"The Voice" has over taken "American Idol" as the new popular powerhouse, singing talent show.  Just went you thought you had seen it all with more and more singing talent shows coming on TV, "The Voice" shows that if you change up the format and formula, it can still be a hit.

"American Idol" has been around since the early 2000's and had major success with Season 1 winner, Kelly Clarkson, who has gone on to be one of the biggest Pop stars of the last 10 years.  Other successful artists getting their start on "Idol" have been Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson. 

"Idol" was the #1 show on all of prime time from the 2003 season through the 2010-2011 season. Ratings for "Idol" peaked in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, when more than 30 million viewers watched both weekly shows. But ratings were off by nearly 20 percent last year and are down by the same figure so far this season.   

"The Voice" has become a hit ever since the new TV show began airing in 2011. They have done several things to make "The Voice" fresh and unique.

First, they invented the spinning chairs for the judges.  This means that the judges would not see the contestant singing, but only be able to hear their voice, so it allowed the judges to pick based on true vocal talent.  If the judge liked what they heard, they pressed the button on their chair and their seat spun around so they could see who they had been hearing.  

Secondly, they added the element of judges to banter with each other and allowed the judges to be vulnerable with the contestants.  This is the FIRST show that puts any amount of control into the contestants hands as they get to pick which judge to work with if more then one judge turns around for them. 

"The Voice" has not launched any break out superstars yet, however Season 3 winner Cassadee Pope has a great shot of that with her album releasing this fall and already a slot lined up on the upcoming Rascal Flatts tour.  Also, this season of "The Voice" is loaded with talent including former back up singer for Michael Jackson.  So this year could definitely create some new singing stars. 

"Idol" is still winning the night for Fox on Wednesday and Thursday, but "The Voice" premiered this season (Season 4) with new judges Shakira and Usher, with the season premiere of the show notching 13.6 million viewers, up 11 percent over the show's fall premiere numbers.

The slow, steady erosion of its formerly untouchable status continues to sink. How bad are things for "American Idol"? With under 12 million total watching Tuesday night's show and you have a potential new singing competition champ in the making.

Which show do you enjoy more?  "The Voice" or "American Idol"?