‘The Voice’ Premiere: How Will NBC’s New Music Show Work?

By now, Blake Shelton and his fellow celebrity coaches hopefully know all the rules of 'The Voice,' their new televised singing competition which premieres tonight on NBC. But, just in case you don't know how this magic is all gonna shake out, we're here to help.

According to Billboard, Shelton and a mixed bag of more pop-oriented singers -- Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine from Maroon 5 -- are going to serve as coaches (not judges) for the amateur singers who are competing for a record contract and a $100,000 grand prize.  They'll each recruit an eight-member team based solely on the contestants' voices -- hence the name of the show. See, the coaches will be seated facing away from the hopefuls as they perform, so they can't be biased by their looks or clothing.

If they like what they hear, the coaches hit a button and turn around, declaring their interest in mentoring that young singer. If more than one star chooses a singer, that lucky contestant gets to be fought over by millionaires, then gets to choose which team to join.  In coming weeks, each coach will whittle their team down to a smaller unit by having members sing the same song to see who can continue battling for the prize.

Finally, the teams will be pitted against each other, and American television watchers get to help decide who wins the big prize. Along the way there should be special musical guests, or possibly even more team-ups from the unlikely coaches dream team (check out Shelton handling his duties on Gnarles Barkley's 'Crazy').

We hear that country fans can expect to hear the eager contestants take their best shots at music from some of their favorite stars tonight, including Rascal Flatts and Faith Hill. We're hoping Shelton drags his pop buddies into his world for at least one run at one of his songs somewhere down the line. You know Cee Lo's gonna have one dandy of a western outfit set up for that one, right?

Watch a Preview of 'The Voice'