'The Voice' mixes it up with Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys

“The Voice” is starting to play its new tune a little early.

Season 11 of the singing competition, which currently is nominated for six Emmy Awards (including outstanding reality-competition series), will have not one but two major changes to its celebrity coach/judge lineup — and NBC airs a preview immediately after the Rio Olympics closing ceremonies Sunday, Aug. 21. Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys, both of whom have appeared on the show, begin regular runs with returnees Adam Levine and Blake Shelton as the special half-hour edition offers a couple of the traditional season-starting “Blind Auditions” and a performance by the coaches.

“Whether you're getting a Super Bowl lead-in or the Olympics or anything huge, this is a really great thing for us,” confirms “The Voice” executive producer Mark Burnett. “It's a great way to remind people that 'The Voice' is about to come back, and that we've switched things up with Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus. It's an amazing promotional opportunity.”

With the official Season 11 start of “The Voice” set for Sept. 19, Burnett and his fellow producers — who include host Carson Daly — knew who they wanted, and who they were getting, in enlisting Cyrus and 15-time Grammy winner Keys. They're the latest revisions to a cast that also has included Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Gwen Stefani, Shakira, Usher and Pharrell Williams at various times.

“It's always a jigsaw puzzle,” Burnett admits of casting the show. “People also have touring schedules, and that's why I say 'The Voice' is so complicated. All four coaches are current touring artists, but these turned out to be fantastic choices. They make things different, in a great way. Alicia has such a long and distinguished career, and Miley is like 10,000 volts ... and is supersmart. I think a lot of people who aren't Miley Cyrus fans are about to be. On 'The Voice,' you see artists competing and mentoring, and you really get to know them as people. There's a benefit there for the music world.”

Burnett notes that the program “certainly will acknowledge” third-place Season 6 finalist Christina Grimmie, slain following a June concert in Orlando, Florida. “A lot has been done by the 'Voice' family around Christina. It's something that's still hard to believe.”

After a Season 10 that saw former “Curly Sue” actress Alisan Porter named the latest “Voice,” Burnett is restarting the series amid much other activity, as usual. Now the chief of MGM Television, he and wife Roma Downey (“Touched by an Angel”) are among the producers of the new movie version of “Ben-Hur.” He's also readying new seasons of other successful shows: CBS' “Survivor” and ABC's “Shark Tank,” and for early 2017, NBC's “The Celebrity Apprentice” (with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the new leader of the boardroom). Also on Burnett's slate is a new ABC business reality series that also involves Steve Harvey.

With “American Idol” now over, Burnett expects an added bonus for “The Voice” as the lone singing-focused contest on U.S. broadcast television. “The mantra for us,” Burnett reflects, “is, 'Yeah, “The Voice” is the No. 1 show Mondays and Tuesdays, and it's America's most-loved music show, but that doesn't mean we can sit back and not do the work.' We have to bring the fans what they want, and I think attracting new fans via the Olympic closing ceremonies is a good move.”