Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol has replaced The Voice as the most entertaining singing show on television this spring.

And it isn’t even close.

While Idol is introducing viewers to a remarkable array of talent, The Voice is saddled with a production team that introduces one inane format change after another.

The changes are designed to freshen the show. They ignore the fact that it was superior talent — not gimmicks like a phony boxing ring — that helped The Voice supplant Idol as America’s favorite singing show.

Why is Idol the better singing show today?

Let’s count the reasons.

1. The talent: To my eyes and ears, there are two potential breakout stars on singing shows this spring. One is Uche, a Nigerian-American artist who’s been trying to break out as a singer for a while now. His Sunday night performance of “Play That Funky Music” was the most fun I’ve seen on a singing show in a long time. The other is smoky-voiced Laci Kaye Booth, who reminds me a bit of a young Stevie Nicks with her look and her unique vocals. If this were Idol’s heyday, she’d be destined for Carrie Underwood type stardom. You might be able to add a third with Alejandro Aranda, judging from the response to his performances on YouTube. If you haven’t guessed it, all three are singing on American Idol.

2. Familiarizing us with the talent: Idol wins hands down. Monday’s Top 20 solo round marked the sixth time we’ve seen the cream of Idol’s crop perform. The Voice? We haven’t even heard a second performance from half of its Season 16 cast. In the cases where we have, one of those performances was a duet, which tells us little about individual talent. When blind audition standout Maelyn Jarmon took the stage in the battle round, a full month had passed since her first televised performance. There might be stars in The Voice cast as well. But how would we know? We need to hear them sing!

3. Entertainment value: I don’t know about other singing show fans, but I tune in for the music. Monday night, Idol presented us with 20 solos, in their entirety, in a two-hour show full of standout performances. The Voice? During the battles, it takes the show two hours to present six duets, each about 2 1/2 minutes in length. Ah, but we do get to hear singer after singer praise guest mentors, like Charlie Puth and Khalid. Why the heck are there even guest mentors during The Voice battles? That’s contestants’ first chance to work with their coaches. Isn’t that enough?

4. Drama: Tears are way overdone on singing shows. But let’s face it, part of the appeal is seeing who survives and who doesn’t and debating the wisdom of what happened. Sunday night, American Idol cut 20 contestants in three hours. And, yep, we saw some fan favorites go home. Singers the show made sure we got to know. Meanwhile, The Voice has introduced one drama-sapping tweak after another. Let’s have saves in the battle rounds. Let’s have saves in the knockout round. Let’s have more saves in the battle rounds. Let’s have live Twitter saves, regardless of whether it’s fair to West Coast contestants. Then, this season, let’s send some of the battle round losers to the Comeback Stage. The result: Monday night, it took The Voice two hours to eliminate three singers — just three singers.

American Idol and The Voice go head to head again Monday night.

The Voice will air another episode of its ridiculously predictable, snail-paced battles.

American Idol will presumably air 10 duets featuring members of its Top 20 paired with celebrities. Then it will cut six more talented singers.

I’ll be watching American Idol.

Right now, it is clearly the better singing show.

See also
A look at who should and who’s likely to make the Top 14
A which Top 20 solos were most popular
Ranking the Top 20 solos with video of each performance
This week’s duet schedule and celebrity pairings