MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC has picked up the fourth and fifth cycles of the music competition series ?The Voice? for next year, it was announced by NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt.

He said, "This pickup will assure the many dedicated ?Voice? fans that this innovative show will continue to bring some of the most talented new voices to the world?s attention through all of next year. With the addition of Usher and Shakira as rotating coaches to join Christina, CeeLo, Adam and Blake in the next cycle, we know that this incredibly addictive program will remain even more relevant as we move forward through this exciting season. My hat is off to John de Mol, Mark Burnett, and everyone who produces this classy and highly entertaining show for us."

Last week - one week after its season premiere ?The Voice? introduced music superstars Usher and Shakira as two new celebrity musician coaches when it returns next spring for its fourth cycle. Christina Aguilera, who is releasing a new album and going on tour, and CeeLo Green, who is developing new music plus a scripted comedy series for NBC based on his life, will take the Spring 2013 cycle off.

Current celebrity musician coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will remain with the series through the fourth cycle.

"The Voice" returned with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show?s third season. Celebrity musician coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton return along with Carson Daly as host and Christina Milian as Social Media Correspondent.

"The Voice" artists who have gone on to sign record deals include Season One artists Javier Colon, Xenia, Dia Frampton and Vicci Martinez, as well as Season Two artists Jermaine Paul, Juliet Sims and Tony Lucca.

The show?s format features four stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the battle round, the brand new knockouts and finally, the live performance shows.

During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don?t get to see them -- thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist?s voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach?s chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes their button, the power then shifts to the artist to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes their button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success along with the help from their celebrity advisers. During the battle rounds the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience.

After the vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals during the battle rounds.

At the end of the battles, only the strongest members of each coach?s roster remain and proceed to the new knockout rounds. The artists will be paired again with a member of their team, but this time they find out only minutes before performing who they are being compared against. The artists each select their own song to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach?s confidence and decision to take them to the live shows. Their coach will choose the winner and the artist not selected will be sent home.

In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top artists from each team will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists and the two artists with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week. In the end, one will be named ?The Voice? and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

MUMBAI: The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), an offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, has announced the winners of the 2nd annual Critics? Choice Television Awards.

?Homeland? took home the prize for Best Drama Series while ?Community? won in the Best Comedy Series category.

Best Reality Series went to ?Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations?, while Best Reality Show-Competition went to ?The Voice?. ?Late Night with Jimmy Fallon? was honoured as Best Talk Show, Archer was honoured as Best Animated eries, and ?Sherlock? was honoured as Best Movie/Miniseries.

NBC was the most awarded network with five wins followed by ABC and AMC, which tied with three wins each.

Actors Bryan Cranston and Louis C.K. won Best Actor in a Drama Series for ?Breaking Bad? and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for ?Louie?, respectively.

Claire Danes was honoured as Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role in ?Homeland? while Zooey Deschanel and Amy Poehler tied for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for their roles in ?New Girl? and ?Parks and Recreation?, respectively. Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series went to ?Mad Men?s Christina Hendricks for the second year in a row.

Breaking Bad?s Giancarlo Esposito was named Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Julie Bowen took home the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy and Ty Burrell won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for their roles in Modern Family.

Lucy Liu won Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series for Southland, and Paul Rudd won Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for his role on Parks and Recreation.

?Dancing with the Star?s Tom Bergeron and ?So You Think You Can Dance?s Cat Deeley tied for Best Reality Host. Benedict Cumberbatch was recognised as Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries for his work in Sherlock, while Julianne Moore was named Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries for her role in Game Change.

In addition, ?The Following?, ?The Mindy Project?, ?Nashville?, ?The Newsroom? and ?Political Animals? were honoured as Most Exciting New Series.

The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) also partnered with thalo Magazine to recognise ?Smash? with the thalo?s Critics? Choice Inspiration Award, which honours a television show forilluminating the fine arts in its subject matter and production methods, along with the individuals who infuse those productions with their artistic passions.

The Critics? Choice Television Awards honoured programs and performances that aired between 1 June 2011 and 31 May 2012, except for the Most Exciting New Series, which are shows premiering after 1 June 2012. Six new categories debuted this year including Best Movie or Mini-series.