When The Voice premiered on NBC in 2011, its primary rival in the world of singing competitions — American Idol — was already about to crown its 10th champion. Pretty much ever since then, fans have had a choice to make, and that’s never been truer than right now, as new episodes of both shows have been airing at the same time on Monday nights. However, those who have managed to keep up with American Idol and The Voice’s current seasons may be feeling a little bit of deja vu, because I can’t be the only one who’s noticed how much overlap there’s been in song selection.
There are plenty of things that differentiate the ABC competition (which is in its 22nd season) from NBC’s show (in Season 25), including the success (or lack thereof) of its winners, the personalities of its judges — or coaches — and the format of progressing the aspiring singers through its respective rounds. It’s a good thing, too, but the same can’t be said for the actual music we’ve been hearing. Of the songs covered over just the past two weeks on The Voice and American Idol, nine of them — NINE! — were also sung on the competing show this season.
On top of that, in most of those instances, the overlapping songs were performed within a week of each other, and even once on the same night! Let me break it down:
- Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris”: McKenna Faith Breinholt covered this on American Idol’s Sunday episode this week, six days after John Legend’s Zoe Levert sang it on The Voice on April 22.
- Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me”: The Voice’s teen competitor Serenity Arce belted this hit April 29, one week after Loretta Lynn’s 25-year-old granddaughter Emmy Russell sang it on Idol.
- Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor's Version)”: Both The Voice’s Anya True and American Idol’s Abi Carter performed this song from the Red (Taylor’s Version) era on April 22.
- Coldplay’s “Clocks”: Abi Carter covered this song on April 28, one night before Chance the Rapper’s team member Nadège on The Voice.
- Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange”: Kyle Schuesler was eliminated from The Voice after his April 29 performance, but American Idol’s Julia Gagnon had better luck with the number April 22 on ABC.
- Brandi Carlile’s “The Story”: Reba McEntire’s team member Jackie Romeo took on this song in the Playoffs on April 29, just a couple of weeks after it was covered by McKenna Faith Breinholt on Idol on April 7.
- The Wizard of Oz’s “Over the Rainbow”: Luke Bryan picked this song for Julia Gagnon to sing on April 29 after Kamalei Kawa'a won his Battle with it on The Voice in March.
- Sia’s “Titanium”: Asher HaVon sang it on The Voice on April 29, but Jordan Anthony did it first (April 7).
- Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots”: Triston Harper covered the former Voice contestant's song on Idol on April 29, after Ducote Talmage turned two coaches’ chairs with it in the Blind Auditions on NBC.
There have been contestants who have competed on both American Idol and The Voice before, but this much duplication between the shows’ songs seems a little ridiculous. It’s got to be a coincidence, though, right?
That’s not even where the similarities end, either. Meghan Trainor made an appearance as a guest mentor on the ABC singing competition on April 22, only to appear on NBC as Chance the Rapper’s mentor for the Playoffs on April 29. And earlier this season, The Voice welcomed Keith Urban — a former American Idol judge — as its Mega Mentor.
Although the two shows won’t be fighting over the same Monday primetime slot going forward, I’m still interested to see if the deja vu continues, especially with The Voice premiering its live episodes next week. Tune into NBC at 8 p.m. ET Mondays and Tuesdays for that, or catch American Idol at 8 p.m. ET Sundays on ABC. Keep up with all of the upcoming premieres with our 2024 TV schedule.
