Nellie Andreeva

NBC’s late-night host Carson Daly has closed a deal to host NBC’s ambitious new singing competition series (and American Idol rival) The Voice, from top reality producers John de Mol (Big Brother) and Mark Burnett (Survivor) and Warner Horizon Television.  “Carson is the perfect choice to host this exciting new series owing to his credibility, popularity and relevance in both the music world and social media,” NBC’s reality chief Paul Telegdy said.  “As he has demonstrated on his late-night show, Carson has the knack of recognizing new talent, which is a key component in The Voice.”

The show, in which contestants vie for a recording contract, is modeled after the Dutch Voice of Holland, which is the country’s #1 talent competition show. It features four celebrity artists who each forms a team of singers that they coach throughout the competition. Contestants will be eliminated until each coach only has one team member left who will compete in the finals to be named The Voice in a live finale. Casting of the coaches is still ongoing, with NBC targeting the series for a spring launch, going head-to-head with Fox’s juggernaut American Idol. “Having worked in the music industry for many years, I am looking forward to hosting The Voice, Daly said. “This is a show based strictly on vocal performance — giving all kinds of talented singers the opportunity to reach millions across the country.”

Daly has a strong music series background, having come out of MTV’s signature show Total Request Live. He also regularly features music acts on his late-night NBC show Last Call with Carson Daly. This will mark the primetime debut for Daly, who recently returned as host of NBC’s New Year’s Eve special. Daly shares the same radio background with Idol host Ryan Seacrest who both started off as DJs on Los Angeles radio stations and now have LA morning drive shows.

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