These are new photos of Christina Aguilera at the press conference announcing her new job as one of the judges on The Voice, the new American Idol-esque singing competition. The other judges are Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee-Lo Green, with Carson Daly as the host, I guess. Can I just say something? Christina looks different, and not in a good way. My first thought was that she had gotten something minor tweaked to her face, my second thought was that she had just lost a few pounds and she didn’t look so puffy, and my final thought is that her wig is off-kilter. I think it’s her sketchy “hairline” that’s throwing me off – her hair normally doesn’t “start” that far down her forehead. Also: I don’t think Christina looks totally wasted, but my guess is that before she came out to pose for photos, she had three vodka martinis. Or, as Christina calls it, “an appetizer”.

Christina Aguilera faced the press last night, for the first time since her botched Super Bowl song and her arrest for public drunkenness. But she wasn’t talking about either of those things.

Sporting spiked shoes and a red dress, Aguilera joined singer Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine for a press conference in Los Angeles to talk about new show The Voice, premiering April 26 on NBC. Washington Post columnist Lisa de Moraes says reporters were kept waiting for more than an hour for a 20-minute Q & A session.

Promised host Carson Daly of The Voice: “The level of talent … is leaps and bounds beyond the winners of any other competition show.”

Explaining her coaching outlook, Aguilera said: “There is no good and bad. This isn’t about tearing people down. I want to bring these people up. ”

The new twist in this vocal show is that judges will sit in big red chairs, their backs turned to the singers while they perform.

“The Voice really does stand for what it says,” said Aguilera. “Instinctually, you can judge people based on the way they look. I love that fact we get to sit here with our backs turned away from these people and completely use just one sense to hear these voices. I’m not looking for vocal acrobatics, who has biggest range [of] high and low. I’m looking forward to getting moved.”

[From USA Today]

Eh. I doubt this show will do well, but I’m not good at predicting the general public’s appetite for crap. I can’t stand these types of shows, but obviously, I’m in the minority. And while I think Christina’s drunk, train wreck ass is being enabled by this kind of high-profile gig, I also think that the producers will be using Christina’s drunk ass to pull in “buzz” for the show. Tune in to The Voice to see Christina slur her way through judging! Tune in to The Voice to see her drunkenly bust her ass as she tries to walk a straight line! Et cetera. It’s going to either be a total disaster, or a heavily edited mess.

Photos courtesy of WENN.