American Idol vs. The Voice on The Billboard Charts

Billboard has posted a comparison of The Voice and American Idol chart numbers for the year, pitting the winners and runners up, as well as the coaches and the judges.

It’s surprisingly close! I can’t wait when the shows go head-to-head again in the charts next year.

Contestants:

“American Idol”:
Scotty McCreery, “I Love You This Big,” 171,000
Lauren Alaina, “Like My Mother Does,” 121,000
Combined total: 292,000

“The Voice”:
Javier Colon, “Stitch by Stitch,” 145,000
Dia Frampton’s “Inventing Shadows,” 137,000
Combined total: 282,000

Coaches / Judges:

“American Idol”:
170,000 “On the Floor,” Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull
77,000, “(It) Feels So Good,” Steven Tyler
30,000, “I’m Into You,” Jennifer Lopez featuring Lil Wayne

“The Voice”:
213,000, “Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
139,000, “Honey Bee,” Blake Shelton

From Billboard:

The real question to ask is who wasn’t a winner? Both series’ contestants, coaches and judges maintained high profiles on Billboard surveys. Viewers, too, benefitted, enjoying new music from both new talent and experienced artists-turned-weekly TV personalities.

In all, “The Voice” showed that consumer appetite for music by reality show stars is plainly not limited to “Idol.”

The chart showings and digital sales for “Voice” voices are especially impressive given the ratings dominance that “Idol” continued to exhibit this season. “Idol” ended the 2010-11 TV season as the most-viewed primetime series, as Wednesday performance episodes averaged 26.2 million viewers and Thursday results shows averaged 24 million, according to Nielsen. The first season of “The Voice” averaged 13.3 million weekly viewers, ranking it as the season’s 13th-most watched primetime series.

Thus, despite “Idol” owning a 10-season head start and approximately double the viewing audience, in its first season, “The Voice” was heard loud and clear on Billboard charts.