For the first time in years, “American Idol” and “The Voice” went head-to-head on February 23, 2026, both airing big episodes at the same time.
“American Idol,” which kicked off season 24 in late January, aired the first of two Hollywood Week episodes from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern time, while “The Voice” season 29 premiered from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time. Both shows plan to continue to go head-to-head throughout their seasons. So which one took home the prize at the end of the first night?
ABC Celebrates Big Win Over NBC, as ‘American Idol’ Leads Ratings
DisneyOn February 25, Deadline reported that “American Idol” had its best ratings since its January 26 premiere, and that viewership was up more than 25% over the episode that kicked off Hollywood Week in 2025.
The latest episode brought in over 5.5 million total viewers in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings, according to an ABC press release, which was a 16% increase over the previous week, when auditions wrapped up.
ABC also noted in its release that “The Voice” drew in 3.84 million eyeballs, noting that “American Idol” beat out its biggest competitor by 44% in Total Viewers — its “largest margin of victory ever during its ABC tenure.” The show, which originated on FOX in 2002, has aired on ABC since 2018.
‘American Idol’ and ‘The Voice’ Have Lots of New Twists in 2026
“The Voice” pulled out all the stops for its 29th season, bringing back beloved coaches Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, and John Legend for a first-ever “Battle of Champions” season. NBC has announced many twists and turns for the new season, including returning winners competing, a round overseen by original coach CeeLo Green, and the show’s first on-set commentator, comedian Druski.
But all of those bells and whistles didn’t tip the scales enough as the show premiered opposite “American Idol’s” start of Hollywood Week, which moved the iconic round to Nashville for the first time in the show’s history.
While there’s usually major drama behind the scenes as contestants collaborate on duets or group performances, producers decided to fill an auditorium with 1,500 fans to see each contestant perform just one song, solo with a live band. Judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie are in the midst of cutting 127 hopefuls down to 30.
Executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick told Deadline in January that Hollywood Week is always a hit with fans, but in 2026, she decided on a quicker turnaround for contestants and a new location.