By Tim Molloy & Sharon Waxman
TheWrap

Exclusive -- "The Voice" has signed Christina Aguilera for a third season of the hit singing competition, as NBC considers launching its new season in the fall instead of waiting until 2013, TheWrap has learned.

That scheduling decision may have the show competing head to head with Fox's "X Factor."

Bing: Christina's 'leaky' legs

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The pop singer is the first of four "Voice" judges to re-up her contract, which TheWrap last week reported amounted to a pricey $10 million, far more than "X Factor" judges earn on Fox.

One insider close to the show said Aguilera's contract was under $10 million.

Aguilera has been signed to tape the shows from September through December, according to one person close to the negotiations.

"The Voice" was a breakout hit for NBC in April when it hurried the show to air and got the jump on the debut of Fox's fall singing show, "X Factor." NBC considered airing the second season of "The Voice" at the start of the 2011-12 season, but decided the turnaround time would be too fast.

An NBC spokesman said no decisions have been made about the fall.

One NBC insider acknowledged that the network was "considering" airing the show in the fall.

Also read: 'The Voice' Scores Highest Entertainment Show Rating in Six Years

Another person at NBC said it was premature to talk scheduling, and said when "X Factor" airs was less of a concern for the network than how it can position "The Voice," which has become its highest-rated show besides NFL broadcasts.

But the person said NBC hopes to bring back the entire judges panel -- Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton.

"We're really pleased with the entire cast," the person said. "You look at [the] ratings and it's no accident."

"The Voice" Season 2 premiere Sunday, following the Super Bowl, earned NBC's strongest ratings for an entertainment show in six years. Monday's episode earned the network's best ratings in its time slot in nearly eight years, excluding the Olympics.

In its first season,"X Factor" scored a 4.3 rating/12 share in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic, and averaged 12.6 million total viewers, compared to an 8.5/23 and 25.2 million for "Idol" last year.

After just two episodes, "The Voice" actually has higher average ratings than "Idol" this season -- but its ratings are severely skewed by its post-Super Bowl premiere. Monday's episode of "The Voice" scored a 6.6 rating in the demo and 17.7 million viewers; Sunday's scored a 16.3 rating and 36.7 million.

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