For a long time, there was one major singing competition show: American Idol. Then last summer, NBC's The Voice joined the U.S. screen with relative success and later in the fall, Idol's Simon Cowell attempted to bring his British franchise The X Factor stateside. This year Idol and The Voice went head to head, inspiring comparisons and an inevitable rivalry for the top spot in the reality singing genre. With ABC joining the popular category with its new show Duets (premiering tonight) and Cowell rebooting X Factor with new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato for its second season, the competition amongst the competition shows is getting heated - and the new judges on the block aren't afraid to defend their latest crop of shows.

Duets' John Legend on The X Factor:
For one of the newest celebrities to join the singing competition game (Legend replaced Lionel Richie two weeks prior to production), John Legend seems to have a lot of confidence in his show and some not-so-nice things to say about The X Factor and its judges Spears and Lovato. The smooth crooner told E! Online, "It's interesting when people, you know, are judging singing competitions when they aren't really singers."

Though Legend seemed to be passing some negative judgment on the new judges, his fellow celebrity mentors had kinder words to share - Kelly Clarkson said she's "a big fan of both of them," and Robin Thicke said he's confident "they'll do nothing but make the show a lot more fun to watch."

The X Factor's Simon Cowell on The Voice:
Boosted from the hype surrounding his two new female judges, Simon Cowell was not shy about sharing his thoughts on competitor The Voice. After hearing the show was "all about the voice," Cowell's first thought was, "Why isn't this on radio?" Cowell told Radio 4's Today Show. "Then suddenly I'm watching it a week or two weeks ago and it's the same as The X Factor. They've got dancers behind them, graphics, lights. Same show." And according to Cowell, "If you try and rip somebody off, it always looks like a bad copy."

America's Got Talent's Howard Stern on The X Factor:
Though not a singing competition, America's Got Talent did gain a new judge this season in radio personality Howard Stern, who also felt compelled to share his opinion on Spears joining The X Factor. "As far as any real criticism, I think Simon and L.A. Reid will be doing that. I think Britney is going to stand there and eat a lollipop and wear a sexy outfit," Stern told Access Hollywood. "I don't anticipate great opinions out of her."

Stern then went on to include American Idol's Jennifer Lopez in his criticism, saying, "I think she's going to sit there like J. Lo and [say], 'Oh, you're wonderful. You're terrific. Do you think I could get a perfume endorsement out of this?'" Nevertheless, Stern said he'll still be watching The X Factor this fall - "to see what kind of train wreck [Britney] is."

Kelly Clarkson on the superiority of Duets:
Though not on the offensive like Legend, Clarkson did have some thoughts on how Duets differs from its competitors. "You could take everyone who has won Idol or The Voice and you'd find maybe three who could harmonize," the pop singer told New York Daily News on the difficulty of being on Duets. "It's an art to know when to shine and when to pull back." Clarkson also claimed her show was harder for its celebrities than other shows, saying, "It's a lot more work than people have to do on Idol or The Voice!"

Watch the Duets promo below, where the Superstars boast their contestants will be "more than just a voice." With all this talk comparing rival singing shows, do you think Duets or Cowell's rebooted X Factor will live up to their words? Only time (and ratings) will tell.


(Images courtesy of WENN)