

"I was absolutely thrilled to be invited by Mark Burnett to join 'The Voice' as a coach," said Levine. "I look forward to working with these singers and helping them push forward throughout the competition to make their musical dreams become a reality."

Green - who is better known to his fans as Cee Lo - won a Grammy this year for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Forget You" (aka "F—k You"). Cee Lo, a rap singer, songwriter and record producer, first became recognized as a member of the hip-hop group Goodie Mob (which released the album "World Party"), and later launched a critically hailed solo career. He also formed the group Gnarls Barkley with deejay-producer Danger Mouse. Among Cee Lo's best-known hits are the singles "Closet Freak," "I'll Be Around," "Crazy (by Gnarls Barkley) and "Forget You."

Cee Lo's albums include "Cee Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections," "Cee Lo Green...Is the Soul Machine," "Closet Freak: The Best of Cee Lo Green the Soul Machine," "Forget You" and his most recent, "The Lady Killer." He also collaborated with Danger Mouse for the album "St. Elsewhere" (his greatest-selling album). Cee Lo currently is working with Jazze Pha on the album "Happy Hour."

In January, Cee Lo appeared as a musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and his hit song "Forget You" was featured on the series "Glee."

As the frontman of Maroon 5, Levine is the primary songwriter of the band and a guitar player, whose talents give Maroon 5 their signature sound. His heartfelt ballads and pop anthems have become part of the fabric of this decade's music scene. Capturing their first of three Grammy Awards as "Best New Artist" of 2005 and going on to sell more than 15 million albums worldwide, Maroon 5 won over fans and critics alike with the hybrid rock/R&B sound they introduced on their debut album "Songs About Jane." They followed up with the double-platinum album, "It Won't be Soon Before Long," which included hits like "Makes Me Wonder" and "If I Never See your Face Again."

In September 2010, the band released its third studio album, "Hands All Over," which was produced by studio legend Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Most recently, Maroon 5 received a Grammy Award nomination for "Misery," the debut single off "Hands All Over" in the category of "Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals." The nod marks the group's seventh Grammy nomination overall and fourth in that category. Maroon 5's releases have gone gold and platinum in more than 35 countries around the world.

In addition to his work with Maroon 5, Levine has collaborated with various musical acts, including Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Slash and K'naan. Levine has also made several appearances on television, including "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock."

On "The Voice," four famous musician coaches - including Green and Levine - will each select singers to mentor into artists during the blind auditions. Once they have their teams, the star coaches will bring in their personal songwriters, producers, and high-powered friends to help their teams evolve. Ultimately, America will decide which singer will be worthy of the grand prize.