Blake Shelton Reveals What Sold Him on ‘The Voice’ and How Fame Pays

A job that pays just over $37,000 per hour sounds pretty sweet, but Blake Shelton had a few reservations before deciding to become a mentor on 'The Voice' this season. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Shelton and his three c0-mentors had to be convinced they wouldn't be asked to unfairly criticize contestants like judges on other song-based reality shows. "It's not showcasing people who suck and making a mockery of anybody," he says. "It's just about good singers who all get that it's a competition show."

Amongst the other revelations about NBC's hit reality show: Christina Aguilera is paid $225,000 per episode, compared to $75,000 for the other mentors. All four coaches and host Carson Daly will be back for season two, set for early 2012. And the show is the most expensive non-scripted series in NBC's history, coming in at $2.3 million per episode.

Shelton's appearance on 'Clash of the Choirs' in 2007 led to his invitation to join the cast of 'The Voice.' The network's head of alternative programming worked with Shelton on that show and appreciated his easygoing style. Shelton tells The Hollywood Reporter that he's eager to see how his television work affects the sales of his new record 'Red River Blue,' due in stores on July 12.

"After the second show aired, I went into an Exxon gas station at about one in the morning -- a station that I must have been in 100 times -- and there was this young black girl working the cash register. I put my Funyuns or whatever down, and she screams. It scared the hell out of me. She said, 'You're that guy from the TV show I'm watching!' I thought, 'My God, I guess that's the power of television.'" 'The Voice' airs tonight at 9PM ET and Wednesday at 8PM ET.

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