March 13, 2018

"The Voice had 11.7 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, while American Idol‘s time slot debut had 8.4 million viewers and a 1.8 rating...."

"ABC countered as if they don’t care, noting the network 'nearly tied' NBC to win the night, and that Idol improved their time period average for the season...." (Entertainment Weekly).

I've never watched "The Voice," but I like the old familiar "American Idol" format. I've watched half of what's aired so far in the new season, and it seems pretty good to me. I like the simple pleasure of some appealing young people getting a chance balanced by some other young people who have deluded ideas about how wonderful they surely must be.

And in one case there was a combination of those 2 things — an appealing new audition by a girl who had — years ago — spectacularly misjudged her own singing — of the national anthem — and gotten ridiculed mercilessly on the internet:



By the way, who — especially in the younger, 18-49-year old group — has a problem watching 2 shows that happen to air in the same time slot? Doesn't everyone use a DVR or some kind of streaming?

20 comments:

Bay Area Guy said...

Bay Area Gal and the kids love both these shows. So much better than SitCom drivel (except The Office). You got courageous kids trying to make it, most don't, but some do.

Thumbs up!

MadisonMan said...

I'm kinda curious: How many parents of Idol wannabes now were Idol wannabes back in the day? 16 years have passed since Season 1.

I thought the Mom of the Sinatra wannabe seemed kinda living-my-Idol-Dream-through-my-kid to me.

I recall watching one or two Voice episodes in their first Season. Not a fan.

langford peel said...

American Idol made a big mistake with Katy Perry.

She hates half the country. The half that watches the ahow.

The reason that the Voice is better is that they have Kelly Clarkson as a judge. A middle American choice who does not despise the normals.

langford peel said...

Plus Katy Perry killed a nun!

MadisonMan said...

I thought Katy Perry did a pretty good job as a judge.

I had to crack up though at a review -- with every original song played the reviewer said Perry was trying to figure out how to steal the song and make it her own.

Charlie Currie said...

I watch the highlights on YouTube. Sorta like dvr, but without having to fastforward past the terrible bits. Also watch UK and Australia versions - some real talent out there.

Gahrie said...

I watch clips from all of the talent shows on Youtube. I really like the ugly duckling ones.

The nun from the Italian version was pretty cool too.

langford peel said...

As a singer Katy Perry has a great set of tits.

Jim at said...

I already saw these shows back in the '80s. It was called Star Search.

I moved on.

PJ said...

I don’t enjoy the “deluded” bits of Idol at all, and the mockery in the Cowell era almost made the show not worth the good bits for me. I thought the JLo era was actually a great improvement, but the ratings slide just proves I’m in the minority, I guess. (And then there was that Minaj/Carey disaster.) I like the Voice formula better — the laughs spring from the faux-competition among the judges and are mostly not directed at contestants, deluded or otherwise.

eddie willers said...

I already saw these shows back in the '80s. It was called Star Search.

I moved on.


I quit with Ted Mack.

langford peel said...

The Voice has become the far superior program. You can see it by the clips on Youtube of the various copycat Voice programs all over the world.

American Idol. Not so much.

Kate said...

That was a cute clip. Interesting story. But...Katy Perry, no. Lionel Richie? Wow, no. And the other guy I don't know. I liked Simon.

rehajm said...

Luke Bryan is the bees knees on cuntry music.

I hate him. Buy a last name.

Ann Althouse said...

"The Voice has become the far superior program. You can see it by the clips on Youtube of the various copycat Voice programs all over the world."

It seems too complicated and serious. I've looked at it and found it... impenetrable.

Jeff Weimer said...

I avoided American Idol because I was repelled by the apparently most popular part - the Cowell harangues. I don't particularly care to immerse myself in schadenfreude.

rehajm said...

She bangs she bangs! She moves she moves...

MadisonMan said...

My problem with The Voice is that there was no joy in the singers. Maybe it's changed, but the window to suck me in isn't open for long.

I conclude that langford peel is paid by the Russkies to sow dissent.

Yancey Ward said...

I was a long time viewer of The Voice, but I quit watching last year when I began to believe that the selection of the winner was rigged at least once to mollify Alicia Keyes. Before Chris Blue won, you could reliably pick the winners by watching and keeping track of their relative results on i-Tunes- this suddenly changed with Chris Blue, and after Keyes had made the same charge about Blake Shelton's singer's win in the Fall of 2016.

Shelton and Levine do have an advantage over the other coaches in that they have been with the show for the entire run and are the biggest draw for the audiences themselves, but that is life in show business, so I don't really consider that unfair.

stlcdr said...

18 to 49 ‘group’?

How about the 14 to 87 group? Not sure what the age group tells us at all.