'The Voice' Opens Big

8:28 AM PDT 4/27/2011 by Marisa Guthrie

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Courtesy of NBC Universal

NBC’s singing competition show improves the net's season average by 89% while "Glee" sinks to season low.

The Voice kicked off on a high note Tuesday night.

Who Are 'The Voice' Standouts?

The Mark Burnett-produced singing competition improved NBC’s season average in the time period by 89 percent. With a 5.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 11.8 million viewers overall, it is the top-rated series premiere on a major network since CBS’ Undercover Boss debut following the 2010 Super Bowl.

The Voice -- which features Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton – was the No. 1 show of the night out-rating ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and a new 90-minute Lady Gaga episode of Glee. In head-to-head competition, The Voice bested Glee 4.6 vs. 3.4 (from 9-9:30) and Dancing With the Stars 4.9 vs. 3.5 (from 9-10 p.m.).

The Voice boosted NBC to a rare ratings win for the night. The network averaged a 4.3 in the demo with 10.3 million viewers overall, followed by Fox (3.0, 7.5 million), ABC (2.7, 14.3 million) and CBS (1.9, 9.7 million), which aired reruns.

Despite heavy promotion for its Gaga episode, Glee (3.4, 8.5 million) was down 11 percent week-to-week for a season low and Raising Hope (1.9, 4.5 million) was down 10 percent for a series low.

A Dancing with the Stars recap special (2.4, 12.8 million) at 8 p.m. propelling the DWTS results show (3.5, 17.9 million), which posted a 17 percent uptick. Facing tough competition in the 10 p.m. time slot from the second hour of The Voice, Body of Proof (2.3, 12 million) was down four percent for a series low.