Season Premiere, Reality Show | featured news

By the time the second season premiere of “The Voice” starts after the Super Bowl, we’re well-acquainted with the four judges, thanks to many ads during the big game. Plus, Blake Shelton sang “America the Beautiful” with his wife, Miranda Lambert, before kickoff.

At first glance, the numbers look bad: "American Idol's" season premiere was down nearly 5 million viewers from last year's, the biggest season-to-season drop in franchise history. At second glance, the numbers don't look bad at all: "AI" was Wednesday's dominant show, averaging 21.6 million, per estimates, and scoring a still-huge, if diminished, 7.4 demo rating among 18-to-49-year-olds.

He's back! Simon Cowell returns to the judging chair, offering his distinct brand of criticism to a wide-ranging variety of wannabe stars.