With the likes of pop star diva Christina Aguilera, country music funnyman Blake Shelton, sexy rocker Adam Levine, and the colorful and crazy Cee Lo Green as judges, you’re definitely in for quite the show, which is how NBC’s hit singing competition "The Voice" drew in such a wide fan base at a time when the world was growing tired of the old and overdone singing-based television series. 

At a time when the singing genre was going through some major changes, with "American Idol’s" major loss of snarky Brit Simon Cowell causing it to bring in an entire host of new judges and the introduction of the American version of Cowell’s overseas hit "The X Factor," many would argue that 2011 would not be the time to introduce yet another singing series. That is why it came as such a shock to most that a show like "The Voice," seemingly another option in a been there, done that category of American television, would quickly attract such a large audience in its first season. 

The secret to its success is that it does what no other singing competition in America has done before: encourage palpable artistic collaboration and advising between contestants and judges. While judges on shows like "Idol" or the "X Factor" are there to provide necessary advice, opinion, and feedback to contestants, many are “has-been” stars (hello, Paula Abdul) or are people of power within “the business”. Not many are truly relevant, current stars of large worldwide influence and, more importantly, none go the extra step of personally mentoring the contestants on a one-on-one level.

"The Voice" is unique because it allows viewers to witness true A-list recording artists forge real relationships with contestants, mentoring them on a deeply personal level, and using their expertise from years of work and success in the recording industry to pass on their knowledge to America’s next generation of talent. Combine this with a revolutionary audition process referred to as the “blind auditions”, and you’ve got a formula for success. This unique audition process places the judges with their backs turned to the contestant. Judges are only allowed to turn their chair if they like what they hear (thereby solely focusing in on the voice of the contestant, rather than allowing looks or appearance to sway them). Once that chair swivels around, judges must compete with one another for who gets the contestant on his or her team, making the competition not only an individual one for who is declared “The Voice”, but also a team one for who is dubbed the best coach or mentor of said voice. And, for anyone who watched last season’s competition, it’s not just the contestants who get a little sassy and fierce in their fight to the finish. Tensions between judges also run high (for anyone looking for some true entertainment, look no further than the aggressive banter unleashed on a regular basis between Adam and Xtina).  

Last year’s winner, Connecticut native Javier Colon, captivated audiences in the blind audition process with a hauntingly beautiful acoustic rendition of the Cyndi Lauper classic “Time After Time”. Javier was, after much fighting between judges, persuaded into joining Team Adam, a decision that would ultimately lead him to success as the show’s first victor. With the title of becoming “The Voice”, Javier also won $100,000 and a recording deal with Universal Republic. He has since gone onto complete his new album “Come Through For You”, which features collaborations with stars such as Natasha Bedingfield and his former mentor Adam Levine. 

With a new season, however, come new changes. Rumor has it we will be in for a longer blind audition process this year and will also be given a better look into the mentoring process that each judge goes through with his/her team members along with the introduction of new artists to work as advisers to the teams. The new artists include Jewel, Lionel Richie, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morrisette, Robin Thicke, Ne-Yo, and Babyface.

The Voice premieres Sunday, February 5th directly after the Super Bowl on NBC. 

Reach reporter Hayley Formolo here. Follow reporter Hayley Formolo on Twitter.