American Idol is returning this week amid a growing roster of competitors,but its stars and producers say they sense no threat from the other singing contest The X Factor,and especially not from The Voice,that will start a second season next month. Idol is still the best TV show of its kind anywhere, Randy Jackson,the sole remaining judge of the original three,said at a news conference on January 9. He began the television phenomenon a decade ago with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. We are the original, he said. We kind of invented this whole game that everybody is now copying. And I say that they are copying it,right? Idol defied the television industrys odds last year by holding relatively steady in the ratings despite the departure of Cowell,who had been considered essential to the shows success. But viewers warmed to two new judges,Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler,and accepted an array of format changes. The new test is this: Will viewers still gravitate to Idol in the same numbers when they know there are two prominent alternatives? The X Factor,created by Cowell,is shown in the fall,so it is not a direct competitor,but some fans said they would select it over Idol in the future. The Voice,which flashed its ratings muscle last spring,will compete directly with Idol for space on digital video recorders and pop culture Web sites; it will be shown on Monday nights,while Idol will be shown on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The three judges on Idol,meanwhile,have settled into their star-making roles,with both Lopez and Tyler enjoying career boosts after their first exposure on Idol last season. The difference in confidence between this years precompetition comments and last years was palpable. Lopez,who seemed tentative about having committed to what might have been a shaky franchise a year ago was relaxed and friendly at the news conference,jousting merrily with her fellow judges. We are a little more comfortable, Lopez said,drawing an enthusiastic uh huh from Tyler. The Voice judges Christina Aguilera,Cee Lo Green,Blake Shelton and Adam Levine voiced some criticism of Idol at their news conference on January 7,mainly for what Aguilera suggested was the low-road approach of the Idol tryouts,when the show celebrates delusional,truly wretched singers. Aguilera said she and her fellow Voice judges would never participate in ridiculing someone or poking fun at their inability to sing or lack of talent. Mark Burnett,the executive producer of The Voice,drew a more distinct comparison,saying that The Voice has replaced the idea of finding people who really cannot sing and know they cant sing and making a mockery of that. He added,That was the hook on some other shows,and this show got rid of that completely. Jackson responded to that characterisation by noting that the first winner of The Voice,Javier Colon,had been rejected by a previous record company. The entry,he claimed,was a celebration of second-chance artists. Ken Warwick,an Idol producer,said: Our show is open to everybody. Its much better for our audience if they know that this kid was cleaning windows two months ago,and this week theyre No. 1 in the downloads. Though some have begun to question the power of Idol to break big names in the recording industryone writer said he had to search Google to come up with Lee DeWyze,the winner two seasons agothe judges and producers begged to differ. Jackson pointed to robust sales for the album of the latest winner,Scotty McCreery,and Warwick read off a list of Idol graduates who have impressive careers,including Kelly Clarkson,Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. BILL CARTER & BRIAN STELTER
