Don’t get me started about American Idol (AI) versus The Voice. Can you name one artist from The Voice? Me neither. Can you name one hit song? Me neither. In comparison: Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Phillip Phillips, Jennifer Hudson, David Cook, Jordin Sparks, Fantasia, Clay Aiken, Katherine McPhee, Scotty McCreery, Elliot Yamin, David Archuleta, Ruben Stoddard, Adam Lambert, and lots more hail from AI. Here are 5 reasons why AI is 100x better than The Voice:
- American Idol (AI) provides contestant comic relief. The Voice has no terrible auditions.
- AI is about the contestants. The Voice is about the judges.
- AI is about discovering talent. The Voice is about producing an image.
- Except for the finale, the judges in the Voice have complete control over everything compared to AI where America makes the decisions.
- AI is about helping the contestants become great and get better at their craft. The Voice is about the judges being celebrities and who can be wittier than the others.
AI’s least successful winner (2010) Lee DeWyse sold 146,000 albums, more than 3x The Voice’s most successful winner (2011) Javier Colon, who sold 48,000. Now I know that American Idol’s ratings have been steadily decreasing as they lose market share to The Voice, X Factor, and other similar shows. But the Voice finale has yet to trump AI finale in ratings. If I wanted to watch celebrities bicker and banter, I could tune into the E network. For all its problems, American Idol is still about the contestants, and helping them become great. And that is something I would turn my chair around for every week.
Next post: What’s the harm that American Idol has done to our young people?