Cee Lo Calls Judging 'The Voice' His 'Day Job'

Given his gigs fronting ATL rap crew Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley and his recent mega-viral success with the song "F--- You," you'd think the last thing Cee Lo Green would do is join the cast of a reality singing competition. But you'd be wrong.

"At first, I thought it was a very cool and original concept," Green said of the script-flipping conceit of the soon-to-launch "The Voice," in which judges sit with their backs to contestants to focus on their vocals instead of their looks as they decide whether to mentor them through later rounds. Secondly, after years of touring and grinding it out on the road, Green said he was looking forward to staying put in Los Angeles and pursuing the new opportunities that have come his way thanks to the exposure from the Grammy-nominated "F--- You."

Speaking to MTV News recently, Green explained that he looked at the show as a "day job" during some downtime. Plus, with "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett onboard, the singer figured he couldn't go wrong. "He's a friend of mine and he cordially invited me ... and I'm just getting my feet wet in the industry. I plan on doing more television."

Though it's all love among his fellow judges — Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and country star Blake Shelton — Green said they're all in it to win it as well. "We're all coming from such different worlds that there's a coexistence, [but] there's a bit of friendly competition because we're all playing to win."

After getting advice from the professional singers during battle phases — where they can also call in choreographers, stylists and producers to help their charges — the wannabe stars will go on to live performance shows where the TV audience will vote on who advances and wins the $100,000 prize and recording contract.

Green said the blind auditions lead to each star forming a team of eight singers, and, as befits his eclectic musical career, Green's squad has a little bit of everything. "It kind of resembles the way I listen to music," he said. "There's country, there's rock, there's R&B, there's soul ... but off camera, the energy with us is very, very kinetic. It's almost like we've been friends for some time and I'm fans of them as well, so that helps."

"The Voice" premieres April 26 on NBC.