Katy Perry wrestles her own leg on American Idol and Reba McEntire shows off her chicken tenders on The Voice (ABC Photo / NBC Photo)
For the last five weeks, American Idol and The Voice went head to head on Monday nights.
Who won the ratings battle?
You might as well call it a draw.
On three of the five Mondays, American Idol had the higher rating among the coveted audience category of viewers ages 18-49.
But the numbers were close except for last Monday, when Idol walloped The Voice.
And even then, The Voice’s total estimated audience was a wee bit higher than Idol’s.
Honestly, it pains me to write that, because I consider Idol the vastly superior show.
On Idol, fans have been voting for their favorites for a month. On The Voice, fans will vote for the first time Monday night.
On Idol, we’ve seen seven performances from the remaining contestants over that month. On The Voice, top singers disappear for a month at a time and a singer can win the show with a grand total of six solo performances.
On Idol, we get to hear original songs from the artists. And get to catch up with past favorites when they come back for guest performances.
On The Voice, you’ll never hear an artist perform their original material. And fan favorites from the past are almost never invited back.
And while The Voice has been increasingly forced to turn to professional musicians in their 30s who haven’t achieved stardom to round out its cast, American Idol is continuing its tradition of introducing us to fresh faces.
To me, it’s just a whole lot more fun watching young artists blossom before your eyes. That’s why, if the two shows air simultaneously, I’m watching Idol and recording The Voice.
There’s evidence that viewers are catching on.
The Voice’s best rating (0.52) and highest total viewership (6.33 million) in Season 25 was for the season premiere. Both numbers have been dropping since then.
Meanwhile, American Idol’s ratings are improving with last Sunday marking season highs (0.64 and 5.31 million).
Here are the numbers from the nights when the shows went head to head.
April 1
American Idol: 0.39 / 3.88 million
The Voice (clip show): 0.25 / 3.17 million
April 8
American Idol: 0.47 / 4.15 million
The Voice: 0.42 / 5.3 million
April 15:
The Voice: 0.41 / 4.77 million
American Idol: 0.36 / 3.94 million
April 22:
The Voice: 0.41 / 4.77 million
American Idol: 0.40 / 4.16 million
April 29:
American Idol: 0.45 / 4.61 million
The Voice: 0.30 / 4.64 million
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