Idol Chatter & Voice Views

 

So you say you stopped watching American Idol in its waning days on FOX and never returned?

But you enjoy singing shows and have been tuning in to The Voice each spring and fall?

I’d implore you give Idol a chance when it airs its Season 18 premiere Sunday night on ABC (8 p.m.).

American Idol was clearly the superior singing show last spring. I mean, it wasn’t even close.

And it’s shaping up the same way this spring. Here are the reasons.

1. Superior talent: You’d think after 17 seasons of Idol and 17 seasons of The Voice, the talent pool would be drying up. Nope. I’ve spent the last month researching contestants for the upcoming seasons of both shows. And I guarantee, there will be superb singers on both. But American Idol has found more talented singers who are in their most marketable years — or approaching that age — than The Voice has featured in any of its recent season.

2. Original music: American Idol allows singers to audition with original music; The Voice does not. And after Alejandro Aranda’s runner-up success last spring, I’ll be shocked if we don’t hear more originals than ever on Idol this spring. You might recall that Alejandro sang four originals in last spring’s Idol finale, something that’s never been done before. And Idol’s Season 18 cast is loaded with artists who have already released excellent original music — Julia Gargano, Lauren Mascitti and Jonny West spring instantly to mind.

3. Focus: Sure, you’re going to have to put up with some Katy Perry antics, but Idol’s focus is much more contestant-oriented than the coach-obsessed nature of The Voice. Just check out promos for Season 18. Idol has been touting its Season 18 cast for weeks; several were even featured in a promo that aired during Sunday’s Oscars. With The Voice, it’s all about new coach Nick Jonas. Ugh.

4. The format: Here’s where Idol wins hands down. Once the show gets past the audition phase, we heard its top artists perform week after week after week last spring. The Voice countered with a format that had its top singers disappear for a month at a time. The result: Heading into last year’s finales, the top contestants on Idol had performed 18 times. The top contestants on The Voice had performed seven times, and two of those were duets.

5. What’s ahead: Both shows are apparently tinkering with their formats this spring. American Idol is promising head to head duets in Hollywood Week and earlier fan voting. Thumbs up for the latter. We’ll see about the duets. The signs are much, much more ominous for The Voice, where we’ve been told Tuesday episodes will disappear for a large part of the season and the finals will last just three weeks. At best, that prompts fears that Season 18 will be as mangled as Season 16. At worst, one could ask: Why bother?

6. The finale: And when it comes time to name a winner, I can pretty much guarantee this: Idol will put on a finale that feels like a celebration of Season 18 and that will give fans of the winner time to savor his or her victory. The Voice will host a finale full of performances by stars who have no connection to the show, then shove a trophy into someone’s hands as the credits roll.

I would never tell fans not to tune into The Voice.

Like I said, The Voice Season 18 will feature singers who are talented and deserve national TV exposure. Based on what I know and have heard from some of them, I can’t wait to learn and hear more.

But if you’re going to become invested in contestants and their fate on a singing show this spring, if you’d like to see those singers perform week after week after week, my guess is that American Idol will once again be the show to watch.